Sometimes I wonder if living in a major metropolitan area is worth it.  I’ve always been a city boy and like having lots of convenient options for stores and restaurants near me, not to mention the reduced commute.  This is a far cry from city living in the 70s and 80s when I was growing up when living within the city limits meant inferior schools, unsafe neighborhoods and a crumbling infrastructure. 

When we lived in the outer suburbs of Atlanta in the early 2000s after relocating from Chicago, a little bit of me died each day.  Of course part of that can be attributed to being in the south and not being in a remote suburb from a cool city like Boston or Chicago.  When I drove the 40 miles each way from Dacula, my final destination wasn’t in the Loop or Faneuil Hall; it was midtown Atlanta.  Yay.

I can’t blame Atlanta solely for this discontent though.  During my final 6 months in Chicago when I left my job that was a 10 minute El train ride to driving out to Lincolnshire, the 27 mile commute easily exceeded 2 hours a lot of times.  It was at that point where it hit me how spoiled I was prior to that I had a short train ride that dropped me off at the second floor of the building I worked at.  I never had to pay attention to radio traffic reports until Fall of 1999.

I do believe that remote VPN access is really the wave of the future for telecommuters although there will be a threshold that is reached for that too.  You can’t have all your employees working from home unless your name is Amway.

This might be surprising for those who know me, but I’ve really tried to mellow out while driving.  There have been times lately where, after getting worked up about a jerk driver, it led me to wondering how bad commuting to work can be on my health.  It’s bad enough to deal with idiotic driver movements that could potentially make you lose your life but then add jerk drivers on top of that; tailgating wankers who have their mind made up that weaving dangerously in stop-and-go traffic will somehow get them to where they’re going faster.  It’s always fulfilling to pass them in whatever lane they currently are in, still unaware that they’ve accomplished nothing by cutting people off and putting themselves and others in danger.  Driving can really get you worked up and raise your blood pressure unnecessarily and that’s where my question of “quality of life” comes into play.  Is being in a major metro area, in order to increase your earning potential (since that’s where most companies are centered), worth it in the long run?  Is it worth being in a “cultured” area but being so tense from the commute and noise and whatnot? 

There are tranquil streets in the city that are off the main thoroughfares and that helps with one’s mood at times.  While we are off a busy 4-lane road, our townhome is tucked away in the back and the road noise is practically non-existent except for the ambulances that are going to the nearby hospital.  I was reminded of how busy the road actually is on Sunday.  Normally I don’t bring my iPod on my daily walks, as I prefer to be lost in my thoughts.  Periodically though I will bring it, mostly if I want to get a little adrenaline by cranking out some rock music at a loud level.  Sundays are my mellow days though and I had on the volume that was barely audible on the quiet streets and I was annoyed when I turned on the final half block back to my house and couldn’t hear the music without having to adjust the volume rather considerably.  That’s not relaxing; rather it’s counteracting a loud environment in order to return to your own “soothing” environment which winds up being counterproductive to listening to mellow music in the first place.

Can you tell I’m a tad burned out?  Of course, living in a remote area also has its drawbacks, including lack of access to high speed internet, sanitation services, and the increased risk of being consumed by a bear.  So until I get a microbrewery up and running after relocating to a northern city, I’ll continue to brave this darn commute.