Post by mrsukyankee on Sept 18, 2020 4:09:25 GMT -5
I'd say life is easier for me (no kids, work at home full time now), but not as enjoyable. I like the people I work with and really miss having small chats with them. I like being in central London so I can enjoy the museums, restaurants, etc there very easily. I miss going to theatre. I miss travelling to see my friends. I miss hanging out with friends. I didn't mind my commute on the bus/tube as I read.
I love having the time to spend with my puppy and the casual ability to see my husband during the day. I love being able to do laundry between therapy sessions. I love that I'm getting to know my area better as we're doing all our socialising here (in outdoor or semi-outdoor spaces). I love that I was able to get to know my neighbours better than I might otherwise. I get to shop during the day if need be. Lots of positives.
I took an urban biking course, so if I do return 1-2 days a week, I'll probably cycle there and back. It'll take about the same amount of time, though I'll have to join a gym for showering or learn how to do a brief wash in the powder room by my office (most likely). I'd be fine with that. I just don't want to return to the tube and rush hour numbers of people (my tube line gets packed). I don't miss the commute.
Post by RoxMonster on Sept 18, 2020 6:26:19 GMT -5
I have a 50-minute one-way commute to work and I did not miss it in the spring. I also don't have @@ so that may be part of it. Teachers are back in the building now, so the commute is back again. It isn't horrible (it's mainly on country roads, so not stop-and-go traffic), but I will be asking to WFH on winter days with treacherous weather since no snow days will be announced if we're still remote.
The main thing that's been hard for me during the pandemic is the stress of worrying about my health and the health of my family, mainly my parents and grandparents. My parents have had to keep working the whole time, being deemed essential. And my mom works in the healthcare field. I also don't think I'd fare too well if I got COVID, so I am terrified of getting it. All summer, I pretty much just went on neighborhood walks, took hikes with no one around, and stayed home. It was a huge shock to have to be around people again at work. And we aren't just alone in our classrooms; we have to attend in-person meetings of 30+ people, and some are in classrooms where we are close to others.
Giving up going to bars and restaurants and not having things like concerts has sucked, but I think I can do it for another year. I just don't want to get COVID. And I am worried about winter when my outdoor activities won't be as feasible or enjoyable.
We're fine income-wise and don't have kids, so we are having an easier time than many. I can only think of two things I'm enjoying about this: no commute most days, and far fewer microaggressions from sexist people at work. Those two positives are definitely not enough to make up for all the down sides!
This is a really interesting point. I am looking back with rose colored glasses lately and missing the chatter and water cooler talk. Obviously there are the people I genuinely like I work, but I hadn't really thought about the negative interactions.
My commute was/is super short, so not much time savings there. The only "good" thing about WFH is the time I get back getting ready in the morning.
My crippling anxiety prevents me from seeing the positives generally :/
I mean, anyone who is ENJOYING living in a country where almost 200k people have died and however many others have suffered illness and unemployment is probably a sociopath, unless they are just incredibly ignorant (which I guess is a ton of people).
I have gotten to the point where I enjoy being able to work from home, @@@ and since I don't have kids, my work/life balance is good. We are lucky not to have suffered any job loss, so the lack of spending on commute related costs and all our usual travel and entertainment has been good for our savings. But there is a reason why we aren't normally putting that money into savings - it's because we enjoy being able to live our lives, see family, travel, go out and do stuff. This has all been extremely limited - and we haven't seen family or most friends at all - and there is no amount of working from home and savings that could offset those losses. I don't work my job so that I can sit at home with just my H and do nothing all the time. I work so that I can use that money to enjoy life (and also to keep a roof over my head and eat, lol). I am still hopeful we'll get past this, but life as it is right now feels pretty pointless if this is all we have to look forward to in the future.
I guess technically we have done well financially under Trumps presidency, but I attribute exactly 0% of that to him and 100% of it to other unrelated circumstances. Certainly my income has not increased at all (if anything it's become more restricted with state budget cuts - I won't be seeing any raises or promotions anytime soon) and the only money we have in the stock market can't be touched for another 22+ years so I can't imagine why I'd vote for Trump based on the fact that we've been able to build up our savings and do some house projects this year. It wouldn't be any different if Hillary or Biden was president right now in that regard.
We're fine income-wise and don't have kids, so we are having an easier time than many. I can only think of two things I'm enjoying about this: no commute most days, and far fewer microaggressions from sexist people at work. Those two positives are definitely not enough to make up for all the down sides!
This is a really interesting point. I am looking back with rose colored glasses lately and missing the chatter and water cooler talk. Obviously there are the people I genuinely like I work, but I hadn't really thought about the negative interactions.
My commute was/is super short, so not much time savings there. The only "good" thing about WFH is the time I get back getting ready in the morning.
My crippling anxiety prevents me from seeing the positives generally :/
My work has a lot of toxicity, so the difference with not having to interact with certain people is noticable.
I can definitely understand finding it hard to see the positives some days!
I WFH even before COVID - and honesty I’ve never been thrilled with it because it’s distracting and the home/work separation is gone, but a job’s a job. In between work there’s household chores, and MH would usually come home around 4ish and I’d feel obligated to come out of my office and interact with him.
It’s been a LOT to adjust to having MH @@@@ and DD (3) home with me all the time. MH is a chatterbox and likes to complain in detail about his day, work-related or not. DD needs a ton of attention. We only recently put her back in daycare and even then it’s only three times a week, and we bring her home around 3-4pm. Monday and Friday we have to switch off on who watches her vs who works, and when we both have a conference call or virtual lesson, we need to figure out a way to keep her quiet in the background or pray that we can get her down for a nap in time.
We’re incredibly fortunate that we and our immediate families haven’t gotten sick. Friends who’ve gotten COVID have recovered. We live near enough my Mom and sister that we weren’t totally isolated - video calls, distanced visits through their porch window, worked our way up to in person visits.
It’s a lot to deal with in the moment. And it’s a lot to deal with the uncertainty of when - if ever - things will go back to normal or even close to normal. The uncertainty weighs on you so much.