No TV? Forum

[sotomayor]

i am thinking of going sans television for the first year. i am really leaning towards not putting a tv in my new apartment to facilitate focus. have other people done this/is it a good choice?

[sotomayor]

my bad i didnt mean to put this under the urm forum

[brooklynballers]

I think it comes down to self-discipline. I do have a TV in my apartment, but decided against buying any game consoles to prevent distraction. Remember, if all you do is study you WILL get burnt out!

[JordynAsh]

I'm going to have a TV, but no cable. Will be keeping my Netflix account, though.

[jks289]

I'm going to have a TV, but no cable. Will be keeping my Netflix account, though.

+1 We'll keep the TV but don't want the expense or distraction of cable. Most shows I want to see are online, so I'll still have mindless distraction when needed.

[YCrevolution]

..

[trialjunky]

I'm giving up my dvr but I'm not sure I could give up cable...I love Jersey Shore (add in any garbage reality show ) too much to go cold turkey. I have to get my bad television fix.

[yeff]

No TV here. Hulu + Netflix + bars for the occasional sporting event.

[HerseyChris]

i am thinking of going sans television for the first year. i am really leaning towards not putting a tv in my new apartment to facilitate focus. have other people done this/is it a good choice?

I didn't even think about this, but I may do it...
I have 180 seasons of tv shows in my dvd collection, so I'm a bit of a tv junkie.
But I can always watch Chuck on Tuesdays on Hulu, and the NBC 4some on Fridays on Hulu as well. Lost will be over. And I can always watch HIMYM and TBBT when they come out on DVD I guess. Same goes for Dexter.


But yeah, the first year is the most important, I should probably try to kick the habit now so I can focus for later (though 30 minutes to an hour a day certainly shouldn't be a problem, right?) Plus it'll save ~$60 per month.

[goober88]

I'm going without cable for the first time in my life. The apt I'm moving into isn't set up for it and I think if there was ever a year that I could pass on tv it will be my 1L. As others have said, I can always watch shows I follow online and save myself a lot of commercial time. Most important for me is that I often will just turn on tv to relax and watch whatever is on- should that be a movie, goodbye most of sunday..... So for sure limiting myself to the internet might be hard but I'm hoping it will pay off in hours of good work.

[philosoraptor]

Hulu's going to start costing $$ soon. Very sad.

[Thirteen]

i am thinking of going sans television for the first year. i am really leaning towards not putting a tv in my new apartment to facilitate focus. have other people done this/is it a good choice?

It seems like a good idea, but I would die if I couldn't watch football on Saturdays and Sundays. Like other posters have mentioned, discipline is key.

[Hey-O]

I have a TV but only watch DVDs that I rent free from the library.

[1ferret!]

I went no TV against my will. Had to save the $$$. However, as an avid football junkie, I could still stream the games when I needed to. Nothing like watching the super bowl in the library while working on your memo.

[Matthies]

I got rid of cable about two months ago after I built an HTPC from spare computer parts I had laying around the house. With Hulu, netflix streaming, Podcasts, I can get everything I want for free. Just finished up ripping about 600 DVDs into my libabary as well so no need to look through boxes to find stuff. The only thing I miss is live CNN, online you just have the clips. Rabbit ears get free local HD over the air.

[bk1]

If you are not getting a TV to make sure that television shows are not a distraction, I do not understand how a computer does not serve the same function (of which you will of course have to have).

Unless for some reason you just love channel surfing or are obsessed with watching everything on a 50" screen in 1080p, I think that a computer is just as much a distraction and you would be better off self-disciplining while occasionally enjoying TV to relax.

[traehekat]

I wouldn't be able to live without ESPN and sports. I commend any sports fan who can go a year without cable.

If you aren't a big sports fan I think you can definitely skip on cable. Even if you watch shows, you can see most of them on the internet. Personally, I watch way more movies and play way more video games than watching shows, so obviously no cable is necessary for that.

[trialjunky]

I've thought about this more and perhaps it would be a good thing...

[bk1]

I wouldn't be able to live without ESPN and sports. I commend any sports fan who can go a year without cable.

If you aren't a big sports fan I think you can definitely skip on cable. Even if you watch shows, you can see most of them on the internet. Personally, I watch way more movies and play way more video games than watching shows, so obviously no cable is necessary for that.

I agree. I've never lived without cable but am considering it for law school. To make up for it I have considered going to bars to catch a game, but to be honest that can't be as relaxing as watching it at home. I'm torn about paying around $50 a month on top of purchasing a TV (the current TV I use is my roommate's and we split the bill between 4 of us so it isn't that expensive).

[FeuerFrei]

.

[Thirteen]

I wouldn't be able to live without ESPN and sports. I commend any sports fan who can go a year without cable.

If you aren't a big sports fan I think you can definitely skip on cable. Even if you watch shows, you can see most of them on the internet. Personally, I watch way more movies and play way more video games than watching shows, so obviously no cable is necessary for that.

I agree. I've never lived without cable but am considering it for law school. To make up for it I have considered going to bars to catch a game, but to be honest that can't be as relaxing as watching it at home. I'm torn about paying around $50 a month on top of purchasing a TV (the current TV I use is my roommate's and we split the bill between 4 of us so it isn't that expensive).

If you go to a bar twice per month to catch a game, you'll still spend ~ 50 bucks.

[GordonBombay]

I wouldn't be able to live without ESPN and sports. I commend any sports fan who can go a year without cable.

If you aren't a big sports fan I think you can definitely skip on cable. Even if you watch shows, you can see most of them on the internet. Personally, I watch way more movies and play way more video games than watching shows, so obviously no cable is necessary for that.

I agree. I've never lived without cable but am considering it for law school. To make up for it I have considered going to bars to catch a game, but to be honest that can't be as relaxing as watching it at home. I'm torn about paying around $50 a month on top of purchasing a TV (the current TV I use is my roommate's and we split the bill between 4 of us so it isn't that expensive).

One thing I've discovered about teh whole "Ill just go to a bar to watch the game" thing from living out of market from the teams I follow:

3 trips a month, assuming you live in a city

5 pitchers of beer = $40-70
3 orders of wings/ burger/ etc = $25-45
Tips: $10-20

Total: $75 - $135

I agree regarding distractions and it wont be a fixed cost so you can just not go if short on money, but my point is $ spent at a bar add up real fast, especially in a major city (ie not college town with 4$ pitchers or 10 cent wings etc)

EDIT:

If you go to a bar twice per month to catch a game, you'll still spend ~ 50 bucks.

beat me to it