[MrBill]

I have a regular job. But looking forward this may be my last regular job. Afterwards I plan to semi-retire and work part-time or on contract as well as for myself. God willing.

[davep]

After over a year spent trying to set up my post-peak abode, I'm back in gainful employment.

It's with a Euro-quango that will last longer than most post-peak. I'm a consultant earning an obscene amount of money and will be here for four years. I'm hoping I'll be able to get by in my "compound" after this period.

The downside is that I have a seven hundred mile commute every weekend.

[Heineken]

The downside is that I have a seven hundred mile commute every weekend.

Jesus Christ! And here I am all in a funk because my tree farm is 75 miles away!

[Arsenal]

I have a job in the Tech sector. Not really too post-peak friendly.

Arsenal

[davep]

The downside is that I have a seven hundred mile commute every weekend.

Jesus Christ! And here I am all in a funk because my tree farm is 75 miles away!

I justify my carbon footprint with Jevons paradox and the fact that I drive a car that does 75 miles to the (Imperial) gallon.

It's tough going though. I may have to make it a fortnightly thing in future.

[Byron100]

After over a year spent trying to set up my post-peak abode, I'm back in gainful employment.

It's with a Euro-quango that will last longer than most post-peak. I'm a consultant earning an obscene amount of money and will be here for four years. I'm hoping I'll be able to get by in my "compound" after this period.

The downside is that I have a seven hundred mile commute every weekend.

You mean to tell me you actually drive that far each week?? This is round trip, right??

I'm going to the coast next month...the beach is always fun, but the 400-mile trip is something I dread...to me, that is just sooo far to have to drive...the boredom, the endless miles of just nothing to see for hours and hours on end. If I had to do that every week...well, let's just say no amount of money is worth me going insane over....hehe.

[catbox]

I'm hopping on the bike to go to work right now...I work here:
http://www.tactics.com/
with about 23 other people. This is our 8th year online and I came on board 3 years back. We're totally busy. I look over all the online orders coming in so I can always see how busy we really are. We also have a retail store that is doing quite well. I always kid that as long as people have credit cards, we'll stay in business! Our main shoppers are surfers, skaters, and snowboarders......people that actually live their sport.

We have two owners who are the best bosses we could have. I work only 4-5 hours a day and get paid well. To boot, it's a 15 minute bike ride from my house. I always find it funny that I started skateboarding in 1976...here I am 32 years later working in the middle of it! Pretty good stuff if you ask me.

catbox

[davep]

You mean to tell me you actually drive that far each week?? This is round trip, right??

I'm going to the coast next month...the beach is always fun, but the 400-mile trip is something I dread...to me, that is just sooo far to have to drive...the boredom, the endless miles of just nothing to see for hours and hours on end. If I had to do that every week...well, let's just say no amount of money is worth me going insane over....hehe.

Yes, it's the round trip.

It's worth it because you just can't find well paid work in the middle of nowhere. I'll hopefully only be doing it for a few years. It gives me a chance to ensure that I can get the house ready (it's not far from being a ruin) and have enough spare assets to face the oncoming crisis with a degree of serenity.

Thanks to the German Autobahns, it normally only takes 4h 30 each way.

[CarlosFerreira]

Yes, I do. For 3 more days. Come the 31st, I'm quitting.

I work in Market Research. Something I always liked, and have come to dread in recent months. Portugal is just not a sustainable country right now, so me and the girlfriend applied to MSc in England. She went for Marketing. I was going to do the same, except I woke up to PO and decided to go for Applied Environmental Economics.

For the last 3 years I've seen the sharp end of business in the retail and Marketing sector. I'm 27, and I tell you: it's killing me! After this is over, I'm taking my first holidays in 3 years and, hopefully, do something more sustainable with my future.

[Portugal]

yes, law enforcement in Portugal.

Poor country, I only get payed 800 euros/month.

I´m in Lisbon, our biggest city and capital so if things go wrong i´m in really deep shit

[Specop_007]

Yep. Telecomm. I figure the phones will hold out for a while. Wife owns her own business as well. Frankly I hate my job. Sooner I can quit the better.

[Heineken]

You mean to tell me you actually drive that far each week?? This is round trip, right??

I'm going to the coast next month...the beach is always fun, but the 400-mile trip is something I dread...to me, that is just sooo far to have to drive...the boredom, the endless miles of just nothing to see for hours and hours on end. If I had to do that every week...well, let's just say no amount of money is worth me going insane over....hehe.

Yes, it's the round trip.

It's worth it because you just can't find well paid work in the middle of nowhere. I'll hopefully only be doing it for a few years. It gives me a chance to ensure that I can get the house ready (it's not far from being a ruin) and have enough spare assets to face the oncoming crisis with a degree of serenity.

Thanks to the German Autobahns, it normally only takes 4h 30 each way.

Just curious, what's the safety situation like on roadways where people can drive any speed they like? What speeds DO they typically drive at (in mph)?

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Davep, don't ever lose that avatar. I'm in love with that goofy little dog.

[mmasters]

Soon to be consultant in the health care industry. I'm gonna save and invest as much as I can while having some fun.

[davep]

You mean to tell me you actually drive that far each week?? This is round trip, right??

I'm going to the coast next month...the beach is always fun, but the 400-mile trip is something I dread...to me, that is just sooo far to have to drive...the boredom, the endless miles of just nothing to see for hours and hours on end. If I had to do that every week...well, let's just say no amount of money is worth me going insane over....hehe.

Yes, it's the round trip.

It's worth it because you just can't find well paid work in the middle of nowhere. I'll hopefully only be doing it for a few years. It gives me a chance to ensure that I can get the house ready (it's not far from being a ruin) and have enough spare assets to face the oncoming crisis with a degree of serenity.

Thanks to the German Autobahns, it normally only takes 4h 30 each way.

Just curious, what's the safety situation like on roadways where people can drive any speed they like? What speeds DO they typically drive at (in mph)?

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Davep, don't ever lose that avatar. I'm in love with that goofy little dog.

Generally, there's a lot of Mercs, BMWs and Audis doing 120mph. I used to do about 110, but now I take it easier and do about 80. Occasionally you get the odd porsche doing 170, but it's quite rare.

The first time I took the autobahn (for the interview) I saw four accidents on the other side of the road (I do about 160 miles of the trip in Germany). There's a lot of tailgating. I try to remain relaxed and don't get involved in the macho posturing. Life's too short as it is.

[alpha480v]

Yes I'm employed. I work for the Federal government and unless they close the facility that I work at I think my job will be around until tshtf.

[MrBill]

I lived in Germany (twice) for a total of 7.5 years. I used to drive about 160-180 kmh (100-110 mph). Obviously less in heavy traffic. I felt very safe at that speed. I drove slower in poor weather conditions. The visibility in heavy traffic with rain can be very poor. The autobahns are very well designed and maintained. There are no flat crossings for example. They are closed to wildlife with fences as well. The Germans require a safety inspection of the car every two years.

The biggest danger I saw were the large trucks. They often illegally overtook one another. Especially on hills. And then you can have a situation where you may be driving 160 kmh and they are only going 80 kmh. I once did a brake stand when I was over taking two trucks and one pulled out directly in front of me. I was trapped between him and the guard rail. I almost put us through the windshield. Thankfully my brakes did not pull me either left or right and I came to a safe stop and was not rear-ended. But very dangerous none the less.

Now many stretches of the autobahn have limits of 130 kmh. The stretches with no speed limit are getting fewer. I would say this should help fuel economy, but really it is the volume of traffic and the numerous traffic jams (staus) that hurt improvements in mileage. The cars themselves get up to 5-7 liters per 100 km which is about 35-40 mpg. I still prefer the train whenever possible.

[Heineken]

I don't remember Autobahns from my childhood years in Austria. Maybe there were none, or few. Dad drove us all over the place on little twisty two-lane roads through the most gorgeous countryside on Earth. I remember seeing the wreckage of some horrible accidents.

It's always struck me as curious that Germany, which is a pretty tightly controlled society (verging on socialism), has no speed limits on many of its highways, whereas in the US you drive over 65 mph (or even just 55 or 60 in some places) at the risk of a hefty fine. Well . . . too much of the vaunted "freedom" in the US is just propaganda anyway.

Thanks Bill and Davep for the interesting comments.

Getting off topic. Sorry.

[MrBill]

Okay, let's get back on topic then. If I could work (again) from Bavaria, Austria or Switzerland then I would keep working. There the life-work balance is worth having a job. A really beautiful part of the world! ; - ))