Right now I live in a fairly densely populated area and I haven't had the need for a car. Pretty much everything is within 15 minutes via bike, and I can't drive to work since the cost of parking+tolls exceeds the cost of public transportation.
However, in August I'll be moving to a much less densely populated area where a car might be useful. I've taken a cursory look at Google Maps and it seems like I can find an apartment that's a <30 minute bike ride from work and from grocery stores, but anything else would be a hassle. I can probably survive with a bike + Lyft/Uber/public transit alone but I imagine that it would be much less convenient than it is now.
In addition, a car would help me move. The place I'm moving to is about a 35 hour drive from where I am now (so I'd imagine 4ish days given that I dislike long drives?), so it's feasible to drive instead of flying. I can also fit everything I own into a trunk + backseat of a medium-sized car. Plus, things like my PC, bicycle, computer monitors, and digital piano might get kinda roughed up in the back of a moving truck.
At the same time, cars are expensive. By August, I should have ~$6000 to spend (and spending all of that would almost completely drain my bank account), and then I'd have to pay for insurance + gas + possible maintenance/repairs. Given that I'm quitting my well-paying job to go to grad school with a grad student's stipend, I'm trying to minimize my expenses.
So any thoughts? I get that I'll be bleeding money regardless of what I do, but I'm trying to brainstorm how I can minimize the damage while not risking too much during the move. Hopefully I won't have to take out any loans given that I just finished paying off my student loans from undergrad.
April 20, 2017 at 10:10PM
