My thesis: There is a subtle message being conveyed to everyone (at least where I live) which seems to say "It's really a lot easier and more
convenient to just go live in the city.." and i happen to entirely disagree with this notion.
People flock to the cities to pay upwards of $1500
A MONTH to live in a studio apartment.. Traffic is overwhelming and requires leaving an hour
or two ahead of time
just to get across town (it took me 45minutes to cover 5miles and get home)..
something isn't right here.
Just to give some context:
as I have said in other threads, I currently live in western Washington, about an hour outside of Seattle, near Redmond (the capital of Microsoft
etc).. I used to live in the woods on a 10acre property that I shared with some outdoors-y hippie folk, and now I live with my girlfriend just
outside of Redmond. It's not as deep in "the woods" as i used to be, but it is still rather rural in comparison to the cities and suburbs around
here.
my point is that I have lived in "the woods" (in one form or another) for about 12 years now, and so I tend to see the changes in the attitudes of
people in the cities.
here's some cognitive dissonance that has been a bit rampant lately:
-the idea that if you don't live in a major suburb, you can't get a connection to cable or DSL internet.. you have to get a data plan. I live
10minutes outside of
the capital of MICROSOFT and yet we have to pay around $50 dollars a month (on my iPad) for internet just so my girlfriend
can do her online classes for college.. this is DATA we're talking about here.. how is nobody keeping these companies in check?? I know we're not
the only people who are in this situation, and yet i hear nothing about it. Online or otherwise.. How is this the case???
-the idea that rush "hour" has become an occasion which is now "celebrated" between 3:00pm and 6:30-ish.. and everyone seems to be thinking that
this is perfectly fine. I mean, I literally never hear people complaining about it, outside of friends and family. nothing on the news. Nothing from
the "small talkers" who love to talk Seahawks and The Weather.. People seem to just be getting used to the idea that their time and gas couldn't
be spent in any other way, but to drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic every day.. and it just gets worse as the years go by. with no solution in
sight.
-the idea that Public Transportation is something that is really only needed in suburbs and cities, and all those towns on the outskirts can.. figure
out things for themselves. Bus routes and stops and have been cut every year for.. many years now. Wouldn't it stand to
reason that the
people living in towns outside of the cities, would be needing public transit the MOST..?? ..again, nobody seems to think that cutting bus-lines is
an unthinkable bunch of crap that deserves some media attention and (dare i say it?) PROTEST?? It's outrageous that NPR and other news services will
cover stories like
This story where
busdrivers in Seattle are wearing diapers due to a lack of restrooms on their routes.., but then something like bus-lines constantly being cut
is just.. not really talked about in a way where people feel they can expect change or compromise..
-lastly (but perhaps most interestingly/horrifyingly) Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are all still being celebrated as somehow "saving the economy and
job market of Washington".. and i just can't help but shake my head in awe. Sure, this might be a perspective that makes sense
if you base you
opinion purely on the big cities but if you go to MOST ANYWHERE ELSE IN WASHINGTON, you will see a different picture. People act like Seattle and
the Puget Sound make up the entirety of Washington haha.. and it's so far from the case. Try stopping at pretty much any down alongside the I-5
freeway, or go anywhere in eastern Washington and you will find that the "abundance and wealth" which seems evident around Microsoft-ville, really
doesn't reflect the whole situation.
not to mention, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon mostly deal in DATA (which is just copies upon copies of code) and really don't produce any "thing"
themselves per se.. and we're okay with our economy being based upon that?
How do you think Google and Microsoft can afford to constantly throw such HUGE parties for their employees, so often? hmm.. maybe because their
profit margin is ABSURDLY HIGH and MOST of "what they do" consists of maintaining computer servers which push data around... electrons move through
the wires and.. checks are written. Keep the employees good and distracted (and feeling slightly guilty for such "good treatment" without an
occasion) and hopefully nobody will think about trying to criticize the BIG picture..
all-in-all, i am curious what you folks make of this situation, especially if you live here or know someone who does. Things are getting out of hand
(ESPECIALLY with the traffic) and i don't see any solutions in sight. It's a shame because i love living out here, but it seems like everyone is
being brainwashed into thinking they should move into a small apartment, buy a huge TV, get a job at Microsoft, watch the Seahawks, and die.
I'd like to think that there are alternatives