I'm still right on the line of deciding what I should do.
Forcus, you know exactly what I mean. The added cargo capacity of a hatchback would be very useful for me. A hatchback would be very useful for scoring last-minute craigslist deals on furniture and appliances (renting a truck for this means you would miss out on a deal, or make it a much bigger hassle and more expensive). It would also be much better for moving (which happens at least once per year). I also go camping/snowboarding/backpacking/rock climbing pretty often, and the added space would be helpful for that as well.
The manual transmission is just as much for fun as it is practical. It gives you a much better ability to hypermile the vehicle, and often has better fuel economy to begin with because of its lower weight, lack of a torque converter, and typically has a taller final gear ratio.
That said, I want to keep my costs to a minimum. I would obviously lose money in getting another car. The cost of another car over fixing what I have DIY is probably around $4k. Is this cost worth it for the advantages above, plus having more life left in it? Not sure.
Assuming I DIY fix it:
I don't have a garage, so I really don't want to deal with fixing it in the winter. I roughly estimate that I'll drive 4000mi before April, so it can probably wait till then. Rear struts on a Corolla a bit of a pain because it requires disconnecting the brake line and later bleeding the brakes. I'd still need to get the alignment done after replacing the struts and sway bar links. As far as tools go, the only thing I really have is a socket set. I'll need a decent floor jack, jack stands, some sort of rotary tool (ok, it might be possible to get away with just a hacksaw), maybe an impact wrench, and likely several more tools for the brakes. I'm hesitant to acquire all of that since I move so often. It would be useless / I would need to sell it if I moved back into an apartment. Maybe I could find a super-nice mechanically inclined friend and borrow their tools...