Considering a new job

I was recently offered a new job that is a little over 200 miles round trip. I plan on eventually moving in 6-8 months, but estimate my commuter miles will be 35,200 during that time period. Once I move I am figuring a 40 mile commute each day. The vehicle I have is a new Mazda cx9 that gets about 25 MPG on the highway, my wife has the same car we are both leasing them with 30,000 miles for 3 years and I am 2 months into my lease and my wife is 1 year, and has low mileage as we both have 4 mile commutes now. I do not plan to purchase the car at the conclusion of the lease, and would prefer not have to pay the overage. So I am considering a commuter car that would be mostly highway for 6-8 month time period. I have looked at used Honda Civic/fit, Ford Focus, Kia Soul, would like a manual but doesn't have to be, anything else that hasn't be severely hit by the stimulus price gauge that I should give a look. front or awd drive preferred as I am in the snow belt and would likely get snow tires.

2nd option would be to try and find a carpool but Erie,Pa to Cleveland, Ohio is probably not a hot spot for that.

Calculate what the overage for the mileage would be, then compare that against purchasing another car/insuring it/registration and maintenance, while still keep the CX-9 insured/tagged/etc. 

That's a lot of time in the car everyday. When I first started my current job, my apartment wasn't going to be ready until about 1 month in. So the first 3 weeks (closed the week between Christmas and New Years), I had a 235-mile roundtrip commute.

It sucked massively. 

Is it an option to instead get a hotel room or similar right near work for 3-4 days a week instead of a commuter car? Might work out better. 

There are some carpool apps out there that you could try to see if one lines up with your needs.

Karpoolclub

WAZE has a carpool option

Here is a list of 10:

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/10-rideshare-apps-to-crowdsource-your-commute/

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

It's a University so I am seeing if a dorm can be made available for me instead. The number works $1200 a month with no guarantee I would not have a roommate .  Long term hotel stay would be $2442 a month. Cost of a commuter car with all the expenses would be $822.13 per month + my payment on my car $323= $1145. Only benefit is that I could recoup some money by selling the car, but probably not much. Rental car would be $1,620 a month (does not include gas cost).

First, mind if I ask what your position is? I assume a professor, but maybe Im way off on this, but curious what you teach (if so).

Tough choices, i'd think a cheap car like a focus for 5k would be a good idea. Yes, it's a lot up front, but that's still cheaper than the dorm or hotel options. But a lot of time in the car. Maybe it's 'wasted' time, maybe you enjoy the long drives and listening to tunes etc. 

I went to college for a semester, it was 90 miles away. So I understand how much time it is, and it got old. Some days wasnt too bad, but some days it really sucked. I was single, too, so no stresses of a SO missing that time like you'd have

35,200 miles, $3.00 a gallon gas, and 85% highway driving is going to cost you about $2,400 in a 2nd gen Prius, $3,300 in a manual Fit, and $3,100 in a Hybrid Camry. I'm assuming no tolls. Wear and tear will add to that, plus insurance, etc.

It looks like studio apartments can be found for about $500 in Cleveland. If those are in reasonably safe areas, I'd be looking hard at that option, or similar. Drive there early Monday morning, leave Friday evening...

Cheapest hyundotia you can find.

Scion xB was the single most reliable vehicle I've ever owned (not saying much because I usually have bloated American trucks or classic American iron)  Corolla, Rio/Forte/Optima, Elantra/Accent/Sonata is where I would look first.

I have nothing against the Civic/Accord, but I find them to break a little more often and parts are not quite as cheap, but not so much that I would avoid them.

And nothing right now will be a bargain.  Prices are up 125% so expect to pay more than twice compared to what it was worth two years ago.  Demand is huge, supply is dead.  Might want to weigh that against your cost/benefit ratio.

I'd also check into AirBNB - sometimes you can get pretty decent rates for long term rentals.

That's what I did when I spent months in Silicon Valley from Tue-Fri.

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

Staff position that is 8-5pm so very little flexibility like a professor. 

In reply to mtn : 

Finding a 6-8 month lease might be a challenge but looking into it. Having kids and wife and being gone for most of the week might be a challenge, on the other hand I will be leaving before everybody is up and coming home late. Another option is talking to my sister who lives just outside of cleveland, but having lived with her it's not great (hence why I am looking at every other option lolz.) It would be a 40 minute round trip commute, + or - during rush hour. 

My father in law had a few jobs like that and always got a decent 1 bedroom apartment out in the burbs for a reasonable rate.  Worked good enough for him.  

I gotta say though, unless it was a million dollar a year position at a blowjob factory, no way would I want a 200 mile per day commute.  To each their own, but my free time is way more valuable than that.  

Find a room mate.  Pay half the rent for a 2 bedroom apt and only be there Mon, Tues, Weds, Thurs nights making you a dream room mate.  You can then leave your work stuff at the apt and not have to "check out" every week like you would a hotel.

If this could cost you $500 to $600 per month, all in?  Figure 4 nights a week for 4 weeks or 16 nights per month.  $600 divided by 16 = $37.50 per night.  That would only get you into he crappiest of hotels.  

You live there so you understand but the drive from Erie to Cleveland can really be dangerous when "the lake effect" comes into play.  

Why wait to move?

Is this CWRU by any chance? Just wondering as that's my alma matta.

trigun7469 said:

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

It's a University so I am seeing if a dorm can be made available for me instead. The number works $1200 a month with no guarantee I would not have a roommate .  Long term hotel stay would be $2442 a month. Cost of a commuter car with all the expenses would be $822.13 per month + my payment on my car $323= $1145. Only benefit is that I could recoup some money by selling the car, but probably not much. Rental car would be $1,620 a month (does not include gas cost).

I would also run the math on how much 3-4 hours/day of sitting in a car is worth.

So from a real world perspective on fuel economy, the 1.8 Elantra (11-13-ish) are good for abou 38 highway staying under 75. The 2.0 Forte/Elantra (auto version) is good for ~36mpg. Auto Rio is good for 34. Manual Rio is good for 38 around 70-75.  75-80 that drops to 36.

Keith Tanner said:

trigun7469 said:

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

It's a University so I am seeing if a dorm can be made available for me instead. The number works $1200 a month with no guarantee I would not have a roommate .  Long term hotel stay would be $2442 a month. Cost of a commuter car with all the expenses would be $822.13 per month + my payment on my car $323= $1145. Only benefit is that I could recoup some money by selling the car, but probably not much. Rental car would be $1,620 a month (does not include gas cost).

I would also run the math on how much 3-4 hours/day of sitting in a car is worth.

Yeah. As a parent, I'm asking if 3-4 hours of your day worth spending 3 hours with your wife and kids? And you may not get much time with your wife at that point. How I'd imagine this schedule looking: 

Meanwhile, you're not going to be happy doing that. You'll be tired and grumpy when you get home. Your weekends will be a lot of catching up either way. 

Why are you waiting to move? Any chance of a flexible schedule until the move, maybe 4x10's or 3x12's? 

4x10 or 3x12 with remote work on Friday would be nice. 

Problem is, many positions within higher ed are usually standard 8-5 "bankers hours" jobs. 

I do however know quite a few people in higher ed who are working remotely quite consistently. If your in maintenance or something, that's going to be a challenge.

Of course, if you're in maintenance, working a 4x10 schedule is probably preferred because they'll more coverage and you'll be the poor sap who has to stay late to mow the fields or fix stuff after everyone has gone home. 

One awesome thing about higher ed is that it really feels like your back in college again, so most people who I know that work in that industry don't have quite the same drive for out-of-work social interaction. In fact, my one friend who works in IT at a college basically admitted "I don't need friends after 5pm because I've got a bunch of coworkers who more or less act like college roommates. For better or worse."

In reply to Driven5 :

A couple factors in moving, it's a seller's market, there isn't many houses for sale in the specific neighborhoods we want, but if we can find the right one we will pull the trigger. We also have to sell our house but I don't suspect that will take long. Ideally I would like the kids to finish the school year, as one of them would be put on a waitlist for school because she is in Pre-school and you usually have to apply the year before.

In reply to MadScientistMatt :

No, but my dad use to work there.

In reply to mtn : I actually asked about the flexible schedule and they can't budge, however if the weather does not permit (I-90 shuts down) they would allow me to work one day virtually. They lost 4 employees in the department because they wanted to continue virtually and found other jobs to do so. President will not budge on in person working. Among Colleges working virtually especially for staff is frowned upon. The lack of flexibility for my commute is really the only negative to this transaction, I haven't accepted the position and this is becoming a road block that makes me unsure of accepting the position.

In reply to mtn :

Not to mention your wife won't be happy doing the other side of that either, effectively functioning as a single (potentially working?) parent.

It's likely to still be a sellers market in 6-8 months, and that's peak buying (bidding war) season. If necessary, presumably you could find a family friendly rental until you find the right house in the right neighborhood too though.

While waiting until after the school year may be 'ideal' from an enrollment standpoint, it is far from in most other ways. There is something to be said for erring on the side of moving the family early in the school year, over placing the family in a straining situation that may become untenable and force a move late in the school year. 

Driven5 said:

In reply to mtn :

Not to mention your wife won't be happy doing the other side of that either, as effectively a single (potentially working?) parent.

Yeah, it really sucks. Then you come home, and the house is a mess, she needs help, you're tired, the kids want to play with you... 

Not a great situation. Not a great situation not being home for the week either, but... 

Sounds like you and your wife need to have a long talk here. In any case, I think the answer to your car conundrum is, at least for the interim, a 2nd Gen Prius. I even know of someone in Ohio who may be able to help. 

This commute will suck the most in Jan, Feb and March.

I reserved my natural recommendation of a Gen2 Prius for second position and first recommended an apartment.  The apt could also become handy for that rare occasion that the family comes to Cleveland for the weekend of house shopping.  

Could there be a charging while working option? (free fuel) 
If yes, a Chevy Volt could be a great answer.  

I run my Gen2 Prius on real winter tires and it does wonderful.  Engine weight on the front axle and battery weight on the rear axle.   The internet tells me that the weight distribution is:
58.62% front, 41.37% rear

My brother in law Wally - who is an idiot and an ass, but that's irrelevant to this discussion - works in ski country about 2 hours from his house. He has a condo up there where he lives during the week. He and his wife have three kids ranging from 4-8 years old.

Some weekends he comes home, some weekends his wife has to pack all the kids in the soccermommobile and schlep them up there. He's got a great lifestyle, he's single 5 days a week and hangs out with the hot trustafarians in the condo hot tub, then he tries to be fun dad on the weekend. Meanwhile, his wife is effectively a single mom with three kids and a full time job during the week. When Wally does come home, he doesn't get to do anything he wants to do because he has to deal with all the usual maintenance that comes with a family of five - or he doesn't do any of the maintenance because he's doing things he wants to do like playing in his jeep. Sometimes he'll stay in town and drive up to his job, but not all that often because, well, 4 hours a day commuting in a car sucks.

It's a pretty miserable situation all around, especially for anyone who isn't Wally. The kids don't see their dad most of the week, and when they do he's stressed out because of the conflict between fun things and things that have to be done. His wife is surviving only because her mother and sister are in town to back her up. We'll sometimes take one of the kids for a couple of days just to give everyone a break and because it's fun to borrow a 5 year old because their minds are awesome. But Wally doesn't get to experience that 5 year old's mind because he's working so far away - even if he was commuting every day, he'd get home just in time to start putting kids to bed.

In this case, it's a permanent situation and not a temporary one. But it's certainly enough for me to suggest taking a good look at what your life will be like until you move to be closer. It's going to take a toll on everyone.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Years back, I was married but no kids. I traveled for work 3 nights a week and then was gone most weekends for sailboat racing. It was a recipe that make it ultra easy to head down a dark path of having a side squeeze.  It almost cost me everything until I wised up but the damage was done and the repair was a long road. 

Yeah, I do read here that you might easily have access to coeds!  Danger Will Robinson!