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.

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 ), 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 ). 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.