So, I signed a lease about a month before I got a job offer 18 miles away. The job pays 20k/year more than average for an entry level person in my field, which is well above the cost of commuting however you slice it, so I took it. Not to mention that I was just happy to break into the field after months of job hunting. I'm planning to move once my lease is up, but that's not until July.
For now, I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to bike/bus there instead of driving. I have tried biking alone and it is just too far. It took me almost 2 hours each way, and there's no route where I really feel safe the whole way... traffic is pretty bad. So I'm looking for another solution.
The route looks like 4-5 miles biking -> bus a -> bus b, then again in reverse to get home. I would have to leave the house at 7am and get home at 6:30pm, but really the 7:30am-6pm is "what counts" because I would be replacing other time spent exercising with the total of 8-10 miles biking. Of course, if I miss a connection somewhere in there due to the bus being late or whatever, add 30 minutes.
The cost of a bus day pass is 4.50. This is about how much gas it costs me to get to work and back, maybe even more than the cost of gas honestly. If I drive to work, I leave the house at 8am and get home at 5:45pm. So taking the bus over a car will effectively take about 45 minutes out of my day, but I will get to spend some of that time reading a book or whatever instead of driving. And I guess I would save wear & tear on my car.
Would you do it? Would that be worth it to you? Advise me or facepunch me at will.