already excited for my new commute

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03-24-2009, 10:02 AM
badgercat

already excited for my new commute

My boyfriend (of 5+ years) and I are moving in together. I was worried about finding a place big enough for the two of us (we both have hobbies that take up a fair bit of space--musical instruments [he has an upright piano], crafts [I get pouty if I can't have at least a small table dedicated to my sewing machine] and of course, our bikes!), that would be close enough to campus that I could bike there, but also still be affordable.

Enter one of my professors, who has a darling 2-bedroom brick HOUSE (with an in-ground pool!) for rent, with a very reasonable base rent rate that she then gives all sorts of discounts on if we take care of the pool and landscaping ourselves, and if we paint the interior walls, and she's open to considering other improvement projects as well. I'm pretty handy once I know what I'm doing, but DBF helped a neighbor maintain an apartment building when he was young, so he has a good foundation of knowledge on electrical, plumbing, painting, and flooring. We have all sorts of ideas. :D

So why is this in the Commuting forum? While it seems many folks around here think it's the norm to live 5-ish miles away from campus and drive (though my BF lived that far from campus when he was in school and biked about 95% of the time :p), it'll be just over 2 miles of flat roads from our front door to my building on campus. It's just a couple blocks off two major roads (with bike lanes), so once I invest in a couple good high-vis items I think I can feel pretty comfortable riding home by myself after dark (ie I won't be on deserted roads).

I think it'll be just enough of a ride to get me going in the morning, but not enough that I'll always need to plan to change clothes/wash up when I get to school (depending on the time of year... this is Arizona, after all :cool:). And, if I'm not feeling well or the weather is iffy, there are bus options.

I'm just pleased as punch about this! I do have a car, and as fond of it as I am (I've had it since I was 16), the less I have to drive it, the happier I am. :D
03-24-2009, 11:36 AM
andtckrtoo

That's exciting! I have a 2 mile commute and love it. I don't ride every day (I drop the spoiled mutt off at day care twice a week) but I do my best to commute M/W/F.
03-24-2009, 12:25 PM
jobob

Wow, that's great. The housing and the commuting, I mean.
03-24-2009, 12:32 PM
badgercat

Thanks, ladies! I forgot another awesome thing about it... If we stand in the driveway, we can see a Performance Bike shop down the street, haha. We have a couple favorite LBS in town that we still intend to go to for tuneups etc, but in case of emergency equipment needs (or a really good sale on apparel...), it will be fabulous to have that within walking distance.
03-24-2009, 02:37 PM
spokewench

What a wonderful opportunity to live in a nice place with a great commute (bike or walking distance sounds like to me) So, the next question is where is the grocery?
03-24-2009, 02:53 PM
badgercat

Quote:

Originally Posted by spokewench

What a wonderful opportunity to live in a nice place with a great commute (bike or walking distance sounds like to me) So, the next question is where is the grocery?

Well, there's a Whole Foods in the same plaza as the Performance, and while they have some delicious stuff there, I certainly can't afford to shop there all the time. Lucky that Fry's (Kroger), Safeway, and Trader Joe's are all within 2 miles as well. :D And my BF has a BOB trailer and I have a rear rack and will probably be investing in some panniers for my commute anyway...so we'll really have little excuse to use the car for groceries.
03-24-2009, 02:57 PM
tantrumbean

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgercat

Thanks, ladies! I forgot another awesome thing about it... If we stand in the driveway, we can see a Performance Bike shop down the street, haha. We have a couple favorite LBS in town that we still intend to go to for tuneups etc, but in case of emergency equipment needs (or a really good sale on apparel...), it will be fabulous to have that within walking distance.

Hehe, that might make it a quite expensive move in the long run - no matter how cheap the rent is! ;)
03-24-2009, 03:51 PM
sgtiger

Congrats on the new digs and what sounds like a fun commute!:)
03-24-2009, 04:25 PM
Tri Girl

Congrats on moving in together, and getting to live so close to campus!!!! Hmmm... you seem to have it all: house, in ground pool, close commute, Whole Foods, bike shop nearby, AND you're in AZ! What more could you ask for. :D

Which campus, BTW? UofA? ASU? Some other campus? I grew up in AZ and attended UofA, and I so miss it dearly. One day I shall return- until then I'll live vicariously through you. :p
03-24-2009, 08:58 PM
badgercat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tri Girl

Which campus, BTW? UofA? ASU? Some other campus? I grew up in AZ and attended UofA, and I so miss it dearly. One day I shall return- until then I'll live vicariously through you. :p

yaaaay U of A! That's where my username comes from... I did my undergrad at the University of Wisconsin (Badgers) and am in grad school at Arizona (Wildcats) :p

I see you live in Oklahoma now... I've never been there aside from driving through a few times, but I was in the musical in high school if that counts for anything. :D :p
03-25-2009, 04:29 AM
Tri Girl

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgercat

yaaaay U of A!

Go Cats! I grew up in Yuma, and I found the funniest thing about the U was the ice hockey team. I'd never seen a game; never even knew there WAS ice hockey in AZ. We went to almost every game we could. :) I miss Tucson...:(

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgercat

I was in the musical in high school if that counts for anything.

That musical his HORRID!:eek: It's a good thing I never saw it before moving here or I might not have decided to stay (it's nothing like the musical: we don't sing cheesy songs, we don't ride around in surreys, but the wind DOES blow- they got that right). What were Rogers and Hammerstein thinking??? :confused: LOL
03-25-2009, 07:26 AM
tulip

I love Oklahoma (the musical and the movie, that is). I've never been to the state.
03-25-2009, 04:53 PM
Tri Girl

Quote:

Originally Posted by tulip

I love Oklahoma (the musical and the movie, that is). I've never been to the state.

I think if you love the musical you'll hate the state and if you hate the musical you'll love the state. Maybe Rogers and Hammerstein were genius after all. :)

Sorry for the thread hijack, badgercat.

And now back to the excitement over your new place and short commute...
03-25-2009, 05:56 PM
tulip

I was just in Tuscon and went into the campus a little bit. It's beautiful! Nice that you will live so close.
03-25-2009, 06:13 PM
badgercat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tri Girl

I think if you love the musical you'll hate the state and if you hate the musical you'll love the state. Maybe Rogers and Hammerstein were genius after all. :)

Sorry for the thread hijack, badgercat.

And now back to the excitement over your new place and short commute...

Haha, no worries. I know Oklahoma is one of those love-hate musicals... it's certainly not in my top 5, but having been IN it my senior year of high school I have fond feelings nonetheless. :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by tulip

I was just in Tuscon and went into the campus a little bit. It's beautiful! Nice that you will live so close.

I like the campus too, but being in grad school makes it easy to fall in the trap of spending all your time in your department building, the nearest source of food, and the walk in-between. :o I really should wander around it more!
03-25-2009, 06:41 PM
Tri Girl

When you move in you need to post pictures of the house and of your commute (a picture or two along the way so we can virtually ride along with you). :)
03-25-2009, 06:48 PM
badgercat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tri Girl

When you move in you need to post pictures of the house and of your commute (a picture or two along the way so we can virtually ride along with you). :)

Brilliant! I will happily do this for you, if I can remember that far. ;) Our lease starts June 1. Hopefully one of our first purchases for the place (fortunately, we've already got plenty of furniture of our own and I'm acquiring some "new" hand-me-downs from my parents, so we won't have to spend much on that sort of thing!) will be some sort of indoor storage rack for the bikes... we're thinking something like this http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=6600 , but we'll have to think more about what room we want to put them in and stuff before we make any decisions on that.
03-28-2009, 04:39 PM
Softie

Wow that sounds like such a great set up! Talk about good fortune in finding a place so nice and so close. :) enjoy it.
03-29-2009, 01:20 PM
ASammy1

Quote:

Originally Posted by andtckrtoo

That's exciting! I have a 2 mile commute and love it. I don't ride every day (I drop the spoiled mutt off at day care twice a week) but I do my best to commute M/W/F.

My spoiled mutt goes to daycare twice a week too!