I fell asleep at a light just yesterday

always hilarious terrifying

also zero people following the no right turn on red. we need camera enforcement asap

watched a guy just straight up blow through a red light the other day

It doesn’t matter if they aren’t moving

OkKaren

When I first rented, i was SO naive on this issue. I eventually talked with a lead inspector, and it was eye opening. What I learned:

(1) BASICALLY ALL houses/units that are sufficiently old and haven't been remediated have lead. I naively thought that any lead issues would be solved in a big remodel. NOPE! The older a house is, the probability of it having some lead approaches 100%.

(2) For example, original windows are one of the most problematic/dangerous (opening/closing window or doors grinds lead paint -> lead paint dust contaminating all the surfaces/wood around it).

(3) Buyers, real estate people etc... view a positive lead test as a scarlet letter. NO ONE TESTS FOR LEAD because NO ONE WANTS A POSITIVE TEST ON THE PERMANENT RECORD. People take no test to mean may not have lead, but it's closer to the opposite!

(4) It's not obvious where lead is or isn't until you get an inspector and they use the scanner.

(5) The way lead home tests seem to happen is that a kid will have elevated lead on a routine blood test, THEN the home will get inspected, and then a remediation process starts.

(6) Real estate agents etc... will straight up lie to you.

(7) Sellers won't accept your home bid etc... unless you waive your right to test for lead before closing. (Even though that's illegal.)

(8) Most everyone seems to ignore or pooh pooh the issue.

(9) I'm not an expert. Everything above may have serious errors (i.e. go talk to a real expert, not me)!

When I first moved here from the West Coast I was such an anxious driver because the street layouts and local driving habits where so foreign to me and so I always had a lot of patience for someone being a dumbass on the road bc the people here were so patient with me when I was a dumbass. However after a year of driving around here I've come to realize some people just drive like that and will never change.

Basically this: combination of post-pandemic mindset and just general accessibility of high-quality pocket computers. The difference watching /r/Roadcam five years ago vs today is stark.

The phenomenon I was commenting about, though, is the same reason everywhere you visit people will tell you "if you don't like the weather wait 10 minutes!!" and think it's unique to their locale, while it's actually just a symptom of a changing world.

Looking for a place to call home with a good commute?

I don’t have any firsthand experience with them but maybe try Cambridge self storage at 445 concord Ave? Pretty close to alewife and not a terrible walk from Harvard/porter

I don't do this while driving. However, I have noticed my attention span since the start of the pandemic has gone to complete shit. Here I am, on Reddit during work because it's so easy to be distracted and look for something "interesting"

I’d be surprised if there wasn’t something near all those new building in alewife

Bright sun during commutes can cause people to miss lights, because they've got the sun visors down, blocking the view of the lights, and because of glare.

It's the time of year when that happens particularly in evening commutes.

Why do you think it's getting worse?

It's getting way worse everywhere, Boston area is just where you were when you noticed it.

And if you're going from Harvard - the bus will probably get you closer to the UHaul, too.

I mean i literally witnessed an old lady passing cars in the right lane on the mass pike with her phone in a windshield mount, turned horizontally, playing a movie/tv show, so at this point I’m assuming it’s just a matter of time before one of these idiots levels my shit into the ground.

TL;DR: it’s pretty bad, yea

Not wanting to rent to students is probably pretty common. Insurance companies will not insure apartments if the tenants are students, or charge a really high rate if there is one that will.

I've lived in several parts of the country, and I think drivers in the greater Boston area are the most distracted and unaware of their surroundings that I've seen.

Cell phones, people don't even hide it anymore.

Had someone yell at me (phone in hand) after I smacked their window for almost side swiping me on my bike

Agree. I count when I walk or bike somewhere and can look into cars. It’s at least 50% and many are doing it while moving. Boggles the mind.

So near the lechmere t there is a public storage by the McGrath highway. Not perfect and not on the redline but….

The Neverending Story reference really sent this home for me. Thanks.

Always staring at their phones as soon as they hit a red light. The number of people I see in the driver's seat looking down at something is horrifying.