To Drive?
It’s
March on Thursday which means a few things. First, I began vehicle
dwelling during the week mid March last year, so my anniversary's coming
up. Second, I’m almost halfway through my last semester of college. And
third, there’s only two months between me and New Orleans. I think I
have a place to stay, but now I’m trying to figure out how to get down there. Here are my choices as I see them:
- I
can pack all much meager possessions into the Jetta and drive down.
This would give me some time to stop along the way and catch up with a
few friends I haven’t seen in a bit. I’ll also have my car down there as
a fall back home just in case (hey, I’m preparing for everything). The
cons are that it will cost me about $250 in gas and that’s not including
food. It’s also assuming that gas stays at around $3.70/gallon. I can
eat cheap but if something should go wrong I could be looking at a a
huge mechanics bill and a major time delay.
- The
second option is that I fly down for about $100 and ship some of the
stuff I’ll need. I won’t be able to get back to New Hampshire until
Christmas, but I can drive my car down to NOLA then with the rest of my
things. The con is that I won’t have much more than clothing for seven
months and no car to fall back on in case of housing trouble. A pro is
that I can spend less money now and drive the car down after my first
few pay checks have cleared.
So,
what do you think? spend money now or later? Have a car now or later?
So many choices. Lucky for me I have this awesome community to give me
advice and you really haven’t steered me wrong yet.
It’s
March on Thursday which means a few things. First, I began vehicle
dwelling during the week mid March last year, so my anniversary's coming
up. Second, I’m almost halfway through my last semester of college. And
third, there’s only two months between me and New Orleans. I think I
have a place to stay, but now I’m trying to figure out how to get down there. Here are my choices as I see them:
Driving would be my choice, as it gives you a built in mode of transportation, storage space and a place. I hope it all goes good either way.
ReplyDeleteWinter driving is less than ideal to start with, and things can get ugly should a break down occur in the snow. Even if it turns out you don't need it in NOLA, better to have and not need than the reverse. This is all predicated on if it doesn't break the bank in gas or possible repair costs should she break down on the trip there. I hope that helps, and good luck whichever way you choose!
ReplyDeleteHave you considered Amtrak? It is cheaper than driving, but more expensive than flying. (In all my experiences it has always been cheaper than flying as well). However, you can bring a lot more than you can on a plane. I moved to Colorado for 5 months via Amtrak and have plenty. A ticket includes 2 or 3 checked bags and 2 or 3 carry-ons. There version of a carry-on is A LOT bigger than an airplane.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where you are in MA, but some of the tickets from random MA stops to New Orleans is about $150. Depending on where you are starting exactly, and the price of a taxi or bus to your exact destination, it could be something worth looking into.
If not, I'd go with flying. Driving has too many potential disasters that could happen, and it doesn't seem like your car is in the best shape.
I hope it all works out for you one way or another!
I do love Amtrak... Might have to look into that
DeleteMy vote would be for driving down as well. And what a great trip it could be!
ReplyDelete