Snowed in, Vienna looks just like its version in "Amadeus"... <3

[max_und_moritz]

Gallon of gas costs 3.21 $ in the USA (Source: CNN. Worksafe.)

So... what´s their problem, exactly? Because:

1 gallon [US, liquid] = 3.8 liter
3.8 x 1.27 Euro/liter = 4.826 Euro/gallon
4.826 Euro/gallon = 7.04607 USD/gallon here

Comments

[max_und_moritz]

Oh dear... it´s amazing how different national perceptions of what´s convenient (or not!) can vary so much! Here public transport (and school buses) are considered extremely safe, and most parents send off their kids to school either with the school bus, or train or else the provincial bus. Maybe it´s because in the (long) winter private cars have no guarantee they´ll arrive in time for school, but school buses are perfectly equipped to deal with snowed roads, black ice, etc., so they arrive in time no matter what.

Now I understand why you can get a driving license already at 16, instead of 18... it seems really, really necessary for young people to be mobile and self-reliant for transport as soon as possible o.O

(It´s so cool you have a school that allows a kid to remain there throughout, age 3 to 18! Same routine, people, friends, and not having to be the ickle nOOb who´s got to adapt again to a new environment every few years must be a great advantage... Here, that´s not possible; schools start to branch off into either professional or vocational rather early on.)

[silent_ic_river]

In the US buses are for the poor (well, that depends on what city you live in, clearly in SF or DC or NYC that's not the case, everyone uses public transit). Public transit also tends to be used more in cities with weather issues (or, you get cities like Detroit or Minneapolis, where you can use 'habit trails' to cross the city). Some cities, like Phoenix or here in Charleston, where the topography is flat and the weather is very, very hot, you get an increase in bus traffic in the summer and thankfully all buses have bike racks on the front. However, bus driver often will not stop for bike riders because they don't want to deal with the time spent getting the bikes on and off (and don't get me started on bus drivers leaving wheelchair bound people behind, I become a seething mass of rage on that one).
Buses here are not set up for much of anything, I would never allow my kids to ride a school bus in the north if there were ice and snow. Wouldn't happen.
And yes, I will be pushing for my daughter to have a driver's license as soon as she can safely handle one. She and her brother, though not going to the same schools, will be within a few blocks of one another. But that is so many years in the future, who knows what will happen between now and then.
We are delighted to have Zoe at a school where she can stay until college. It is uniquely set up to bring out the best in girls and I can already see how it's allowed Zoe to develop more fully than she would in a mixed-gender school, even a good private one.