Yeah, This isn't a Rhetorical Question At All!

[ase]

Having spent the weekend out in the middle of nowhere (really, dad, what were you thinking? The yard's nice, but the distance is nuts), I'm back to thinking about damage to my savings account.

[Poll #1307176]

I'm still not getting a car until the second quarter of 2009 at the very earliest, because life goes from a decent surplus straight to the red when I run the numbers, but this doesn't stop me from trying to beat the numbers into submission until then. (Yeah, basically: get a car, get a second job, do not pass go, do not collect debt.)

Ack, bus!

Comments

[sraun]

So what's happier than "won the lotto"?

Personally, I have something of a love/hate relationship with my car. I need it to get to work - I'm about 30 minutes door-to-desk driving to work, it's more like 1.5-2 hours if I take the bus. (And I'm really lucky that there actually is a bus that would get me to work on Sunday morning!) I work 7am-7pm Sun, Mon, Tues, & alternate Weds - busing would turn my 'out of the house for 13 hours' into 'out of the house for 16 hours' - and that would be bad. An hour awake (minimum) before leaving the house in the morning to shower, eat breakfast, get moving, and walk the dogs, and another hour awake after I get home to eat dinner, walk the dogs, and wind down - and I'm down to six hours or less of sleep each night. I'm one of those people who can function on eight, but would really prefer nine, hours of sleep per night - if I were doing that consistently, it would be really bad for me. I can do it for a week or two, maybe a month, but not longer than that.

Now, if I got a new job downtown working normal business hours, we'd go from 120 miles/week on the car down to 20-30 miles/week. And I would be very happy.

[ase.livejournal.com]

I'm about 30 minutes door-to-desk driving to work, it's more like 1.5-2 hours if I take the bus.

I have a special awesome rant on public transit in DC, work commutes and inconvenience. But what I find best and most special are the fundamental assumptions that you the consumer have a car and will use it to pick up groceries and other necessaries. Any day where I have to co-ordinate bus schedules to pick up antibiotics is a failure in my book. The DC burbs are getting better about that sort of thing, but the further out you go, the less that's true. Case in point this weekend: a Salvation Army with no bus route in walking distance in Loudon County (aka the exurbs, or Why Did You Move Here Again?).

Now, if I got a new job downtown working normal business hours, we'd go from 120 miles/week on the car down to 20-30 miles/week. And I would be very happy.Now, if I got a new job downtown working normal business hours, we'd go from 120 miles/week on the car down to 20-30 miles/week. And I would be very happy.

Good luck with that!

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

I am SOOOOOO glad I don't have to own a car, and can choose to rent cars at will when I need a car.

[ase.livejournal.com]

If I lived in a a major urban center with 24 hour public transit and residential parking that cost money, I too would probably forgo the vehicle. On the other hand, impulsive 10 PM joyriding! 30 minute drives to the local (ha) science fiction club! And did I mention the joyriding? The thrill would probably wear off about when the first oil change and maintenance check bill hit, but until then? Giddy joyriding like a teenager.

[limnrix.livejournal.com]

How easy will it be for you to park a car? That was another maintainance cost, for me.

[ase.livejournal.com]

Swap a spot with roommate(s), plus easy street parking. Suburbs: we have paved space.