with many walkable neighborhoods is public schools. I have lived in a couple walkable areas (Capitol Hill was my favorite), but no way would I try to raise a family there.
Ah yes, CVS got me on this one recently. Buy 1 get 1 free for toothpaste. Coulda been a sweet deal but they charged me full price for both toothpastes, so I spent $6 instead of the 3 i was hoping for.
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I found this great site: www.repairclinic.com and it has saved me tons of money! I can get either small or large parts for most of my home appliances--for a fraction of what it would cost for a repair person to come and do it. One example: recently (coincidentally) an inside shelf broke on both mine and my friend's refrigerator. I ordered from repairclinic.com, and she had Sears come out and fix it. Hers was abut $150, and mine was about $20, including shipping!
Faster I'll grant you--unless the trip is quite short, the plane is faster (although the advantage shrinks quite a bit, once you take into account getting to and from the airport and getting there early enough to be sure of clearing security).
Cheaper depends a great deal on the exact route. Champaign to Kalamazoo would have been four or five times as much by plane as by train.
But easier I don't believe. Maybe if your origin and destination happen to be right by the airport. Maybe if the travel time by train would be more than 8 or 9 hours. Otherwise, in my experience, by rail is the easier choice.
I grew up traveling by train--my dad loved trains and we took them everywhere. I have lots of good memories of sleeping cars and dining cars and observation cars and looking out the big windows. It's definitely an experience--I think most kids would love it, at least for a shorter trip.
Great strides were made in improving Amtrak service during the two years David Gunn was president 2003-2005, before he was fired by the Bush administration. Gunn's Six Myths of Amtrak is still worth reading.
A substantial percentage of Amtrak trains run pretty close to on time except when delayed by freights. The last few years have seen several new trains added, unlike airlines where the trend has been toward canceling flights that don't fill up, or eliminating the flight altogether. Number of riders on Amtrak are up over 10% for the current fiscal year, and ridership for the past month is up over 13% compared with May 2007.
A first-class passenger railway system at least on a par with most of the developed nations of the world should be a matter of national pride. The need for it as part of a sensible comprehensive transportation system ought to be clear to anyone after the problems following 9/11 and in preparation for the energy crisis, which is really just in its early stages.
Nevertheless, the Bush administration has recommended a 40% reduction for Amtrak in its 2009 budget.
Thanks for that review, Philip. We have Amtrak service, too. Hastings, Nebraska took its name from railroad contractor Col. Thomas D. Hastings, in fact, at its founding in 1872. I feel more secure knowing that I live in a railroad town.
I've never personally taken the train, but I think I will the next time I visit my family in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's a pretty direct route, and everyone I've asked says it's more pleasant than flying. It's certainly more environmentally friendly.
I agree that going east or west is pretty difficult with Amtrak, at least in my area. I live in south central Michigan and though there is a station not too far from my apartment, a trip to my hometown in Ohio (usually a 3.5 hour drive) would take twice as long to get me to somewhere that is still 20+ minutes away. It would also cost more, even with gas prices and the turnpike toll.
My boyfriend is thinking about making a trip to Washington D.C... maybe Amtrak would be a good choice for that.
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I did the walkscore for my current address. It gave it a 66. I reviewed the details but noticed that many of the things they were counting either no longer existed or had incorrect distances and they left many things out!
I chose where I live because its walkable and in good weather a bike commute from work (with public trans available the rest of the time).
Some things walkscore will never show that many people find attractive are playgrounds (my town has 13!) which aren't under "parks", bike trails, community events, etc. I think it'd be better if it could consider (or have an option to turn on/off to consider) resident comments. The people who live there will really know.
And there are different things that matter to different people. If you are looking for shows and movies and shopping, where I live is not the place to be. But we are not shoppers and when we want to shop THEN we travel to a nearby city. Almost like walkscore should have a "weight" option where you can assign a weight to what matters to you.
I absolutely wish Amtrak, or rail in general, were a legitimate option in the Northeastern coridor, but every time I've checked over the last couple years, it is as or more expensive than air travel.
Add to that the frequent stops most of the trains make, and the picturesqueness of rail travel disappears. Plus, it is significantly longer (DC to CT) than a plane is, which would be fine if it were cheaper, or even markedly more pleasant.
I will admit, though, that when I go into NYC (my parents live in eastern CT), I always take the train. Driving in would be insane, and flying is clearly impractical. Those trips are fine. But the longer DC-CT trips, nowadays flying is almost always easier, faster, and cheaper.
Four tickets on Amtrak were the price of one plane ticket the last time I checked rates. This is probably due to our being in a less used air fare area.
The downside is that the two closest Amtrak stations are 3+ hours away, but so are the closest major airports. Unless I had to be somewhere on a tight schedule I would pick Amtrak over flying. The extra time on the trip is far preferred to the awful state of flying. Having an Amtrak station is also a major factor in our short list of places we are willing to move to when we do so in a few years.
My neighborhood got a 35. Not bad, but the roads I would have to cross to get to almost everything are big 5 lane streets. The farmer's market is only about 10 minutes away though, so that's good.
I miss walking as much as I used to have to in college. I saw my car once every 1-2 weeks back then (parking for on-campus students was considered "long term" which meant if you wanted to keep your spot you didn't move your car until the weekend).
This past weekend my boyfriend and I took a walk just for something to do. It was nice, free entertainment.
Great article. I am planning a trip this summer to Washington, DC and would love to take the Amtrak with my family since it could provide for a fun experience but there's one problem. The tickets (as they stand now) cost more than plane tickets.
Our trip had four legs. One ran about 30 minutes late and one ran about 20 minutes late. The other two both departed and arrived within 5 minutes of their scheduled time.
As I understand it, Amtrak has priority on the track, but only when it hits its scheduled window for each section of track. If it ever gets delayed, then it looses its priority and has to yield to freight traffic for the duration of the trip--which can add up to huge delays for one of the long-haul trains.
Of course, there are horrifying delays on planes as well--an officemate once told me of spending 4 hours sitting on the runway after reaching her destination, before they got the plane to a gate so they could get off.
I've ridden trains in Europe. One I remember in particular was business-class service from Berlin to Stuttgart--smooth, fast, and quiet. (The train compartment was literally quieter than my living room.) The Amtrak train was quiet--much quieter than an airliner--but nothing like that train in Germany.
I think train travel in the US would improve if more people were using it. As it is, the trains tend to leave at really strange hours and freight trains seem to take precedence over Amtrak on the tracks (I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who arrived at their scheduled arrival time). I think it's also more expensive than you would expect such an unpopular service to be (although I guess they have to charge that much to keep operating). But I guess if you're not in a hurry to get where you're going, Amtrak is a nice change from the hassles of city driving or airport security.
It would be nice to see a US system that was as reliable, clean and regular as some European rail systems.
Walking is very healthy for you but I personally have walked everywhere, I mean long distances were talking miles over the course of just a few years, so you get really fed up of walking and think, maybe I need a car now. My mother she has put in probably walking over 6000 miles over the course of 40 yrs.
Wow, we managed to score an 88 in our neighborhood near Philly. I have to say that's pretty accurate since we live in a suburb that grew around a town train station. I love being able to walk to nearly everything I need. Sadly, we're probably moving in the near future for work reasons.
with many walkable neighborhoods is public schools. I have lived in a couple walkable areas (Capitol Hill was my favorite), but no way would I try to raise a family there.
Ah yes, CVS got me on this one recently. Buy 1 get 1 free for toothpaste. Coulda been a sweet deal but they charged me full price for both toothpastes, so I spent $6 instead of the 3 i was hoping for.
If you are dealing in the stock market, then visit site easystockalerts.com that will also give you RSS alerts and email on the stock that you are interested in, whether the stock has an SEC filing or a press release. Get to earn more and sign up for easystockalerts.com
Get the news on the stocks that you have interest in with the latest updates even before it appears on the web. Have a look at easystockalerts.com . This site also takes care of the top financial blogs for opinions on your stocks. Nothing to be associated with spam, just pure, useful actionable investment ideas. Sign up for easystockalerts.com to get the updated news.
I found this great site: www.repairclinic.com and it has saved me tons of money! I can get either small or large parts for most of my home appliances--for a fraction of what it would cost for a repair person to come and do it. One example: recently (coincidentally) an inside shelf broke on both mine and my friend's refrigerator. I ordered from repairclinic.com, and she had Sears come out and fix it. Hers was abut $150, and mine was about $20, including shipping!
Faster I'll grant you--unless the trip is quite short, the plane is faster (although the advantage shrinks quite a bit, once you take into account getting to and from the airport and getting there early enough to be sure of clearing security).
Cheaper depends a great deal on the exact route. Champaign to Kalamazoo would have been four or five times as much by plane as by train.
But easier I don't believe. Maybe if your origin and destination happen to be right by the airport. Maybe if the travel time by train would be more than 8 or 9 hours. Otherwise, in my experience, by rail is the easier choice.
I grew up traveling by train--my dad loved trains and we took them everywhere. I have lots of good memories of sleeping cars and dining cars and observation cars and looking out the big windows. It's definitely an experience--I think most kids would love it, at least for a shorter trip.
Great strides were made in improving Amtrak service during the two years David Gunn was president 2003-2005, before he was fired by the Bush administration. Gunn's Six Myths of Amtrak is still worth reading.
A substantial percentage of Amtrak trains run pretty close to on time except when delayed by freights. The last few years have seen several new trains added, unlike airlines where the trend has been toward canceling flights that don't fill up, or eliminating the flight altogether. Number of riders on Amtrak are up over 10% for the current fiscal year, and ridership for the past month is up over 13% compared with May 2007.
A first-class passenger railway system at least on a par with most of the developed nations of the world should be a matter of national pride. The need for it as part of a sensible comprehensive transportation system ought to be clear to anyone after the problems following 9/11 and in preparation for the energy crisis, which is really just in its early stages.
Nevertheless, the Bush administration has recommended a 40% reduction for Amtrak in its 2009 budget.
There is nothing evil about making a profit. Those that keep their eyes open don't get ripped off.
It's rather simple: Buyer Beware.
If you're fooled by ancient marketing gimmicks, you did fall off that turnip truck.
Thanks for that review, Philip. We have Amtrak service, too. Hastings, Nebraska took its name from railroad contractor Col. Thomas D. Hastings, in fact, at its founding in 1872. I feel more secure knowing that I live in a railroad town.
I've never personally taken the train, but I think I will the next time I visit my family in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's a pretty direct route, and everyone I've asked says it's more pleasant than flying. It's certainly more environmentally friendly.
I agree that going east or west is pretty difficult with Amtrak, at least in my area. I live in south central Michigan and though there is a station not too far from my apartment, a trip to my hometown in Ohio (usually a 3.5 hour drive) would take twice as long to get me to somewhere that is still 20+ minutes away. It would also cost more, even with gas prices and the turnpike toll.
My boyfriend is thinking about making a trip to Washington D.C... maybe Amtrak would be a good choice for that.
Try checking out the Drive $marter Challenge (www.drivesmarterchallenge.org). You can enter your specific vehicle data and figure out how much money you can save my taking six fuel-efficiency steps. They also provide other fuel-efficiency tips to help you save on gas costs.
No security and no seatbelt safety? Sounds awesome... for terrorists.
I did the walkscore for my current address. It gave it a 66. I reviewed the details but noticed that many of the things they were counting either no longer existed or had incorrect distances and they left many things out!
I chose where I live because its walkable and in good weather a bike commute from work (with public trans available the rest of the time).
Some things walkscore will never show that many people find attractive are playgrounds (my town has 13!) which aren't under "parks", bike trails, community events, etc. I think it'd be better if it could consider (or have an option to turn on/off to consider) resident comments. The people who live there will really know.
And there are different things that matter to different people. If you are looking for shows and movies and shopping, where I live is not the place to be. But we are not shoppers and when we want to shop THEN we travel to a nearby city. Almost like walkscore should have a "weight" option where you can assign a weight to what matters to you.
I absolutely wish Amtrak, or rail in general, were a legitimate option in the Northeastern coridor, but every time I've checked over the last couple years, it is as or more expensive than air travel.
Add to that the frequent stops most of the trains make, and the picturesqueness of rail travel disappears. Plus, it is significantly longer (DC to CT) than a plane is, which would be fine if it were cheaper, or even markedly more pleasant.
I will admit, though, that when I go into NYC (my parents live in eastern CT), I always take the train. Driving in would be insane, and flying is clearly impractical. Those trips are fine. But the longer DC-CT trips, nowadays flying is almost always easier, faster, and cheaper.
So...I wonder how much of NYC gets a 100...should be a lot of it.
Four tickets on Amtrak were the price of one plane ticket the last time I checked rates. This is probably due to our being in a less used air fare area.
The downside is that the two closest Amtrak stations are 3+ hours away, but so are the closest major airports. Unless I had to be somewhere on a tight schedule I would pick Amtrak over flying. The extra time on the trip is far preferred to the awful state of flying. Having an Amtrak station is also a major factor in our short list of places we are willing to move to when we do so in a few years.
My neighborhood got a 35. Not bad, but the roads I would have to cross to get to almost everything are big 5 lane streets. The farmer's market is only about 10 minutes away though, so that's good.
I miss walking as much as I used to have to in college. I saw my car once every 1-2 weeks back then (parking for on-campus students was considered "long term" which meant if you wanted to keep your spot you didn't move your car until the weekend).
This past weekend my boyfriend and I took a walk just for something to do. It was nice, free entertainment.
Great article. I am planning a trip this summer to Washington, DC and would love to take the Amtrak with my family since it could provide for a fun experience but there's one problem. The tickets (as they stand now) cost more than plane tickets.
Our trip had four legs. One ran about 30 minutes late and one ran about 20 minutes late. The other two both departed and arrived within 5 minutes of their scheduled time.
As I understand it, Amtrak has priority on the track, but only when it hits its scheduled window for each section of track. If it ever gets delayed, then it looses its priority and has to yield to freight traffic for the duration of the trip--which can add up to huge delays for one of the long-haul trains.
Of course, there are horrifying delays on planes as well--an officemate once told me of spending 4 hours sitting on the runway after reaching her destination, before they got the plane to a gate so they could get off.
I've ridden trains in Europe. One I remember in particular was business-class service from Berlin to Stuttgart--smooth, fast, and quiet. (The train compartment was literally quieter than my living room.) The Amtrak train was quiet--much quieter than an airliner--but nothing like that train in Germany.
I think train travel in the US would improve if more people were using it. As it is, the trains tend to leave at really strange hours and freight trains seem to take precedence over Amtrak on the tracks (I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who arrived at their scheduled arrival time). I think it's also more expensive than you would expect such an unpopular service to be (although I guess they have to charge that much to keep operating). But I guess if you're not in a hurry to get where you're going, Amtrak is a nice change from the hassles of city driving or airport security.
It would be nice to see a US system that was as reliable, clean and regular as some European rail systems.
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Walking is very healthy for you but I personally have walked everywhere, I mean long distances were talking miles over the course of just a few years, so you get really fed up of walking and think, maybe I need a car now. My mother she has put in probably walking over 6000 miles over the course of 40 yrs.
Wow, we managed to score an 88 in our neighborhood near Philly. I have to say that's pretty accurate since we live in a suburb that grew around a town train station. I love being able to walk to nearly everything I need. Sadly, we're probably moving in the near future for work reasons.
I was born in SD, grew up in northern IL, lived in St. Louis during and after college, and am now doing an MS in Rolla, MO.