[Please delete] Forum

[WhirledWorld]

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[BoomBoom1986]

I feel you. Having lived in Philly, I have never owned a car because I can bike, walk or take a trolley, bus, or the el or subway or regional rail if I need to get somewhere. I'm currently looking at living in Ithaca, LA, or Austin. LA and Austin have some buses, but that's it and they seem quite spread out compared to the east coast cities.

[Marionberry]

Places where public transit is a viable option, and driving less so, typically have much higher COL than places where you can drive everywhere.

[WhirledWorld]

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[Marionberry]

Places where public transit is a viable option, and driving less so, typically have much higher COL than places where you can drive everywhere.

That's true. Does it more or less balance out, then? In other words, if I'm making a decision, should I mostly just look at tuition costs, since urban CoL will balance out lower suburban/rural CoL + car payments?

I don't know if it evens out, it would depend on which cities your comparing. But as a general rule, any place where you can get by without a car is probably gonna be more expensive, so I guess it evens out to some degree.

[niederbomb]

As I figure, 3 years of gas, car insurance, and actually buying a car would cost me around $15,000 (though that's a rough estimate). If I live on an urban campus, transportation costs wouldn't even come close to that. Does anyone have a good way to determine how much more it would cost to go to a school where I'd need to buy and maintain a car as opposed to going to an urban school where I'd be using public transport?

I understand where you're coming from. I think this is an issue people often overlook when comparing M, B and V with P.

Take the urban school and cut down "personal expenses and miscellaneous expenses" to at least match the estimates for the rural school. Then you'd at least be in the ballpark.

[bdubs]

Places where public transit is a viable option, and driving less so, typically have much higher COL than places where you can drive everywhere.

That's true. Does it more or less balance out, then? In other words, if I'm making a decision, should I mostly just look at tuition costs, since urban CoL will balance out lower suburban/rural CoL + car payments?

Don't forget that cars usually hold some residual value if you make a wise purchasing decision, used bus and subway tickets do not. Count on getting 50% of your car's purchase value back after school (to be conservative).

If you are just talking about insurance and gas money for getting around town then I would say the costs are relatively even. If you plan on driving long distances to visit family or an SO frequently then perhaps that equation is different.

[unc0mm0n1]

Places where public transit is a viable option, and driving less so, typically have much higher COL than places where you can drive everywhere.

That's true. Does it more or less balance out, then? In other words, if I'm making a decision, should I mostly just look at tuition costs, since urban CoL will balance out lower suburban/rural CoL + car payments?

Don't forget that cars usually hold some residual value if you make a wise purchasing decision, used bus and subway tickets do not. Count on getting 50% of your car's purchase value back after school (to be conservative).

If you are just talking about insurance and gas money for getting around town then I would say the costs are relatively even. If you plan on driving long distances to visit family or an SO frequently then perhaps that equation is different.

I understand that issue. But take my case for example. I have 2007 Mercedes 350 coupe, I'm going to school in boston where I'll have to pay for parking, maintenance, gas (even though it's a smaller car it eats up gas), plus insurance. Not to mention I think I can get a lot more money for it now than in three years, mercedes suck in resale value esp since they recently changed the 350's body style. I'm completely torn on what I should do. Esp in boston my school doesn't offer free bus passes but if you get something called the outer bus express semster pass which goes for 400 a semster so I'll still be paying 800yr for transportation.

[bdubs]

I understand that issue. But take my case for example. I have 2007 Mercedes 350 coupe, I'm going to school in boston where I'll have to pay for parking, maintenance, gas (even though it's a smaller car it eats up gas), plus insurance. Not to mention I think I can get a lot more money for it now than in three years, mercedes suck in resale value esp since they recently changed the 350's body style. I'm completely torn on what I should do. Esp in boston my school doesn't offer free bus passes but if you get something called the outer bus express semster pass which goes for 400 a semster so I'll still be paying 800yr for transportation.

I think OP was referring to schools like M or V, not a relatively urban school like HLS. You have no choice but to purchase and maintain a car in some cities.

Sounds like you should ditch your car though, parking+insurance+gas for a Mercedes in Boston will almost certainly be substantially more than $800 per year.

[bfaiken]

As I figure, 3 years of gas, car insurance, and actually buying a car would cost me around $15,000 (though that's a rough estimate). If I live on an urban campus, transportation costs wouldn't even come close to that. Does anyone have a good way to determine how much more it would cost to go to a school where I'd need to buy and maintain a car as opposed to going to an urban school where I'd be using public transport?

The short answer is yes...of course you should take it into account. Money is money, and any foreseeable expenses should be calculated into your CoA before making a final decision.

As an aside, three years of gas, car insurance and buyinga car is only going to cost you $15,000? I don't know what kind of car you're considering buying, but that seems like an awfully low number. If your thinking is that you're going to go out and buy a used car for less than 10k, I'd think very hard about that decision. You're taking on a lot of risk, and are you going to be able to afford major repairs if necessary?

[bfaiken]

I understand that issue. But take my case for example. I have 2007 Mercedes 350 coupe, I'm going to school in boston where I'll have to pay for parking, maintenance, gas (even though it's a smaller car it eats up gas), plus insurance. Not to mention I think I can get a lot more money for it now than in three years, mercedes suck in resale value esp since they recently changed the 350's body style. I'm completely torn on what I should do. Esp in boston my school doesn't offer free bus passes but if you get something called the outer bus express semster pass which goes for 400 a semster so I'll still be paying 800yr for transportation.

I think OP was referring to schools like M or V, not a relatively urban school like HLS. You have no choice but to purchase and maintain a car in some cities.

Sounds like you should ditch your car though, parking+insurance+gas for a Mercedes in Boston will almost certainly be substantially more than $800 per year.

Lol. Uh..yeah. You can ditch the 'almost' too.

[unc0mm0n1]

I understand that issue. But take my case for example. I have 2007 Mercedes 350 coupe, I'm going to school in boston where I'll have to pay for parking, maintenance, gas (even though it's a smaller car it eats up gas), plus insurance. Not to mention I think I can get a lot more money for it now than in three years, mercedes suck in resale value esp since they recently changed the 350's body style. I'm completely torn on what I should do. Esp in boston my school doesn't offer free bus passes but if you get something called the outer bus express semster pass which goes for 400 a semster so I'll still be paying 800yr for transportation.

I think OP was referring to schools like M or V, not a relatively urban school like HLS. You have no choice but to purchase and maintain a car in some cities.

Sounds like you should ditch your car though, parking+insurance+gas for a Mercedes in Boston will almost certainly be substantially more than $800 per year.

Lol. Uh..yeah. You can ditch the 'almost' too.

I figured I just don't want to . I don't think I can go back to riding a bus again.