So I have recently been reading the complete works of Sherlock Holmes, which has had me on a historical/anthropological kick. I have to admit, I love reading fiction from different eras and seeing how people lived lives. For instance, I take all of Henry Miller's works as literal translations of what life in the 1920s was like.
I think one big problem with changing lifestyle is that people think they will be broadly inconvenienced, their life will somehow be much poorer. I think its largely an imagination issue, people simply can't envision a life that is different than what they have now.
So learning more about that era in England, I think that in many ways our lives would be very similar:
1. Instead of email, they got the post twice a day. (Oddly enough many productivity experts say you should check your email twice a day)
2. You could also send a message over telegraph if you needed to do something quicker and over long distance.
3. Instead of the internet, there were 2 or 3 papers published a day. So you could stay on top of news. Or there were bibliographies, magazines and books for reference & research.
4. For local travel you could readily hail a horse carriage or hansom.
5. For distance travel you could readily catch a train or boat to the continent.
6. Many renters took both room and board in the city. This seems like a very cost effective way to get the most out of a food budget.
I think looking at this tells me that cost of living could be radically reduced if resources were better shared:
-do we all need our own cars that mostly sit idle? Why not rely more on services like taxi's and rail?
-Why not find a better way to share food, cooking, and shopping responsibilities? For instance a central mess hall in a neighbourhood? Or room and board in a 4-story building?
I also have a whole new appetite for digital vacations. The loss of the information highway I don't think means loss of information. It simply means the information arrives in a different manner.
Lastly, I just question if quality of life really changes if the current way of living was drastically altered.
19th Century England
I love it. There was a great article in Index Magazine several years back about a gay couple (men) who lived exclusively with 19th century tech and furniture; I can't find it online. Sorry--this is only slightly on-topic.
Central mess hall in a neighborhood = brilliant. I suppose something like this exists on an informal level in poor areas, possibly even in my neighborhood (Washington Heights) in Manhattan. Actually, New York City fulfills your criteria of taxis/rail usage too, though neither are very cheap...
Central mess hall in a neighborhood = brilliant. I suppose something like this exists on an informal level in poor areas, possibly even in my neighborhood (Washington Heights) in Manhattan. Actually, New York City fulfills your criteria of taxis/rail usage too, though neither are very cheap...
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BeyondtheWrap
- Posts: 598
- Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
- Location: NYC
I think every city should have transportation like NY. I think it would those trying to save money immensely. I think you don't do NY subway justice on price either, it is one of the cheapest in the world! $2 each way is great value.
I also think every where should have bike lines like Beijing. For those of you have never been - check out this photo
I have never seen a more bike friendly city than Beijing. Except for the fact that I have twice been in taxi's that have hit bicyclists. But they were ok!
I also think every where should have bike lines like Beijing. For those of you have never been - check out this photo
I have never seen a more bike friendly city than Beijing. Except for the fact that I have twice been in taxi's that have hit bicyclists. But they were ok!
@DP NYC trumps all other American cities on public transit, don't get me wrong. But the monthly pass is going up to $120 soon, and it currently is $2.25 each way. The MTA also isn't what it used to be; weekend service in the last several months has been terrible. Once the cold weather hits, I will be relieved not to be on the train, as it gets miserably (think Tokyo) crowded during commute hours--my second all-cycling winter.
It's not fair to compare US public transit to Chinese public transit, because the latter will kick the former's ass in both efficiency and cost. Just to take the Beijing subway as an example, the cost per ride per direction is 2 yuan, which is roughly 30 cents and includes unlimited transfers between lines. Buses all have discounts that are approximately half off the posted fare (roughly 14 cents) if you have purchased the transit card.
This is the magic of being in a developing country with an artificially devalued currency. Also, buses in other Chinese cities do not stop every block like they seem to in Minneapolis (the only US city with which I have extensive and current knowledge of the public transit options). Chinese cities have higher population density and presume people will not be too inconvenienced if asked to walk a few tenths of a mile or less to get to a bus stop.
America was designed in the era of cheap oil, a fact that will continue to haunt the present and future generations many times over.
/rant
This is the magic of being in a developing country with an artificially devalued currency. Also, buses in other Chinese cities do not stop every block like they seem to in Minneapolis (the only US city with which I have extensive and current knowledge of the public transit options). Chinese cities have higher population density and presume people will not be too inconvenienced if asked to walk a few tenths of a mile or less to get to a bus stop.
America was designed in the era of cheap oil, a fact that will continue to haunt the present and future generations many times over.
/rant
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dot_com_vet
- Posts: 603
- Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:07 am
My only gripe with that line of reasoning is that the speed, cost, and quality of everything you mentioned was all worse in the 19th century. As well as the diversity of offerings. In the writings no one would complain about what was just a fact of life.
Consider that on train rides they would give the ladies blankets to cover their dresses with because the smoke from the engine would flow into the train cars and cover them with black ash.
Whenever one looks back on the way things were, it is often easy to remember the good things and forget the bad. This will be especially true in writing because they wont know what the future will be like.
Consider that on train rides they would give the ladies blankets to cover their dresses with because the smoke from the engine would flow into the train cars and cover them with black ash.
Whenever one looks back on the way things were, it is often easy to remember the good things and forget the bad. This will be especially true in writing because they wont know what the future will be like.