I have no offramp, and I must scream

Submitted by Cabadrin t3_11dp4jz in boston

HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I’VE COME TO HATE 93 SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 189.95 MILES OF COMPRESSED ROCKS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS OF ASPHALT THAT FILL MY ROUTE. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOMETER OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF ROCKS IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR TRAFFIC AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT. HATE. HATE.

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Comments

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Shemsuni t1_jaai3vy wrote

The price of cheap rent is spending your life on the road.

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thomascgalvin t1_jaaun3b wrote

"Cheap" rent.

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CerealandTrees t1_jaaxrzw wrote

1 bedrooms in Lowell going for $1,700 lol.

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Yeti_of_the_Flow t1_jab4d24 wrote

Cheaper than a lot of nothing towns South of Boston.

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[deleted] t1_jablcun wrote

[deleted]

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Yeti_of_the_Flow t1_jabli53 wrote

Houses in those towns cost $600k at least for anything that doesn’t need major updates and repair if you want more than a condo.

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mini4x t1_jac66id wrote

He's talking about the house he hit for free from his grandma.

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TiredCr0codile t1_jac297m wrote

This doesn't apply anymore.

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Yeti_of_the_Flow t1_jac2o6f wrote

It quite literally does. I’ve been following housing prices everywhere inside 495 for the last three years. Housing prices are still insane.

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TiredCr0codile t1_jac5tpm wrote

Getting mortgages less than rent doesn't apply I mean. At least with a typical down down payment

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BannedMyName t1_jaci7bt wrote

And my bosses are wondering why we can't get cooks to work in fucking Westford

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ShriekingMuppet t1_jaaehf0 wrote

Let the hate flow through you...

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Cabadrin OP t1_ja9yhs2 wrote

I am stuck on 93 North and a duck taking a leisurely walk with his snail friend could reach my destination faster than me.

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william-t-power t1_jab7k27 wrote

Here is your solution.

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dhowl t1_jabjw6f wrote

lmao. How was that e-scooter able to go that fast? Seems like the battery would die in 5 min.

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joeybaby106 t1_jaca0vo wrote

Highways are much smoother than local roads. If they put in a fraction of the effort we could have butter smooth bike lanes that would last year's longer

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sckuzzle t1_jacjeil wrote

Most of the power goes into overcoming air resistance, not going over bumps. Smooth roads aren't going to reduce the power needed.

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GM_Pax t1_jaa0rf3 wrote

It is illegal to even touch an electronic device (e.g. your phone) while driving a motor vehicle.

​

EDIT (because the OP is a snowflake and blocked me for not jumping on his bandwagon):

u/raabbasi - even using them. You can turn them on or off while driving, but nothing else.

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tarandab t1_jaab7at wrote

OP may not be the one operating the vehicle

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raabbasi t1_jaaa6gs wrote

Except for using navigation devices or apps.

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miraj31415 t1_jab1imf wrote

I don’t see that exception in the state’s description.

There only exception I read is touching to enable hands-free.

It reads like the GPS “activation” must be done without touching.

Touching for apps is right out.

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AndreaTwerk t1_ja9zglj wrote

Drivers complaining about other drivers (but calling them “traffic”) to those other drivers is never not bizarre to me.

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SpindriftRascal t1_jaa22m6 wrote

We have built the nation around the car. It’s hard to get out of, though we all should.

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charons-voyage t1_jaa7ic4 wrote

That’s the thing. I would love to use public transit and bike everywhere. But I can’t afford cambridge/Somerville so ended up in Quincy where biking sucks. Public transit exists but red line is always fucked. So we end up driving more than we want. Can’t blame people for driving. It’s probably mostly rich people who don’t need a car for work, though admittedly I don’t have any stats on that. Houses near the T are expensive, and housing near good bike infrastructure is also expensive.

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SoulSentry t1_jaasnde wrote

Vote for bike and transit infrastructure in Quincy. I commute from Cambridge to Quincy via the T and would love it if they invested in either the Blue bike network or a light rail network. Washington Street is begging for better transit options and more mixed use development.

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charons-voyage t1_jaavv8w wrote

None of the Quincy candidates have cared much so far. The other challenge is many of the main roads are MA state roads and we all know how the state is when it comes to infrastructure lol.

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PrinceWalnut t1_jaabt49 wrote

I make around $60k, so not rich, and I live in Boston proper. That being said, I'm also rather frugal, and I live in a studio apartment -- I definitely couldn't afford most of Boston on my salary either. I have no kids, but if I did I would definitely need to move out further.

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charons-voyage t1_jaaw2za wrote

Yeah we have 2 kids and are pretty minimalist but still can’t swing the leafy burbs even with $300K household income. It’s crazy out there

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MohKohn t1_jab5ua9 wrote

we are all traffic on this blessed cursed day

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shanghaidry t1_jaawgme wrote

Whenever I see heavy traffic I say to myself, what are all these people doing out? At this hour?

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Graflex01867 t1_jaai805 wrote

Let that rage burn with the heat of a million suns. Then go take that heat and cook up some fresh asphalt and start filling in some potholes, since you’ve got nothing better to do sitting in traffic.

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therealcmj t1_jaaoig5 wrote

How about making one phone call to demand better mass transit options from their state reps?

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Graflex01867 t1_jaat8uq wrote

Sir, this is a venting-while-stick-in-traffic-thread, not a Wendy’s.

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13curseyoukhan t1_jaarn34 wrote

Mad props for the Harlan Ellison reference.

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biddily t1_jaapjzx wrote

You know, I was on 93 south around 6, and I was pleasantly surprised by how zippy my journey was. No traffic. Braintree split? No traffic. I was shooketh. I smiled with glee as I sped towards my destination much faster than I was expecting.

huh.

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physgm t1_jaaa65g wrote

I didn't know I needed this level of situation reference in my life.

Thank you, OP. First real laugh in a while!

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Haptiix t1_jaar6e1 wrote

And this is why I’ll never work a 9-5 I can’t commute to quickly & easily. No amount of money is worth putting yourself through this amount of mental torture twice a day

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link0612 t1_jaa877o wrote

If it makes you this angry you should change jobs or houses to get out of it.

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lagoongassoon t1_jaaatnf wrote

Gotta find yourself a good podcast or some new music

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teddyone t1_jab2876 wrote

They seem to have found light hearted short stories to keep their mind off things!

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snoogins355 t1_jabxkhg wrote

Lord of the Rings audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis

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stickmaster_flex t1_jab66xu wrote

I would love to take the commuter rail and the T. But the commuter rail is more expensive than driving my car and parking. And the T is a fucking shit show. The best case scenario of taking public transit for me (and I am lucky enough to live near the commuter rail) is 90 minutes, and involves three trains, because for some fucking reason there is no direct bus from North Station to Kendall fucking Square.

I pay about half the cost of a monthly commuter rail pass to park at my building, and I drive an EV and can charge at my office for free, and even when traffic is fucking awful it takes me less time. I also carpool, so my cost for parking is halved.

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CriticalTransit t1_jabj74q wrote

There is a bus called EZ Ride that goes from North Station to Kendall and Cambridgeport. If you don’t get it paid by your employer it’s only $1.

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stickmaster_flex t1_jacyb7h wrote

It's bullshit to pay hundreds of dollars a month for a commuter rail pass and have the only viable option from North Station to Kendall be a fucking private bus line.

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CriticalTransit t1_jae5ehw wrote

Sure, we should subsidize transit more and it should be better. But in this case you can’t say “I wish I could use transit if only something like the EZ Ride existed” when in fact it does exist and you’re still driving.

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stickmaster_flex t1_jaeb4yv wrote

I'm driving because it's costing me less than half of what I'd pay to take the commuter rail, and public transit is beyond unreliable. I commuted via public transit for 12 years, including eight years after I moved to the suburbs. EZ-Ride is $2 per trip (though it's temporarily free according to their web site). An extra $80+ per month is not a small amount on top of ~$300 for a commuter rail pass.

I'd still be taking the train if it wasn't so much cheaper and faster to drive.

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joeybaby106 t1_jacb1xz wrote

Consider blue bikes as well, though tough in bad weather

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stickmaster_flex t1_jacy48k wrote

I used to bike from Union Square to Kendall Square, my wife made me stop after the third time I almost died from people running red lights. I've got kids, I'm not brave enough to bike in the city.

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Conan776 t1_jabl6bm wrote

Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are often given to wonder what's so great about point A that so many people from point B are so keen to get there, and what's so great about point B that so many people from point A are so keen to get there. They often wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell they wanted to be. — Douglas Adams

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222KFT t1_jaan84a wrote

I saw a Mercedez SUV and a white pickup nearly get into a road rage-infused accident near the HOV entrance northbound today at the braintree split, at like 540am. 93 is a state of mind

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fordag t1_jabglnl wrote

>THE HATE I FEEL FOR TRAFFIC AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT

Did you post this while driving?

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Graywulff t1_jachnjt wrote

I ran the numbers and it was cheaper way back to live in the city than to commute, the cost of the car, and the lost time in the car at your hourly rate.

If you sold the car, moved to the city, or onto the rail line, a station is opening up in New Bedford and providence is a lot cheaper than boston and you can take the mbta pretty cheap or Amtrak and get a seat. Sometimes work will pay for the pass.

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DamianPBNJ t1_jae3i9z wrote

it was our one hundred and ninth year on i-93

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fitandhealthyguy t1_jaastru wrote

I’m the guns of the Navarrone - 90 is the bane of my existence.

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Twerks4Jesus t1_jablpqj wrote

lol, ever try audiobooks? They are a lifesaver.

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AtTheFirePit t1_jaci8kj wrote

I remember stories from when they made it go around Boston. Everybody angry-laughed at the waste of money; "such a waste! it'll never be used! who's going to want to drive around the city??"

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Thin-Explanation5042 t1_jaclje1 wrote

Geeze, take it easy, AM. Go turn some guy into a monkey with a huge cock or something.

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frege2021 t1_jae81nb wrote

This should be linked to anyone who recommends moving to Quincy on those “Moving to Boston” posts

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Scytle t1_jacfj0u wrote

no joke, commuting is some of the most soul crushing time you can spend on this planet. For those interested in slightly off kilter suggestion, get a bunch of people you like and buy a house together. Splitting a mortgage 5 ways for a multi-family is pretty affordable (at least compared to the rents these days) you can live in the city, pretty close to your job, walk or bike there, and honestly if you like the people, and have a lawyer work up a little agreement its not so bad.

Does this fix anything with the larger structural problems? No it doesn't. Might it get you a nice place to live close to your job...maybe?

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S4drobot t1_jab9j7m wrote

or you know... don't ?

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bostonguy2004 t1_jab6coc wrote

Whoa what's your commute?

Also, did you type this post while in gridlock traffic? If so, that's awesome.

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GM_Pax t1_jaa0efh wrote

Stop driving into and through Boston. Take the commuter rail in bad weather, ride a bicycle in good weather. :)

Remember, you're not stuck IN traffic, you ARE traffic.

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Cabadrin OP t1_jaa0j09 wrote

Yes, that will definitely help me get to a location that the commuter rail does not go to

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