Jump to content

will you have a car?


frankdux

Recommended Posts

if you get accepted somewhere, will you be bringing a car with you?

ideally, i'd prefer not to have one. i'd probably have money to buy something used, but i just don't want to. i'd like to live within at least two miles of campus near a supermarket. and i'd like to bike to school. is that being unreasonable?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It'll depend on the city, for me. And what I, as a foreigner, would have to do to get a licence in the US.

If I go to Columbia, there is NO WAY I'll want a car. UMass Amherst , NO WAY I'll not have one. Actually, I dunno what Amherst is like, but I assume a town so small I only heard of it last year doesn't haver fantastic public transport. I've been wrong before though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I drove my car cross-country for my PhD. I didn't have a car during my undergraduate years and bought one used after starting my master's. Why? I moved to a town with lots of hills, few bike lanes, and not-so-great public transportation (once an hour if you're lucky), plus my family lived 80 miles away but the only way to get there was a 2 hr bus trip on Greyhound that costs $39 each way. Much cheaper to buy a quality used car. Now I live walking distance from campus and mostly use my car on the weekends for groceries, sightseeing, and visiting friends.

How expensive is my car? I've bought 3 tanks of gas since August. I've had one oil change. The total for that is maybe $80-90. There's the club I bought for the steering wheel (there's a lot of car theft in my city) which cost $10. I guess the only real expense besides that is insurance but that's not so bad either. Plus I love being able to get out of town whenever I want, on my own schedule.

FSIA: FYI, while Princeton is totally doable without a car, it is a kinda sucky place. You have to take a bus to get to a decent grocery store (not Wild Oats/Whole Foods but Wegman's or ShopRite), the mall, the movie theater, etc. While NJ Transit is good, it helps to either have a car or have a really, really good friend with a car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll be moving there from the UK so I definitely won't be bringing one (not that I have one here but I do back home in Cyprus). I guess I'll probably survive on public transport for a while and see how that goes, but ideally i would want either my own car or to carpool with a housemate. Been screwed over by public transport many a time...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It depends where I end up. If I stay in my current city, I won't need one. If I move away, I probably will, much as I'd like to avoid the headache of buying a car...I'd just be living somewhere less urban, and it would be a lot harder to get around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

miratrix, believe me, I know how car buying can be a headache. It took me six months to find a car, and I spent most of the summer dedicated to car shopping (online and in person in a major metro area). Luckily, my aunt and uncle have three cars so I was able to borrow one of theirs for the six months until I got one of my own... They saved me life, seriously.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FSIA: FYI, while Princeton is totally doable without a car, it is a kinda sucky place. You have to take a bus to get to a decent grocery store (not Wild Oats/Whole Foods but Wegman's or ShopRite), the mall, the movie theater, etc. While NJ Transit is good, it helps to either have a car or have a really, really good friend with a car.

Yep, Princeton was probably the exception on my list. But you know, for me those are just minor inconveniences. I know a few people in NJ with a car that I can call up to do bulk shopping. For the other things, I really don't mind using public transportation or going out with others on campus :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The cost of a car is not just an oil change and tank of gas! The overall cost is: car payments, insurance, parking/storage, gas, scheduled maintenance, repairs, tickets (parking or driving - no one is perfect) ... and if you have a really stupid day, the enormous costs associated with a DUI. In grad school, you will be very busy and won't have the chance to use the car often.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UMass Amherst , NO WAY I'll not have one. Actually, I dunno what Amherst is like, but I assume a town so small I only heard of it last year doesn't haver fantastic public transport. I've been wrong before though.

Actually, it's doable to get around UMass and Amherst without it, but it helps. If you live close to campus, you can take the PVTA to Big Y. The downtown is only 20 minutes away walking from the university. Even when I had a car, I still took the bus to campus most days, because it's free and runs every 15 minutes, until 6 pm and then every half hour. You can check the bus routes online.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to provide another perspective-

I could not live without my car. Housing near campus at my university (within walking distance) is overpriced and low quality- and arguably not all that safe. Additionally, there are several areas of this city with great neighborhoods where the art and music scenes are good, local restaurants, etc.

By finding housing outside of the campus area (3-4 miles) and commuting to campus, I have increased my quality of living while keeping costs lower. Public transportation is not always reliable here, so having a car is really useful. On top of that, I'm working a part time job downtown, so commuting is a regular part of life for me.

It depends largely on what city/campus you are considering moving to. Many campuses just are not equipped to be commuter friendly. Cars are nuisances in many places. But in other places, life without a car would be very difficult. Having a car in Manhattan or Boston is much more difficult than having one in the midwest or south.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm...I wrote a reply here but it didn't post??

I will definitely have a car. The only debate is whether we will remain a two car family or go down to one.

I was in an urban school w/great public transit for law school and didn't have a car. I just used peapod for groceries a lot :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Around here Peapod is affiliated with Giant. I used them a few times before we bought our car.

I thought I would be okay in the city with no car. I didn't have one for the first three years I've been living here. Terrible mistake. I'm never not having a car again. I mean sure, we commute to and from work via Metro every single day, and the metro is really great if you want to go out and have a few drinks without having to have a designated driver, but not having a car made the simplest tasks much more difficult. We could not buy a bookshelf or go hiking without first making prior arrangements on transport. Grocery shopping was a particularly hellish experience (and I do not like Peapod. I like being in a grocery store and feeling up every single roast to make sure I get a "good one.") And woe betide you if you really have to be on time, because that will be the day there is sinister, unspecified "Track Work" that will make you late for everything.

One time I nearly got arrested for absently eating a Thin Mint in the metro at 11:30 PM after a 3.5 hour night class. Now, I'm not dissing Metro. I love Metro and use it every day. But in my opinion it's best to have a car for when you need it, and I wind up needing it at least a couple of times a week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was late for work this morning due to taking the T (am still having trouble calling it that and not "the metro"). THANKS NEW ENGLAND, I'm glad you can handle snow. On the other hand, driving would not have been fun either. One of my co-workers witnessed an accident on her way in. So I guess it's a toss-up.

How is Peapod? Is it worth the delivery fee?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

peapod is very worth the delivery fee for staples once a month or once a fortnight (I would just walk to the store for fresh fruit and meats, etc.).

As far as the snow, when you are taking the T you don't have to factor in the time to shovel out your car which I'm learning can take forever!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a terrible driver and would really rather not own a car for a number of reasons. Three of the schools I'm applying to are in cities where I'm sure I could survive without a car; the other two would be more difficult but maybe not impossible. I guess if I end up going to the school where it would be the hardest to live without a car, I'll reconsider and maybe take some driving lessons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use