Hello! I am a 25 year old who recently landed my first full-time job in Seattle (yay!). I am also starting the beginnings of my mustache and am doing my best to develop good spending habits now, to help myself later. Here is my dilemma, which I would love some input on:
I currently commute by bus to my office that is ~2 miles away. In six months it is being relocated to be ~8 miles away from my home. This will render a public-transit commute impossible from my current living situation - it would at up to 3+ hours a day. Something needs to give. These are what I see as my possible options:
1. Buy a car. I don't have one, and would rather avoid it, if possible.
2. Buy a scooter/moped. I'll have to commute up hills, through traffic and in the rain. This is cheaper, but is it enough cheaper than a car to be worth it? I'm not sure.
3. Commute by bike. I have a bike, but 80 miles a week of commuting seems daunting, plus the aforementioned issues in item 2, biking in traffic being the biggest deterrent.
4. Move. My lease will be up close to when my office moves. However if I move close enough to work to have a reasonable bus ride (~30-45 minutes each way), rent is significantly more expensive (at least $200/mo). If I move very close to work I will be in a cheap, but undesirable area and far enough from all of my friends that I will have the same problem as commuting to work, but for my personal life.
Here are my expenses for anyone wondering:
Take home per month after taxes and retirement savings:$2,300
Housing/utilities/Internet: $875
All other expenses: ~$900 (working my way down to ~$625)
Excess/month: $525-800
I also have a few thousand dollars in savings that could be put to a car/moped/reflective vest if necessary.
So, anyone have any great ideas about the best way to make this decision? I would love any mustache-oriented advice you can throw at me!