[real life] Cash versus convenience... help!

[Herobizkit]

Hello, fellow gamers.

I am returning to school for the first time since 1998 (yay!) and I am in the middle of getting things secured to move. I already have a place to live; a childhood friend has agreed to house me for a few months while I get settled. Problem is, he lives 40 minutes from the school, and I have no car - which means I'd have to take a bus at 5:30 am to get to school by 8:30, and then bus home... all in all, 4 hours a day on buses, I'm away from home all day (re meals) and I'm pretty much on time to go to bed when I finally get home.

Now, I've found a tentative place close to school, a room in a shared house, which is only a 10 min walk from school. Problem is, I have extremely limited income and requires a damage deposit which pretty much caps my free money until the start of October (when I start collecting E.I. - unemployment's paying for some of my school).

I won't know about the new place until tomorrow, and I'm going crazy trying to figure out which 'plan' is going to go better for myself. My pal suggested I try living there a month, and if it's too expensive, I can still move in with him... but I'll still have that crazy commute. I also have a much better chance of getting a decent part-time job if I'm in the city as the buses don't run on weekends out his way.

I'm going nuts, and I know it isn't even a thing until I confirm the room close to school... what makes more sense? There is no wrong answer, I guess... it's saving money at the expense of time, or saving time at the expense of money. Given that haven't been to school in over a decade, I'd think I want to maximize my available time, but my finances are limited...

*head asplode*

 

[EricNoah]

If there's any way you can afford it, pick the option without that commute. That thing will eat away at your life in ways you might not be able to imagine. It will probably utterly exhaust you.

 

[jonesy]

...he lives 40 minutes from the school, and I have no car - which means I'd have to take a bus at 5:30 am to get to school by 8:30, and then bus home... all in all, 4 hours a day on buses...

I'm confused by the math. How does 40 minutes turn into 3 hours turn into 1tripx2=4 hours total? The buses only travel that infrequently?

 

[Herobizkit]

I'm confused by the math. How does 40 minutes turn into 3 hours turn into 1tripx2=4 hours total? The buses only travel that infrequently?

The public shuttle bus goes from Williamswood, N.S. to Spryfield N.S in about 40 minutes, then I have two transfers to get to the school in Dartmouth N.S. If I had my own car and took the direct route, it would only take me 20 min. But, the buses work on set routes, and so the roundabout way adds about 1h from Spryfield.

 

[Tonguez]

Yeah the maths is wonky as 40 minutes does not = 3 hours

If its only 40 minutes then I suggest getting bike - a 40 minute ride isn't much and you will get healthier at the same time.

btw I use to bike when I was a student at that was a 1hr car trip, I also use to enjoy riding the buses - yuse it as study time to read and I know I met some great girls that way (there was this one time on the late bus mmmm)

 

[jonesy]

Yeah, in that case I'd either use a bike too, if the route allows it, or just use the money and take the time. That's quite a hassle to go through every day.

 

[Jor-El]

Go with your friend's suggestion. Try the new place, and if it doesn't work out you can still move in with him.

I agree that the commute will really eat at you.

 

[Nadaka]

A 20 minute car drive? if that isn't all interstate, you can bike that pretty easily.


I used to do a 14 mile bike commute every day, took me a little over a half hour on average.

 

[Merkuri]

I had a 1-hour commute for a year a while ago, which meant 2 hours in the car a day. I told myself, never again. Especially on days when I had to work overtime my schedule was wake up, eat breakfast, drive, work, drive, eat supper, go to bed, rinse, repeat. I was so depressed during that time. The lack of downtime during the week was driving me crazy.

Having a bus ride would probably be a little better than driving because of the possibility of doing other things while on the bus, but I think the fact that the commute is twice as long would make it equally bad as my commute, if not worse.

If I were in your position I'd sacrifice some cash to reduce the commute to something reasonable. What good is money if you don't have any free time in which to spend it? (This is assuming that you'd have enough money left to keep yourself fed and clothed, of course.)

 

[MortonStromgal]

I would take the commute and study on the bus, be it recording the lectures and listening to them again on the bus or opening a text book. You can find classes that the 3 hour ride will be 2.5 hours of study time.