MikeM wrote:I can't remember the exact statistic, but the average time spent with one employer is now something like 5 years, should everyone have to move each time they change jobs? And what about their partners, where should they live?
I've personally had some jobs in some pretty awful places, why should I be forced to live there as well?
As for your comment:
"Even you can't get away from the fact that in the very near future people won't have the fuel to do what they do now"
how do you know what fuel sources we will have in the future? Maybe we'll have even more, and we can do even more things with it.
Right - so all the scientists and folk who know about oil reserves etc are wrong, and you know it better. Fine. We'll speak again in 30 years' time.
Justskint - I know that at the moment there is the problem that a lot of places of work are not where you can live. But that's been building up for many years, and if people don't start demanding something different NOW, you'll be doing in future what they did centuries ago - you'll be walking 10 miles to work every day, because nobody ever thought of building houses nearer the factories, and there's no petrol left. Oh yes, back as well.
And yes, what's wrong with moving house every 5 years? The British are, I believe, the people with the highest private home ownership. If you'd rent more, it would be much easier to move; and yes, that will need change in the way houses are owned and administered, too. And if people were a bit less fussy about the types of jobs they'd find acceptable, they would find it easier to get to work without driving for miles and miles. I have two friends nearby, both with a PhD, who chose to take on jobs that really need no qualification whatsoever; they earn less, but they save a lot of money because they live near their places of work. And they save time, too - overall they have a higher quality of life, and a much smaller carbon footprint. Oh, btw - same goes for me, really: I have an MSc; but my job needs no qualification. But I can walk to work. And that was one of the reasons why I wanted this job. I doesn't pay well - but what the heck? If I earned more, I'd only have to drive a lot more.
Yes, I know, not everybody will be able to do exactly this - but I've never been talking about EVERYBODY; only that all people could do
something to change their lifestyle, and to improve their environmental impact. But most aren't even prepared to think out of their box. And yes, I've been in very poorly paid jobs, had no car, could hardly afford the bus - well, I had a bike, and I had two feet for walking. (Btw, I always got to work on time - 4 miles away - unlike the car drivers, who couldn't get in because it snowed, or the roads were flooded, or their car broke down...) I also had no TV and no phone, which saved a lot of money! I don't want to hear about the poverty trap. There's always a way out, even if it's not easy.
