Comments on: Poll: Fuel prices v. lifestyle. https://habitablezone.com/2013/04/03/poll-fuel-prices-v-lifestyle/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:18:10 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2013/04/03/poll-fuel-prices-v-lifestyle/#comment-23056 ER Thu, 04 Apr 2013 02:07:19 +0000 http://habitablezone.com/?p=30701#comment-23056 I don't drive to work anymore, and the last few years before I retired I rode the bus. I wish I had started sooner, rush hour in Lauderdale is ghastly. I lived 8 miles from my office, but it was no accident, I've always tried to find digs near where I worked. Sure, some time you change jobs and moving is not an option, but you should at least make an effort to avoid commuting long distances. Deliberately choosing to live far from work (because you like the suburbs or want cheap property there) is a luxury. You should be ready to quit whining and pay for it if it means that much to you. I once got a job 35 miles from where I lived. I could get there in half an hour on the Interstate in my Beetle, but burning two gallons a day just to get to work and back was stupid, even back in the early 70s when gas was cheap. I moved as quickly as I could. Today I live about a thousand feet ftom the stupormarket, and I need to travel very little. Most of my driving is recreational, and if it became too expensive, I could easily cut back. I don't keep track of prices or how much gas I burn, or try to find the cheapest place to buy. I patronize one station near home and I'm tight with the Paki dude who owns it, so I know I'll always have gas if there is rationing. I go through about a tank of gas a month just running around, and I feel perfectly free to motor across the state whenever I want to visit my brother, or drive to Tampa to hang out with my no-account college pals--perfectly free of guilt. If the price of gas jumped to $10 a gallon I might cut down on my road trips, but my day to day business in town would not be affected. I realize a lot of this is just my personal circumstances, and dumb luck, but I like to think at least part of my good fortune is due to my planning. I could afford gas for a bigger, more luxurious motor, but I drive what I've driven all my life, a standard shift 4 cylinder econobox; two of them, in fact. A 2010 Versa and a 2003 Sentra. They're so cheap to operate I can afford a backup. I don’t drive to work anymore, and the last few years before I retired I rode the bus. I wish I had started sooner, rush hour in Lauderdale is ghastly. I lived 8 miles from my office, but it was no accident, I’ve always tried to find digs near where I worked. Sure, some time you change jobs and moving is not an option, but you should at least make an effort to avoid commuting long distances. Deliberately choosing to live far from work (because you like the suburbs or want cheap property there) is a luxury. You should be ready to quit whining and pay for it if it means that much to you.

I once got a job 35 miles from where I lived. I could get there in half an hour on the Interstate in my Beetle, but burning two gallons a day just to get to work and back was stupid, even back in the early 70s when gas was cheap. I moved as quickly as I could.

Today I live about a thousand feet ftom the stupormarket, and I need to travel very little. Most of my driving is recreational, and if it became too expensive, I could easily cut back. I don’t keep track of prices or how much gas I burn, or try to find the cheapest place to buy. I patronize one station near home and I’m tight with the Paki dude who owns it, so I know I’ll always have gas if there is rationing. I go through about a tank of gas a month just running around, and I feel perfectly free to motor across the state whenever I want to visit my brother, or drive to Tampa to hang out with my no-account college pals–perfectly free of guilt.

If the price of gas jumped to $10 a gallon I might cut down on my road trips, but my day to day business in town would not be affected.
I realize a lot of this is just my personal circumstances, and dumb luck, but I like to think at least part of my good fortune is due to my planning.

I could afford gas for a bigger, more luxurious motor, but I drive what I’ve driven all my life, a standard shift 4 cylinder econobox; two of them, in fact. A 2010 Versa and a 2003 Sentra. They’re so cheap to operate I can afford a backup.

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