what would you do ? need short term solution

[rfuerst911sc]

Hey guys today I am moving from our Marietta home which we are selling/closing on Monday . That home is 5 miles from where I work . Our new retirement home is in Northern GA. so my drive to work will be 71 miles each way . I only have to do this drive until mid January when I will take 6 weeks of vacation which takes me to my retirement date .

My vehicles are a diesel dually pickup , a Toyota RAV4 and my Boxster S . So initially my thoughts are rotate the fleet depending on weather until I retire . Next scenario buy a cheap beater Honda/Toyota and sell when I retire . Third scenario find an extended stay place for a couple of months . What would you do ?

[1990C4S]

What are your normal hours of work?

I would choose between a couple of nights a week near work and commuting using the cars you have. Maybe find a decent hotel that will give you a discount. Use the hotel if you're tired or have to work late, otherwise commute.

I live in an extended stay facility, it's no better than a hotel.

I would not buy a cheap car for five months of driving. Every cheap car I bought took me five months to get it to the point I was happy with it.

[RKDinOKC]

One of the guys where I work that commuted almost that far after getting their retirement home got a Prius. Because it was so far the savings in Gas $$$ for the commute made the Prius payment.

He was driving an older Jeep Grand Cherokee before and he commuted 2 years before retirement.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I have an 80 mile a day commute, so I get geeky about numbers.

Assuming 142 miles a day x 5 days a week x 4 weeks a month x 5 months to end of jan = 14,200 miles until retirement. (and that is assuming working full sept and full jan)
Doing a quick google search on rav4- it quotes 30 mph highway for a 2017- Not knowing your year, I assumed 28 overall(guess) = 507 gallons of gas x 2.65 (guess) gallon= $1343 in fuel.

Assuming you found a magical unicorn camry for free that cost nothing extra to buy, register, or insure, and it did twice that gas mileage (again- magical), you'd only save $671 in gas.



This is going to be a quality of life decision over financial (in terms of getting a place to stay vs. commuting).

oh yeah- I was assuming all freeway commute. You will find out real quick what the actual commute looks like when you do it in real time. For example- at one job I worked, the commute SEEMED like it would only take 30 minutes, but when you factored in being stuck behind school buses in 3 counties- it almost doubled the time. Coming home a different way, it took 15 minutes just to get three blocks down the street to the interstate because of 5:00 traffic (and the interstate was just the BEGINNING of the commute) arghhhhhh!!!!!

At least it's only temporary!

[Baz]

[berettafan]

find a nice bed and breakfast joint and work out a deal with them.

damned if I'd stay in some sterile extended stay joint.

Baz of course has the most stylish idea.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Hey guys today I am moving from our Marietta home which we are selling/closing on Monday . That home is 5 miles from where I work . Our new retirement home is in Northern GA. so my drive to work will be 71 miles each way . I only have to do this drive until mid January when I will take 6 weeks of vacation which takes me to my retirement date.

What is the expected time of the commute? In the DC area 71 miles could be an hour and ten minutes each way or 2 1/2 hours each way.

Look at Air BNB, btw. I spend about two weeks a month at my facility in NC and have switched from hotels to Air BNB when available. Whole apartment at 1/3 the price.

[VincentVega]

No kidding. I used to go to Nova a few times a week, 60 miles each way. Morning was one hour, afternoon 2 easy. It sux but its not really that bad, unless its ~2hrs each way. Car just needs a few more oil changes, you need sleep and time to get stuff done. Books on tape.

I wouldnt bother with a new car unless you plan on upgrading anyway. Not enough time to make the #'s work.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

What is the expected time of the commute? In the DC area 71 miles could be an hour and ten minutes each way or 2 1/2 hours each way.

Zackly what i was thinking.

In So Cal we measure commutes with time, not miles.

My commute is 35 minutes in the morning and 60 minutes in the afternoon.
I have co-workers with commutes that take twice that long.

If you can do the 71 miles in an hour I say no big deal, just deal with it.
But if it takes two hours each way that's a different story.

[dad911]

Drive the boxster top down. When that commute becomes a chore, find someplace closer to stay.......

Can you do 4-10hour days a week for the duration?

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

If you can do the 71 miles in an hour I say no big deal, just deal with it.

Where can you drive 71 mph average in the US of A?

[fastfredracing]

3 cars ought to be enough to keep it interesting. Id drive the dually once a week, and rotate between the rav, and the boxster all other days .

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by svandamme

Where can you drive 71 mph average in the US of A?

Santa Cruz to San Jose.

[Otter74]

I don't think you could pay me enough to drive 70 miles into Atlanta from the mountains (what, like Dawson Co.?) and back every day. I'd find a nice place to spend the week - the B&B idea is a good one - and go home on the weekends. If you commute, just rotate between the Boxster and the RAV4. The truck will just waste a lot of gas.

[tabs]

As an old geezer the commute will wear on an already tired old body..especially if you are used to a very short commute...

[wdfifteen]

Drive the most efficient vehicle. Keep a ditty bag with you, crash at the local Eight Ball Motel on nights when you're too tired to drive home.

[rattlsnak]

I can drive your Boxster locally until you're ready to retire..

[pwd72s]

Yeah, not so much the wear & tear on vehicles as the wear and tear on you...I like the renting a place idea.

[aigel]

Definitely don't buy a beater. Drive what you have. It will be cheaper.

Then play it by ear. If it tires you, rent a room., work from home, have some cases of anal glaucoma.

G

[vash]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

In So Cal we measure commutes with time, not miles.

.

^This. need more info.

if this is a one-hour drive each way..go for it. get some audio-books and crush that commute. i would rotate cars that you already have. work the wife's ride into the rotation. mix it up. whatever you do..paying the fuel has to be cheaper than buying another ride.

i used to drive 47 miles each way. slowly that became a 2.5 hour drive home and a two hour drive to work. now that sucked..it was doable until traffic patterns changed against me.

imagine how much sweeter this will make retirement?

hey, can you do 4-10's?