the saga continues...

This blog is not intended simply as a forum to whine and complain, or to blast CARTA for it's ineptitude. Living a carfree lifestyle can be inconvenient, time consuming, and frustrating, especially when you're relying on public transportation that is unreliable (more on that later). However it can also be cost-effective and has it's own perks and benefits. At a fee of just $37.50 a month, an unlimited pass is hard to beat. Compare that to the cost of a car payment, insurance, gas, repairs and maintanence, and it's an awesome savings! In addition, I got to watch the seasons change up close and personal while enjoying my daily walks through Park Circle to the stop each morning. Took and posted tons of pics on my facebook of the trees, flowers, clouds etc that I might never have noticed during my 6 minute commute by car. Park Circle was a great area to live in, and it was great to have restaurants and a small convenience store in walking distance. Not many people can walk home after an evening with friends at 1am, and feel perfectly safe doing so! However, after months of being able to rely on my upstairs neighbors in a pinch, they moved a few blocks away. Their situation changed, and so did our schedules. I wasn't happy with my apartment itself and the landlord was horrible. I started looking elsewhere and used an apartment locating service to find a place on a better bus route.

Living in Park Circle turned out to have it's limitations when it came to riding the bus. Bus 104 only runs every hour, so if you miss it you're stuck. To get any place from Park Circle you have to make at least 1 transfer, sometimes multiple transfers. The last bus home from work runs at 8:20 pm, so if I get off the phone at work at 8, I have to take a cab home. On Sundays bus 101 doesn't run at all, and on Saturdays bus 104 starts running later. The apartment locator found me a great apartment on not one, not two, but three different bus routes that gave me multiple options for getting to and from work. Located an equal distance from walmart, kmart and the mall, it appeared to be the perfect location! I hated to move from Park Circle, but it was time for a change. Multiple closets, a garbage disposal, dishwasher, ceiling fan, swimming pool, actual maintenance, all were calling my name. As for the buses, bus 10 runs every thirty minutes, bus 12 runs every 45 minutes, and bus 106 runs hourly. It seemed to be the perfect solution.