Help Save My Derailed Plan! Giving up Public Transit & Noisy Unit.

[heybro]

For the past 10 years, I've been kicking butt.

My expenses have been extremely low:
--Public Transportation instead of a car. 
--Owning a small unit instead of renting.
--Paying off student loans and my mortgage.

I am finally about to have my mortgage paid.  I will have zero debt at that point.



My problem is that the very things that allowed me to achieve this are no longer working for me.

10 years ago, my urban environment was low-key, easy, and even quiet.
Now, with the economy heating up, the urban environment is growing like crazy.  Vacancy rates are way down.  The buses are now packed.  There is noise everywhere.  This could also be that I am 10 years older than I used to be but there is a clear change.

In other words, I don't want to live here anymore.  I don't want to sit on public transportation anymore.

So, how do I abandon the very things that got me to this point?

Is there such a thing as a quiet building?  I don't want to own a house or a townhouse.  I'd love to rent a basement in a house.
Trouble is, as you move away from an urban place, you no longer see small unit condos for sale.  You see places to rent.  Those places may be just as bad for noise and chaos.
If you pay more, you don't always get a quieter place either if you are stacked in a building.

They say you should always own in a building because owners respect the place more.  But, even those owners can choose to rent their places out at some point.

I just don't want to move if I am going to end up in the same situation.

I could buy a car....that might help a lot.

Ideally, I'd like to rent a nice large one bedroom with nice carpet and a washer/dryer in the unit.  Having owned, I am scared of renting and the threats of rent increases.  By definition, I may need a car because public transportation generally extends only to areas with a lot of people.  But there are so many more options when renting than when trying to buy these small types of places.

What a reality hit.  Funny really.

I've always wanted to work part-time always so true FIRE isn't my goal but regardless of my answer going forward, rest assured, the retirement accounts are going to be funded as much as possible.  This question is mostly about changing housing when the housing/transportation you've relied on no longer seems ideal. 

If I've relied on cheap transportation and cheap housing and now I need to change, how do I change without completely abandoning my frugal ways.

[Noodle]

It sounds to me like the first step is to just start looking around. Be patient, be picky. Use word of mouth--a lot of times the best rental/purchase situations never hit the open market. Maybe you will stumble across something great (I live near a neighborhood where mother-in-law apartments behind big houses are very common. Nice and quiet!) Maybe there is nothing out there better than what you have, and you will be more content staying where you are.

[obstinate]

Is there such a thing as a quiet building?  I don't want to own a house or a townhouse.  I'd love to rent a basement in a house.

I can answer this. There is. Buildings where the walls are plaster or reinforced concrete tend to be quiet. I never hear my neighbors. If the walls are just drywall, then you're probably out of luck.

[zeruel]

Which city? My solution to crowded/broken public transit has been to ride a bicycle.

[CU Tiger]

Are there other ways around the crowded public transportation?

Work at home/telecommute

Work part time

Go in so early (or late) that the bus is not full

I would be hesitant to give up a paid for home. Remember, what heats up can cool down, and your city may get quieter again.

[heybro]

Thanks so much for the replies.

I have already switched bus times (and it helped....until now even these low-key routes are filling up). 

I've been walking to work a lot too.  I can't go with a bike because of a health issue.  I would love to get a hoverboard but I know I'll get mugged for it.  And, beyond that, the batteries will burn my place down!

My path just keeps getting more and more narrow though.

I either need to move or buy a car.  I think I'll try moving first in to a place that is the same price in a much better neighborhood away from the inner city.  Then I'll get a car if I have to at that point.

[Zamboni]

Yes, after years of commuting via subway, and then bus, I've always said that the "convenience of the bus" is a myth propagated be people who almost never ride the bus. Sure, much of the time it is fine, but if you 100% rely on it, then you are going to have some pretty bad experiences over time eventually.

Sometimes moving on is necessary. What worked well for you before isn't working for you anymore.
It sounds like you have a plan. As others have said, be patient, do your research, and don't leap until you are sure what you have found will definitely be better and will still be for a good price. Keep up with other aspects of your frugal nature and everything should be fine.