Flying versus taking the bus to an interview

[assortedcutlery]

Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster. I have an interview in a few weeks, and I was wondering which would be the better option between flying and taking the bus. As far as unforeseen circumstances go, if the plane or bus is delayed for whatever reason, which would be more likely to become a "you're screwed" situation? The flight I'm looking at would take 3 hours, while the bus ride would be 7 hours. Both involve a transfer to another plane/bus at the same city before proceeding to my final destination. I plan to arrive the day before the interview to get myself situated. I also have concerns about that backscatter x-ray technology in airports.

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[FlowLimited]

Are you worried about the radiation exposure from the backscatter devices? It really is a negligible amount, so I wouldn't let that hold you back. The possibility of the person running the scanner seeing you "naked" is another story...

Travel by whichever method you're most comfortable with. Neither is a bad option. The bus ride is longer, but you'd probably be hanging out at the airport for some of that time seeing as you need to get there early.

 

[in pectore]

Bus travel, depending upon the part of the country and company, is usually terrible. I would fly, unless the tickets were more than four times the amount. Also, how is a 3 hour flight equal to only a 7 hour bus ride? A three hour flight will get you halfway across the country, where a 7 hour bus ride will only get you across one medium size state. Also, planes are less likely to be delayed by winter weather.

I would not worry about the x-ray. I would think taking a few deep breaths of bus exhaust would be worse for you than the brief exposure to a few x-rays going through security. Just trying to make the point that we are all exposed to numerious deleterious enviornmental conditions everyday, so a little airport security will not make a huge differenct in the long run.

Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster. I have an interview in a few weeks, and I was wondering which would be the better option between flying and taking the bus. As far as unforeseen circumstances go, if the plane or bus is delayed for whatever reason, which would be more likely to become a "you're screwed" situation? The flight I'm looking at would take 3 hours, while the bus ride would be 7 hours. Both involve a transfer to another plane/bus at the same city before proceeding to my final destination. I plan to arrive the day before the interview to get myself situated. I also have concerns about that backscatter x-ray technology in airports.

 

[streetlight]

I would always take the bus, because it's a ton cheaper and I've had a great experience on the newer cheaper buses that have WiFi and such. Of course depends where you're going to and from.

Also, if you're worried about x-ray backscatter, maybe you should be worried about the increased background cosmic radiation you'd be receiving due to the high altitude of flights...

 

[ar2388]

I would always take the bus, because it's a ton cheaper and I've had a great experience on the newer cheaper buses that have WiFi and such. Of course depends where you're going to and from.

Also, if you're worried about x-ray backscatter, maybe you should be worried about the increased background cosmic radiation you'd be receiving due to the high altitude of flights...

yeah i would vote for the bus too

 

[atl27]

Dude, you are applying for medical school, I think you are smart enough to weigh the pros and cons of bus vs air travel.

 

[JackInTheBox]

It would depend on the cost difference between the two, but I'd probably take the plane. 4 hours is not an insignificant amount of time, and with a round trip, you're looking at 8 wasted hours of your life. I suppose you could read, grade papers, work on a laptop, etc., but you could do all those things in the comfort of your own home, instead of on a cramped, bumpy bus.