Alaskan LOA offer

[ppragman]

Yeah that is fair. And there are certainly more people today who just don't have the financial means to purchase a home in places where there are employment opportunities. The math of purchasing the median US home of $400k+ just doesn't work for many, including the median household. So there is that

This is the thing that I think is part of the problem...

People like to talk a big game about "entitlement mentality" - but let's be real, most of the people here would not move into the • apartments they were living in in their early 20s again (while they were slogging it out in RJ land or whatever) unless they absolutely had to.

I remember flying freight for Martex, and I got robbed of most of my stuff while I was moving that I had left in a storage unit. Long story short, I didn't have a bed anymore, so I inflated a pool floaty and slept on that in the weird flop house I was living in. "nothing sad about this at all, I can fall asleep on my bed and not spill my beer! Look, there's a beer cozy in the mattress! This is how I know I 'made it to the big time.'" I would not move back into that situation again with my family unless it were absolutely necessary.

Also, I think largely we're of a different mindset than many many other people - it is not an unacceptable burden for us to move halfway around the world for a job. That's what we do. Culturally, this is part of us. I like that, but we're not "normal" compared to the vast majority of folks out there. I had to learn this when a very close friend talked about how he was priced out of his apartment. For me, it was obvious, "dude, just move," but for him, he had roots in the community, all his family was close, and moving across the country to go work for another job was too high of a cost.

The opportunity cost of time with the family was too great for him to leave - the money didn't even enter into it.

The book, paved paradise, is specifically about parking and how parking ruins cities, but that’s just a subset of how car-centric/low density design is a pyramid scheme and we can’t expand our way out of traffic congestion and expensive real estate. You gotta increase density, which means “ruining the character” of a lot of neighborhoods and investing in better transit infrastructure, both of which are anathema to a lot of people on all kinds of spots on the political spectrum. I mean every time flying in/out of SEA I’m amazed at how quickly outside of the city center it degrades into just an unending sea of single family homes and strip malls surrounded by acres of empty parking lots. Not to mention being a “liberal” city that has absolutely • public transit. IMHO Chicago’s level of service should be the bare basement minimum for any large city, much less one full of people who love to virtue signal about climate change from their hellacious suburban sprawl traffic jams

I love to read stuff like this here.

 

[Roger Roger]

So glad that the vast majority of millennials have to pay rent that's higher than a mortgage they "can't afford." Anyway.

strolls off humming La Marseillaise

Man, I’m mostly with you on this, but like the owner does have to cover mortgage plus maintenance and unless you’re comparing a vastly different rental property the only way those costs are gonna be a lot lower for the landlord is if they have access to much better deals on financing and labor (the second they should be able to negotiate if they’re at all competent, the first seems like it would just be a roll of the dice of when they last financed the property). Although you can bet that all the property owners who are still paying 2.x% on their loans didn’t hesitate to raise their rates when everyone else’s rates went to 8%…

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Man, I’m mostly with you on this, but like the owner does have to cover mortgage plus maintenance and unless you’re comparing a vastly different rental property the only way those costs are gonna be a lot lower for the landlord is if they have access to much better deals on financing and labor (the second they should be able to negotiate if they’re at all competent, the first seems like it would just be a roll of the dice of when they last financed the property). Although you can bet that all the property owners who are still paying 2.x% on their loans didn’t hesitate to raise their rates when everyone else’s rates went to 8%…

I mean, isn’t this a byproduct of supply-demand imbalance for housing too? Which is really just a byproduct of our utter failure to build at scale and density? Which is enabled by…oh right, cars.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

The book, paved paradise, is specifically about parking and how parking ruins cities, but that’s just a subset of how car-centric/low density design is a pyramid scheme and we can’t expand our way out of traffic congestion and expensive real estate. You gotta increase density, which means “ruining the character” of a lot of neighborhoods and investing in better transit infrastructure, both of which are anathema to a lot of people on all kinds of spots on the political spectrum. I mean every time flying in/out of SEA I’m amazed at how quickly outside of the city center it degrades into just an unending sea of single family homes and strip malls surrounded by acres of empty parking lots. Not to mention being a “liberal” city that has absolutely • public transit. IMHO Chicago’s level of service should be the bare basement minimum for any large city, much less one full of people who love to virtue signal about climate change from their hellacious suburban sprawl traffic jams

You might also like The Great American Transit Disaster, which details how we’ve failed to make utterly necessary investments, and how fear of “those people” also led to disinvestment from public transit and the uprooting of otherwise perfectly good rail networks.

Speaking of Seattle. That place runs on white liberal guilt, but that wasn’t what I wanted to point out. What I did want to point out was how the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel actually had standard gauge rail installed before Sound Transit Link became a thing—but what was NOT installed was any means of grounding said rails, which is essential for electric operation of trains. When Link did become a thing, the otherwise perfectly good standard gauge rail had to be ripped out and replaced with, well, properly grounded rail.

And Link is 1) the most expensive light rail system ON THE PLANET and 2) woefully under capacity due to the modality choice they made, but it was do that or don’t build it at all.

Ow, My Balls, transit edition.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

You might also like The Great American Transit Disaster, which details how we’ve failed to make utterly necessary investments, and how fear of “those people” also led to disinvestment from public transit and the uprooting of otherwise perfectly good rail networks.

Speaking of Seattle. That place runs on white liberal guilt, but that wasn’t what I wanted to point out. What I did want to point out was how the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel actually had standard gauge rail installed before Sound Transit Link became a thing—but what was NOT installed was any means of grounding said rails, which is essential for electric operation of trains. When Link did become a thing, the otherwise perfectly good standard gauge rail had to be ripped out and replaced with, well, properly grounded rail.

And Link is 1) the most expensive light rail system ON THE PLANET and 2) woefully under capacity due to the modality choice they made, but it was do that or don’t build it at all.

Ow, My Balls, transit edition.

Your floor is now clean… your floor is now clean.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

You might also like The Great American Transit Disaster, which details how we’ve failed to make utterly necessary investments, and how fear of “those people” also led to disinvestment from public transit and the uprooting of otherwise perfectly good rail networks.

Speaking of Seattle. That place runs on white liberal guilt, but that wasn’t what I wanted to point out. What I did want to point out was how the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel actually had standard gauge rail installed before Sound Transit Link became a thing—but what was NOT installed was any means of grounding said rails, which is essential for electric operation of trains. When Link did become a thing, the otherwise perfectly good standard gauge rail had to be ripped out and replaced with, well, properly grounded rail.

And Link is 1) the most expensive light rail system ON THE PLANET and 2) woefully under capacity due to the modality choice they made, but it was do that or don’t build it at all.

Ow, My Balls, transit edition.

NIMBY is a thing. Except Backyard is also extrapolated out to neighborhood and even busses/trains.

 

[///AMG]

Also, I think largely we're of a different mindset than many many other people - it is not an unacceptable burden for us to move halfway around the world for a job. That's what we do. Culturally, this is part of us. I like that, but we're not "normal" compared to the vast majority of folks out there. I had to learn this when a very close friend talked about how he was priced out of his apartment. For me, it was obvious, "dude, just move," but for him, he had roots in the community, all his family was close, and moving across the country to go work for another job was too high of a cost.

Valid point. We are about to reach the 4 yr milestone in our current location. That is longer than I have lived anywhere in 16 years. And those years normally involved a move every 2-3 years. So this is uncharted territory. My wife wants to move south to OR, I don't want to move again for a few more years. We shall see. Actually, who am I kidding, she will win.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Valid point. We are about to reach the 4 yr milestone in our current location. That is longer than I have lived anywhere in 16 years. And those years normally involved a move every 2-3 years. So this is uncharted territory. My wife wants to move south to OR, I don't want to move again for a few more years. We shall see. Actually, who am I kidding, she will win.

The current housing situation is great, except for its location, which is not where any of our airplanes are based. It's also the most stable living situation I've had in something like 13 years in this business.

First there was the plan, then there were the assumptions, etc.

 

[roundout]

Speaking of Seattle. That place runs on white liberal guilt, but that wasn’t what I wanted to point out. What I did want to point out was how the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel actually had standard gauge rail installed before Sound Transit Link became a thing—but what was NOT installed was any means of grounding said rails, which is essential for electric operation of trains. When Link did become a thing, the otherwise perfectly good standard gauge rail had to be ripped out and replaced with, well, properly grounded rail.

Peak Seattle

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Peak Seattle

Oh, all of Central Link 1 Line really is peak Washington (state) when you get right down to it.

I wish that there was less settling in regard of "build it this way OR you're going to get nothing," which is how you wind up with Central Link the 1 Line being designed, routed, built and operated as it is: a hybrid light metro when a real heavy-rail, grade-separated metro would have been a far "better" service choice and allowed the system to flex capacity upwards. $600 million/mile for light rail is bonkers, but the mode was picked because of the usual "ermahgerd we can't afford this" that many seem to reflexively shout when it comes to public transit.

To this, I say:
1) Build it now, it's NEVER going to be cheaper, and
2) Build it right, because it's going to be more expensive than quoted anyway and you might as well not build that segment on-street like you did.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad it exists and so, obviously, are people who live in its area of service judging by its rather good ridership. But for the expense, it should be better.

 

[Roger Roger]

You might also like The Great American Transit Disaster, which details how we’ve failed to make utterly necessary investments, and how fear of “those people” also led to disinvestment from public transit and the uprooting of otherwise perfectly good rail networks.

Speaking of Seattle. That place runs on white liberal guilt, but that wasn’t what I wanted to point out. What I did want to point out was how the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel actually had standard gauge rail installed before Sound Transit Link became a thing—but what was NOT installed was any means of grounding said rails, which is essential for electric operation of trains. When Link did become a thing, the otherwise perfectly good standard gauge rail had to be ripped out and replaced with, well, properly grounded rail.

And Link is 1) the most expensive light rail system ON THE PLANET and 2) woefully under capacity due to the modality choice they made, but it was do that or don’t build it at all.

Ow, My Balls, transit edition.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

View attachment 75138

There are times when you're going to need a car. Last night was arguably one of them. But when you get right down to it, mine's a grocery-getter, and arguably, I could actually do that without it too.

It just shouldn't be the only choice for most of the time.

 

[ppragman]

I mean, isn’t this a byproduct of supply-demand imbalance for housing too? Which is really just a byproduct of our utter failure to build at scale and density? Which is enabled by…oh right, cars.

and why do we favor cars over public transit?

<inception music blaring>

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

The idea of public transport is meh. A bunch of mouth breathing creatures sitting close to each other, with hacking/spewing, coughing, sneezing, with or without masks, and reeking of BO.

Sorry, if I want that, I’ll go to my Friday prayers at my local mosque.




I like sitting all alone in my Bronco, shifting gears

 

[JEP]

I think that might be a SouthernJets cultural thing. That group (as a whole) doesn't have a history of good decision making. Also, the FA group over here (as a whole) certainly aren't big spenders. I'm curious if that's similar elsewhere too.

That crazy cost of living might be part of that.....anecdotal observation at best.. I wonder though is there a large # of FA's that live outside of HI ? Bases outside of HI of there are any? I cant imagine a commute to HI but I am sure there are some that do it.

 

[JordanD]

There are times when you're going to need a car. Last night was arguably one of them. But when you get right down to it, mine's a grocery-getter, and arguably, I could actually do that without it too.

It just shouldn't be the only choice for most of the time.

I love having a car, but I also love the fact I've averaged 5,000 miles a year since I bought it 4 years ago.

 

[Sculprit]

I love having a car, but I also love the fact I've averaged 5,000 miles a year since I bought it 4 years ago.

How? Making your wife drive everywhere counts I guess.

 

[JordanD]

How? Making your wife drive everywhere counts I guess.

Bought it when I was commuting to reserve so never home enough to drive it, then went to training for a couple months, commuted to more reserve. Didn't really leave the house much during COVID, then moved to a downtown area where we just didn't need to drive as many places (and about 4 miles between home and the employee lot) 6 more months cumulative in training, and it all adds up (or doesn't). Wife on the other hand, between 3 cross country moves in the same time and regular 5 hour one way drives to see family...

 

[Roger Roger]

I hate having a car, and I hate even more having a second car that mostly sits in the driveway and grows moss. I’ll probably get rid of the backup now that I’m not going to work every day for 2 weeks at a time.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

I love having a car, but I also love the fact I've averaged 5,000 miles a year since I bought it 4 years ago.

It’s a ‘14 I bought new and it’s got 63k on it.