Sounds like you’re comparing a small town to a major city. We do have places in this country that meet your demands. And then there are smaller communities that don’t. And because lots of people prefer suburban sprawl over the convenience of living in a city, they may need to commute to where big business is.

If your small town is near an interstate or train track, and has open land, you may be lucky enough to have a decent size business break ground. Now more people can live closer to work. And now more people move to that town. And more small businesses open to support the growing community. And not far down the highway a mega strip mall opens. And within a few miles you have more homes and schools going up and now that train track has a train station. Congratulations, you now live in a small city. You got any sidewalks? Did they save any of that open land for parks? How’s the infrastructure holding up? How’s traffic?

That’s exactly what happening in the town I grew up in. I hated it and moved to an actual city. Life is relaxing and convenient and full of life. I have no car and use a bike public transportation. I more often walk to the stores and restaurants (those that haven’t closed yet). I engage with people (minimally) and find little joys in my daily life.

Now, imagine all of this if everyone just worked from home. There would be no need for a large corporate building or more homes or stores or schools. You’d have to drive further to the places where people live more densely for your everyday items. Or just rely on the miracle of the internet for someone to drop it at your door. Because as much as lots of people like suburban sprawl, they love not having to interact with anyone IRL.

Outside of Philadelphia is a region called The Mainline. It gets its name from the regional rail system that connects affluent suburbs with the city. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve spoken with who complain about living in the suburbs and having to drive one of the worst highways in the country for their morning commute. When I ask why they simply don’t drive a few minutes to the station and take a train in to their place of work, they look at me as if I had two heads. Because people don’t want to interact with anyone IRL. They rather waste hours a day in the confines of their own vehicle and scream so no one can hear them.

It’s not the cities that need to be fixed. It’s the American mentality of individualism and false security in isolation. This needs to change and then the cities will naturally follow in revival.

So, while I greatly appreciate the work from home perspective, there’s more to the story than real estate losing value.

grand plazas, city centers, districts to walk/shop/eat/live life

Yes. That’s called a city. I don’t know what cities you have in mind but this is how I would describe my city of Philadelphia.

How come no one wants to talk about all the small business closing and people losing their jobs. This is a real tangible impact that shouldn’t be dismissed. I live in a big city and we’re all feeling the impact of people not returning to office work. Lack of revenue (small business, real estate, retail) is going to play a huge role in city budgets in the coming years. I work from home so I understand the appeal. Still, I don’t know how we, the city, come out of this.

That was actually a super interesting, and somber, read.

It’s gets to, in part, the heart of free speech and government oversight. Even the opening C.S. Lewis quote is something worth applying to today’s (US) political parties. It’s difficult, for me, to consider the need to impose restrictions on the liberties of free people for the sake of a minor group of wrong doers.

Some topical issues I’m applying this perspective to are gun restrictions, Twitter, abortion, masks. I think we’re all quick to scream about what should be done to resolve the issue at the surface without taking a moment to consider the ramifications or the deeper causes driving the issue. Although, isn’t the deeper issue simply human nature? How do you solve that problem if not by imposing restrictions on the liberties of free people? Doesn’t a civil society require some level of restriction in order to foster trust and respect? Isn’t this why ancient civilizations created religion to begin with?

I mean, you have to admit that “free society” is an oxymoron.

Looking forward to seeing how this plays out. I’m on the Magenta plan. It’s already more than enough for my needs so it’ll be interesting to see what they have to offer and how they receive my opt-out.

This is bonkers. Why not just send a notification about new pricing plans and allow customers to opt-in? That’s rhetorical.

I’ve actually had Verizon call me to offer a lower rate for faster home internet. I presume it extended my contract and somehow got the sales person a bonus but it still cost me $15 less per month.

Over the years, Verizon has increased my speed twice without additional charges. But not for the same price I was paying in the first story.

For background content, I use either Pluto or Live TV on Plex.
It’s kinda great that, as an older person, they’re replaying all the same stuff what constantly being replayed when I was kid. And there’s news and music, etc.

I cancelled my Netflix in 2018. I’ve signed back in for a single month three times over the past five years to catch up on things I’ve missed. I had a hard time finding much to watch over those three months.

Gotcha. I was hoping there were better market places but this works too. I’ve found sometimes that items are less on a seller’s site if it’s not something too generic. Shopping can add up though if you don’t hit their minimum.

This is why the mall or bazaar analogy make more sense. Kind of.

When you buy things from Amazon which Amazon purchased from a wholesaler, this is the same as going to a retail store. (In recent years, Amazon has become their own wholesaler / manufacturer.)

But what has become more common is the “retail stores” are buying from wholesalers and then listing items on Amazon.

So, if you’re selling pet goods and you pay $2 for a bone wholesale that you’d typically resell for $5, Amazon is cutting into your profit and making it more difficult for you to market your product among competitors.

Although, there’s been a couple times where I’ve gone to a seller’s website and found the same product they had on Amazon for less money. So I wonder if sellers aren’t marking up products that are less competitive to account for Amazon’s cut.

What are the alternatives you’re using?

I cancelled prime years ago but still struggle to find a decent replacement.

I mean, books alone are tough with AMZ often being 30% cheaper than most online retailers. In that case, I sometimes go to eBay to get a used book (if it’s not a new release).

This past week though, I bought some athletic wear, waterproofing wax, a heat gun, and picture frames. Without prime, everything was delivered within three days. For free.