Shiny New Kid said:

I'd just moved them from Bangkok so I didn't think it was that bad

And I left early and came back late so really it was only an hour each way

. said:

But the fact that you have to schedule your commutes that way is ridiculous.

Me a genius, innit?
\

. said:

People change jobs. So you have to choose a place to live, and all the good places are spread out on the fringes (Newport Beach, Santa Monica, etc). The centralized areas are mexican & black warzones.

http://i.imgur.com/CdEgB.jpg

So if you choose to live in one decent area - like Huntington Beach - and you get a great new job opportunity in Beverly Hills or Burbank, you're facing a brutal commute.

. said:

Shiny New Kid said:

I'd just moved them from Bangkok so I didn't think it was that bad

And I left early and came back late so really it was only an hour each way

But the fact that you have to schedule your commutes that way is ridiculous.

. said:

Orlando has the Universal / Harry Potter theme park, which is insanely popular with the kids.

Basically, LA has one theme park (Disneyland), while Orlando has 10+ theme parks (4-5 Disney theme parks, 3 Universal theme parks, 1 SeaWorld theme park, and other smaller theme parks).

Shiny New Kid said:

I ended up in Newport Beach because I originally went there to visit a friend.

The job opportunity came up by chance.

And as I said, it didn't really bother me as I'd been doing the same for years in Bangkok. At least in LA you didn't get stuck in traffic that literally wouldn't move for 3-4 hours sometimes

. said:

Shiny New Kid said:

I ended up in Newport Beach because I originally went there to visit a friend.

The job opportunity came up by chance.

And as I said, it didn't really bother me as I'd been doing the same for years in Bangkok. At least in LA you didn't get stuck in traffic that literally wouldn't move for 3-4 hours sometimes

Bangkok has a pretty good mass transit system now.

Shiny New Kid said:

Its MUCH better now than it was in the mid 90s.

They've also built a lot of underpasses and overpasses at a lot of junctions and put in better traffic control systems.

Traffic is still heavy, but gridlock is rare, whereas it used to be common

. said:

Shiny New Kid said:

Its MUCH better now than it was in the mid 90s.

They've also built a lot of underpasses and overpasses at a lot of junctions and put in better traffic control systems.

Traffic is still heavy, but gridlock is rare, whereas it used to be common

My point is that once you have a decent mass transit system in place, traffic is irrelevant, since you can bypass it.

Shiny New Kid said:

The mass transit only covers a tiny portion of the city and doesn't have park and ride.

What it means is you get a taxi to the nearest station, ride the train to the nearest station to your destination, then get a taxi from there.

Its too hot to walk significant distances

It does cut out a big chunk of the journey though. Can save an hour or more just going down Sukhumvit

Bangkok mass transit covers all the important places.



So just live near a mass transit station. For tourists, stay in a hotel near a mass transit station. That's my strategy whenever I move to a new city, or visit a new city.

. said:

Bangkok mass transit covers all the important places.

http://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/userpics/10004/bangkok-map.gif

So just live near a mass transit station. For tourists, stay in a hotel near a mass transit station. That's my strategy whenever I move to a new city, or visit a new city.

. said:

Shiny New Kid said:

The mass transit only covers a tiny portion of the city and doesn't have park and ride.

What it means is you get a taxi to the nearest station, ride the train to the nearest station to your destination, then get a taxi from there.

Its too hot to walk significant distances

It does cut out a big chunk of the journey though. Can save an hour or more just going down Sukhumvit

Bangkok mass transit covers all the important places.



So just live near a mass transit station. For tourists, stay in a hotel near a mass transit station. That's my strategy whenever I move to a new city, or visit a new city.

Shiny New Kid said:

Have you seen the size of Bangkok? Its a massive city. 7 million in the core and up to 12 million people if you include all the outer suburbs.

The skytrain has 30 stations and the underground 18 stations. London has 270 stations as a comparison.

Even if you live on a trendy road like Thonglor, which is a side street off Sukhumvit, it can take half an hour to get from the Thonglor station to a restaurant at the north end of the street.

If you're brave you can take a motorcycle taxi and that saves a lot of time, but you end up dirty due to the pollution.

Bangkok is a third world shithole. And you live there

Shiny New Kid said:

Have you seen the size of Bangkok? Its a massive city. 7 million in the core and up to 12 million people if you include all the outer suburbs.

The skytrain has 30 stations and the underground 18 stations. London has 270 stations as a comparison.

Shiny New Kid said:

Even if you live on a trendy road like Thonglor, which is a side street off Sukhumvit, it can take half an hour to get from the Thonglor station to a restaurant at the north end of the street.

Shiny New Kid said:

If you're brave you can take a motorcycle taxi and that saves a lot of time, but you end up dirty due to the pollution.

. said:

Fuck that. Mass transit all the way. I only use taxis when it's late at night.

. said:

Shiny New Kid said:

Have you seen the size of Bangkok? Its a massive city. 7 million in the core and up to 12 million people if you include all the outer suburbs.

The skytrain has 30 stations and the underground 18 stations. London has 270 stations as a comparison.

Just stay in the core area, near a BTS/MRT station.

Shiny New Kid said:

Even if you live on a trendy road like Thonglor, which is a side street off Sukhumvit, it can take half an hour to get from the Thonglor station to a restaurant at the north end of the street.

Whenever travelling via mass transit around a central area - whether you're in London, Tokyo, NYC - 30 minutes is normal.

Shiny New Kid said:

If you're brave you can take a motorcycle taxi and that saves a lot of time, but you end up dirty due to the pollution.

Fuck that. Mass transit all the way. I only use taxis when it's late at night.

Shiny New Kid said:

And if someone wants to meet you somewhere not near a station? Or you want or need to go somewhere not near a station? That's 99% of Bangkok by the way

. said:

Shiny New Kid said:

And if someone wants to meet you somewhere not near a station? Or you want or need to go somewhere not near a station? That's 99% of Bangkok by the way

I tell them "too bad".

Why would I need to leave the central area? In cities like London, Tokyo, NYC, Bangkok, all the elite firms are in the central area, and all the main nightlife districts are in the central area.

If they want to meet me, then it's their responsibility to come into the center of the city.

Shiny New Kid said:

You don't know Bangkok.

The trendiest street right now is Thonglor. The station is at the Sukhumvit/Thonglor corner. The end of the street near the station is all cheap shophouses and local shops. All the trendy stuff, including restaurants, clubs and shopping starts more than 1 km away from the station and continues for another km or more.

. said:

Shiny New Kid said:

You don't know Bangkok.

The trendiest street right now is Thonglor. The station is at the Sukhumvit/Thonglor corner. The end of the street near the station is all cheap shophouses and local shops. All the trendy stuff, including restaurants, clubs and shopping starts more than 1 km away from the station and continues for another km or more.

And there is a BTS station right there. Which is the point. Most of the important areas are in the central area of Bangkok, near the mass transit stations.

The distance from Chatuchak to Thong Lo is about 4 miles. Just live & stay in that area. The BTS/MRT areas cover virtually all the important business & nightlife districts, except maybe Khao San Rd.

Shiny New Kid said:

You missed my point. To get from the station to the restaurant in the trendiest area, that IS covered by the system you still have to walk 1-2kms.

In tropical heat and humidity that's not something you want to do. You take a taxi from the station to where you're going.