Text 14611, 68 rader
Skriven 2005-10-11 12:37:31 av Raymond Yates (1:3613/48)
  Kommentar till text 14597 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: looters in NO
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 MV> Hi Raymond,

 MV>>> People are not so dependent on cars as the are in the US I'd
 MV>>> say.

 >> It's a serious matter of distance. It's not uncommon for
 >> people to live several hours drive from where they work,

 MV> So why do they do that? Why do they not find a job closer to where
 MV> they live? Or alternatively, if the job is so attractive why do they
 MV> not move to a location closer to the job?

That's a fair question.

There's a multi-part answer.

First, this country was originally settled as a basically agricultural
enterprise. Yes, we had cities, and yes, that's where the industries were, but
a lot of people moved to the country to farm. Emigrants from Europe and
other countries at the start of the Industrial Revolution, it's what they
knew. Over time farming became less attractive and many people moved to the
citiy to find industrial work in the factories. People that did well in the
urban environment and succeeded then started to move to the suburbs, (which
were previously farms) where they had more room than the urban centers.

Coupled to this was the advent of personal transportation, where people did
not have to live near the city to work there. At that point it became possible
for the person to live on the farm and still work in the city, as it was only
an hour or two away.

As road technology improved, and speeds increased, the "Only an hour or two
away" was extended out into farther and farther areas away from the urban
centers.

Add to this the growth and expansion of industries into those self-same
suburbs (because they did not have to be close to the city and water-power,
but could have electricy delivered to them) and the dispersion into
communities that had never had industries before (attracted there by incentive
tax breaks) and the situation has developed to where it is now.

In my home state for example the genuine industries are in the suburbs, where
the land is cheaper, the tax base lower, and the surrounding communities
provide the workforce. Becasue of the attractiveness of "The Good Jobs',
people from far away will travel distances to make the money. They do, because
they can.

Further, not all industries are near large towns, but rather small ones. Those
places draw the workforce from even smaller commuities or sometimes large ones
some distance away, because "that's where the jobs are".. We have people that
live in Wilmington that work in Whiteville, about 50 miles away. Why? because
they own property on Wilmington and do not wish to move. Since there is no
public transportation from Wilmington to Whiteville, they drive. If they want
to work at that job, they have to.

Simply, they do not move because they do not have to. There are people that
have moved, but that happens only when the cost of moving is less than the
expenses of driving to and from work.

Now this is not true in all areas. Take New York City for example where
thousands of people commute from Long Island on the trains. While many people
drive to the City, many prefer to take the trains as there's little open
parking for the working person. People generally do not like living in crowded
cities it seems and prefer the suburban lifestyle. (not true for all, but this
is the general trend)

Sorry for the essay, but not much...:-)
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 * Origin: Ray's Rocket Shop - Out to Launch (1:3613/48)