The Unexpected

[Mike Key]

As some know, I've been an freelance developer for some time. Last week at the end of a job, I got paid and the owner proceeded to tell me about a postion that was opening up. He then made me a offer on the spot. An offer so tempting it made me reconsider being a freelancer. I came home, told my wife, we thought about it, and I accepted it the next day. I'm starting a real job on April 2nd.


Actually it will be nice, I've been over stressed lately dealing with clients directly and trying to find more and more work, which is cutting into my personal time, especially since I have a lot of other things going on in my life. It's really kind of annoying to have a client blow up your phone when you are on a date with your wife. And generally people seem to disrespect my time. They think because I'm a developer, I must always be sitting infront of my computer. Anyways, end of rant.


So ya, new job.


Enter new problem. Biking my way to health and wealth isn't going to work for now.


This job is located further than my wife's job. And as you know, I sold my car only last month, lol.


Life is funny. I attempted a test ride yesterday and it didn't go well. Not only was I covered in sweat, but it was just too far with some scary intersections. The location doesn't have a great restroom I could use to change or freshen up, and who wants to start work completely worn out? Going into the Florida summer months too, this isn't looking good.


The real solution is me, and my wife need to move, closer to our jobs. Thank God, we are renting right now and didn't buy our first year in FL. But we'll have to stay put till Aug when the lease runs out.


We already decided to just adjust our schedules and car pool for awhile, but does anyone think that maybe me getting a scooter might be a good alternative? Or maybe I should find a used honda beater mobile I can get for Under $4K with A/C.....


On the flip side, this opportunity is going to put our combined income over 140K and really allow us to pay down debt and save.


We just want to avoid lifestyle inflation. As a freelancer, my income while I have had goals is always a QUESTION mark, ya know.

[Sunflower]

Depending on how much time/effort you want to put into it, you could ask your landlord about getting out of the lease early. Where I live, people frequently are allowed to leave early if they find a suitable replacement to take over the lease. That would mean you are responsible for putting out and add on craigslist, showing the apartment, and making sure your landlord approves of the people you find to take over but it might mean you could move in the next month or two rather than in August.

[velocistar237]

Congratulations. I hope this really accelerates you to FI.

Is carpooling an option?

A scooter would be good, or a Kawasaki Ninja 250, or a beater. I recently saw a 1992 Accord for $2500 with 53K miles. Something like that might work well for you.

[James]

I would check craig's list and classifieds for a 49cc scooter.  You should be able to pick a used one up for around $1000, maybe a little more if it's really nice and new.  Can't beat the mpg, it's cheap, it's fun to drive, and no motorcycle license needed.

If that works well you can decide over time if you want something more powerful, or if it doesn't work well maybe you decide over time to get a second car.  But it's a great compromise for that difficult decision between biking and getting two cars.  You can continue to car pool in heavy rain, etc.

[MacGyverIt]

We already decided to just adjust our schedules and car pool for awhile, but does anyone think that maybe me getting a scooter might be a good alternative? Or maybe I should find a used honda beater mobile I can get for Under $4K with A/C.....

Scooter is preferable but if you're in FL and there isn't a decent changing area/bathroom for you then what about the South FL rainy season? Of course, as long as you can keep your clothes wrapped in a plastic bag and dry off fast enough, Scooter would still totally work. Good luck with the apartment hunt.

[HumanAfterAll]

How far is your commute?  An electric bicycle might be just the ticket.  You won't sweat on the way in if you let it do most of the work, then you can get your workout in on the ride home!

[velocistar237]

We already decided to just adjust our schedules and car pool for awhile,

Is carpooling an option?

Ah, reading comprehension...

How far out of the way is car pooling?

Could you rent a car from a friend until you move? Many people have extra vehicles. They would need to add you to their insurance.

Would you be comfortable riding a scooter at 35 mph while everyone is passing you at 55? If you do buy a car, you could probably sell a beater for the same price you buy. Still, the scooter gets better gas mileage.

Between the options you gave, there really aren't any bad ones.

[arebelspy]

Car pooling can work well if you're willing to be flexible.

I get to work about an hour and 1/2 early every day so we can carpool together.  I then get lots of stuff done in that time frame, instead of sleeping!

[Mike Key]

It's 11.94 miles via the bike trail, however roads make it 14 miles to my office. It's 11 miles to my wife's work.the car pool inconvenience is that this new job is 9-5 and my wife being the government contractor works 7-3. So one of us is goi g to end up sitting before or after work for an hour. JorDanee can adjust her schedule a little bit. So after a test drive we're going to be dropping me off first. There is a cafe where I can sit in for an hour under the new office. Allowing her to get to work by 8 and leave at 4 in time to get me. It's also 8 miles between our two offices.

[velocistar237]

It's also 8 miles between our two offices.

Any chance you can shift your schedule earlier? Since your wife's work is closer to home, it would make sense to drop her off from a mileage perspective. Her dropping you off is 14+8 = 22 miles one way. You dropping her off is 11+8 = 19 miles one way.

If you can drop her off, I think it's not worth getting another vehicle. You wouldn't be alone for most of the drive, you could trade off driving, the mileage is better, and the situation would last only a few months. If not, a second vehicle might make sense.

[arebelspy]

It's 11.94 miles via the bike trail, however roads make it 14 miles to my office. It's 11 miles to my wife's work.the car pool inconvenience is that this new job is 9-5 and my wife being the government contractor works 7-3. So one of us is goi g to end up sitting before or after work for an hour. JorDanee can adjust her schedule a little bit. So after a test drive we're going to be dropping me off first. There is a cafe where I can sit in for an hour under the new office. Allowing her to get to work by 8 and leave at 4 in time to get me. It's also 8 miles between our two offices.

That's perfect, an hour isn't bad at all.  You get some time to read or catch up on things.  Carpooling sounds like a much better option than buying a second car.

At least give it a shot for a month, and see if you can make it work.

[Arbor33]

Have you considered riding with her to her office and bringing the bike along in the car so you can use it for the 8 mile ride to your office? Not sure how the conditions are between offices but I'm just trying to think outside the box. You might still have an hour to cool down and defunkify your stank if it's really warm.

[HumanAfterAll]

Arbor beet me to it!

Let me propose another scenario for you - the carpool + bike commute!  It's what I do.

Throw your bike in the car or on a bike rack.  Carpool with the Mrs. to her work, park the car and hop on your bike for a leisurely 8 mile bike ride to your work.  You can definitely do this in an hour if you take it slow, so you don't sweat.  The she can come pick you up at the end of the day.  Or, if you're feeling good, you can ride the 14 miles home yourself, saving 22 car miles (8 + 14).

Maybe you're worried about showing up sweaty, and the perceptions of your new coworkers, but think about it.  Maybe after the first week you can give it a try one day.

Another option is to have her drop you off at your work with your bike.  At the end of the day, you get to ride home, for a fabulous workout with no worries about being sweaty at work!  That will still save 22 car miles at the end of the day, and she won't have to sit around waiting for you.  Win-win-win!

[Mike Key]

Arbor beet me to it!

Let me propose another scenario for you - the carpool + bike commute!  It's what I do.

Another option is to have her drop you off at your work with your bike.  At the end of the day, you get to ride home, for a fabulous workout with no worries about being sweaty at work!  That will still save 22 car miles at the end of the day, and she won't have to sit around waiting for you.  Win-win-win!

Last one might be worth while!

[BenDarDunDat]

It's 11.94 miles via the bike trail, however roads make it 14 miles to my office. It's 11 miles to my wife's work.the car pool inconvenience is that this new job is 9-5 and my wife being the government contractor works 7-3. So one of us is goi g to end up sitting before or after work for an hour. JorDanee can adjust her schedule a little bit. So after a test drive we're going to be dropping me off first. There is a cafe where I can sit in for an hour under the new office. Allowing her to get to work by 8 and leave at 4 in time to get me. It's also 8 miles between our two offices.

Bro, you will have 140K combined coming in each year.  I know the general consensus here is to avoid lifestyle inflation at all costs.  However, the $4K per year would only be like paying $15 for the extra hour of time you'd gain each day.  In addition, it'd give you more freedom, so if you weren't feeling well, you could go home or if you wanted to go out for lunch, the option would be available. 

[shedinator]

You've probably already explored this, but just for kicks...
Your new boss's initial experience with you was as a freelancer. Freelancers (tend to) set their own hours, and work in whatever location will get the job done. That said, would it be possible for this job to be partially remote, or for the hours to be a little different? If you could work from home 2x/week, and/or in the office ~330-1130, it could help.

[travelbug]

It depends on whether you would have to purchase an overpriced coffee everyday at the cafe to allow you to sit in it for an hour before work.
I would buy another car or the do the scooter option.

[Bakari]

11 miles seems crazy far now...

My advice would be to get a cheap scooter, and/or carpooling, but at least a couple times a month try riding the whole way (or at least the whole way back after carpooling).  You'll start to find shortcuts and tricks to make it easier, and the distance will start to seem smaller.  Gradually increase the frequency over time.  When / if the commute by bike feels easy and normal, resell the scooter for the same amount you bought it for.

Congrats on the new job!

[arebelspy]

Congrats on the new job!

+1.  That's awesome.  And well deserved, I'm sure, as you must have been doing fantastic work as an independent contractor/consultant to get an offer like that.  Way to go.

[MEJG]

Congrats on the new job!  Hope it turns out better than you expect :-D

I would third the option of carpool + biking.  Once you've been biking back for a while you may find you can do it without sweating too much.  Moving closer when you can is definitely the way to go, and driving the least is the way to go too.

Let us know what you end up doing!

[herisff]

How about car pooling + public transport? If there's a bus stop or lightrail nearby, that would be preferable to me (rather than stashing a bike somewhere, etc), depending on the timing (but then, I love to read on public transit). And, of course, I would definitely see about telecommuting at least 2 days a week if possible.

[Mike Key]

Actually one of the perks is everyone telecommutes once a week. I dunno which day or if they let us pick. I'll find out Monday. It's a little early to be asking for things.

The job I did as a freelancer was small, this is one of those, hand of God, stroke of Luck, right place/time things, whatever you want to call it. I wasn't expecting it, or the amount. And I've been stressed out a lot lately trying to stay on top of myself and I just knew I needed to take this offer. :)

I was thinking of a 1977 Corvette Stingray personally :)

We're going to car pool/me bike back for a couple months and continue to look at options before jumping into another car. I'm sure things will work out.

[HumanAfterAll]

So, how's it working out?

[arebelspy]

As some know, I've been an freelance developer for some time. Last week at the end of a job, I got paid and the owner proceeded to tell me about a postion that was opening up. He then made me a offer on the spot. An offer so tempting it made me reconsider being a freelancer. I came home, told my wife, we thought about it, and I accepted it the next day. I'm starting a real job on April 2nd.


Actually it will be nice, I've been over stressed lately dealing with clients directly and trying to find more and more work, which is cutting into my personal time, especially since I have a lot of other things going on in my life. It's really kind of annoying to have a client blow up your phone when you are on a date with your wife. And generally people seem to disrespect my time. They think because I'm a developer, I must always be sitting infront of my computer. Anyways, end of rant.


So ya, new job.

How's the new job going, Mike Key?  Haven't seen you around here lately, must be keeping you busy! 

[Mike Key]

It's a big adjustment from the past couple of years of being self employed and having control over how I spend my day. I keep finding myself out of time at the end of the day or surprised when it's already 7pm. But I'm starting to adjust. The first two months it was slightly hard to avoid lifestyle inflation. We also made several new friends at the same time, which compounded the lifestyle inflation issue. And then we realized our friends like to go out to much and our end goals don't match. We're trying to bring it all together and get back on the MMM course. :)

[arebelspy]

Glad to hear.

Some lifestyle inflation that comes with a raise is natural.  If you can increase your spending while also increasing your savings rate, that's the best though!

[jpo]

It's 11.94 miles via the bike trail, however roads make it 14 miles to my office. It's 11 miles to my wife's work.the car pool inconvenience is that this new job is 9-5 and my wife being the government contractor works 7-3. So one of us is goi g to end up sitting before or after work for an hour. JorDanee can adjust her schedule a little bit. So after a test drive we're going to be dropping me off first. There is a cafe where I can sit in for an hour under the new office. Allowing her to get to work by 8 and leave at 4 in time to get me. It's also 8 miles between our two offices.

Yes, but if you're a (software?) developer... every place I've been has "core" hours (i.e. 9-3) and the rest is flexible, so you could come in early or stay late. Any chance of doing that now that you've been on the job a while?

[Mike Key]

It's 11.94 miles via the bike trail, however roads make it 14 miles to my office. It's 11 miles to my wife's work.the car pool inconvenience is that this new job is 9-5 and my wife being the government contractor works 7-3. So one of us is goi g to end up sitting before or after work for an hour. JorDanee can adjust her schedule a little bit. So after a test drive we're going to be dropping me off first. There is a cafe where I can sit in for an hour under the new office. Allowing her to get to work by 8 and leave at 4 in time to get me. It's also 8 miles between our two offices.

Yes, but if you're a (software?) developer... every place I've been has "core" hours (i.e. 9-3) and the rest is flexible, so you could come in early or stay late. Any chance of doing that now that you've been on the job a while?

I'm actually a coder. When I got hired I was under the impression it was 9-5. My hours are flexible. I come in at 7am. The designers here seem to like working from 9-5. I don't get that personally. Twice the traffic and less time of your day left over. Makes no sense, but to each their own.