Reply #86: Yes, I have.

[moriah]

I lived in Ridgewood, Queens. I worked in Long Island, weekend nights so I couldn't use the LIRR.

I spent about 2-3 hours every day in my car, but only drove 60 miles in total. Yeah, gas was expensive because the car wasn't running at its best efficiency in nearly stopped traffic. Because I could walk to the grocery store I did have a habit of going to the grocery store every couple of days instead of doing large trips once or twice a month like I do here in Arkansas -- up there I was carrying my groceries home, not putting them in the trunk of my car. But I didn't spend that much more on groceries than I do here. The rent on our two-bedroom apartment was $900 -- I'm paying $450 here for an apartment that's slightly larger and has a dishwasher, but I'm divorced now so my portion of the rent is the same.

But other than that and my horrible smoking habit I started up there (cigarettes were twice as expensive up there as they were in Arkansas, I was an idiot), I really didn't live my life much differently than I do here. I went to work, I came home, I got on the computer, I slept, occasionally I went out with friends. The pub within walking distance was not horribly expensive. Yes, the temptation of being able to have any food delivered to our door sometimes was hard to resist when we were both working full-time (he was a medical resident so in actuality he was working double full time <grin>). He was able to take the bus to and from work, but on my days off he used the car for the convenience -- it was actually cheaper to take the bus when it came to gas.