Wow...

Well, as to be expected, I've certainly gotten quite a few responses on Craigslist (as well as via email and replies to my previous post) about my desire to trade a car for a bicycle. I need to see for sure what kinds of bikes a few people have to offer, but of the ones I've seen, I'm not terribly tempted to trade yet. A recumbent exercise bike, a late 80's/Early 90's Centurion Ironman (not a bad bike, I'd imagine) and a cheap mountain bike have been offered so far.

At this rate I might just hawk the car for cash. I also have a van I'm trying to get rid of for my parents. Who knows? Maybe that will get me close to saving up for a decent bike.

Also, it looks like moving plans have been altered significantly. My wife and I are downright sick of where we're living. It used to be a somewhat exclusive, affluent community. Now, it's full of drunken college kids who party until 5am and litter the area with beer cans on a weekly basis, entire echelons of non-english-speaking labor workers (who pack in between nine and twelve people per apartment, stay for 6 months, then leave) and jerks that don't clean up after their dogs' messes.

I'm talking about a pit bull terrier, not a chihuaha. And yes, it's a purebred pit that's leaving the piles. I honestly don't mind pit bulls, and this one is a nice dog. The owners leave something to be desired, though. A single dog turd in the commons area is forgivable. Fifteen cute piles of poo? Not so much. Double that, and smells like a manure factory after every rain? Completely unacceptable. Imagine what the summer heat will do when there's even more! Oh wait, most of those piles will turn into clusters of mushrooms as they rot.

Now, after all this, they want to raise our rent. For what, I'm not entirely certain. As-is, the bang for the buck where we're at is fading fast. There's nothing to warrant paying more in rent. We've been here for quite a few years, trying to save up for a house. Something always gets in the way. This year, it's the huge chunk of change we have to pay in taxes.

There are a few options we have. Our goal is to get into someplace that feels like home, where we can be happy. Preferably, our own house.

The move we were planning on making would have upped our rent, but gotten both my wife and I closer to work. It would also immediately resolve the degrading situation about where we live. It would cost a little more (still affordable) and would mean packing everything up twice. Once when we move there, and eventually when we buy a house. We'd be comfortable and happy there, but it would be inefficient for saving up for a house.

If we stay where we're at, we'll be paying more rent (not as much as if we move) while remaining miserable. It's the easiest option, though. Hopefully we could cut our budget to save some cash and move next year.

The third option, thanks to a generous offer from my parents, would be to move in with them. They have a three bedroom house with a finished basement (which basically adds a closed-off bedroom and recreation room combo). If we move down there, we'd basically half our rent, pay less for utilities and all that, and be able to save money really, really fast. Also, most of the stuff we pack could remain in storage. We won't need much furniture or any of our kitchen ware. The cons are that it's further away from work for both of us (making for a three-season, 17-20 mile round-trip bike commute that still uses the bus - the roads do not get cleared well out there in the winter) and going from a 2-bedroom 940 square foot apartment to the equivalent of a 400 square foot loft.


Right now, it looks like we might be moving in with the parents. My wife has lived with them before. Back when we first met, she was living with a complete slob of a roommate and my parents offered her the finished basement for a few months. That was about 10 years ago, believe it or not. Looks like we're going to be spending some more time down there.

With a 20 mile RT, it looks like I'm going to actually need that skinny-tire machine... I'm half-tempted to buy a $20 ten-speed and refurb it myself.

Still around freezing this morning and I couldn't find my gloves. I was mildly chilly and took it easy. I'm almost certain I'll be at the monday recovery ride tonight... Maybe I should see if I can take one of the Trek Store's 'cross bikes on the ride as a test-drive? :)