Trudy, I have been thinking about Zip Car (and City Car, another option out here). It'd be a short term solution, but definitely something that's on the table.

It's just I have to cross the Bay so much that it's almost certainly better to have the car.

Then again, with insurance, car breakdowns, the inevitable tickets etc. that might not be entirely true.

A logistics question: how soon before Emmett can take pubtrans by himself?

Then again, with insurance, car breakdowns, the inevitable tickets etc. that might not be entirely true.

And fuel, you get 125 miles a day before you have to pay for any. Worth looking at the math at least. You also never have to pay to park the thing (don't know if that's as much a factor there as here).

Do you mean you can park it at meters for free, Trudy? Cool!

No, just that it has a designated parking spot you don't have to pay for. No driving around for twenty minutes and then sucking it up and paying or paying for garage space to keep it in. You just drop it off when you're done. Mine is three blocks from my house.

Though meters would be sweet...

A logistics question: how soon before Emmett can take pubtrans by himself?

Probably a year or two away. He starts High School next year.

His schools are actually close to a BART station. However, moving the baseball gear and school backpack and laptop is a bit much for him to be carting back and forth by himself.

And fuel,

Right! Plus bridge tolls. (A not inconsequential part of our regular expenses.)

I forgot to mention, the early shift bartender who worked five days a week plus five nights a week? His alimony is $4,200/month. In Bakersfield! Yikes.

Yikes! Just alimony?? Or is that for child support too?

Yikes! Just alimony?? Or is that for child support too?

Yeah, three kids child support.

It's weird seeing how just the simple cultural move away from ready, shame-free, this-is-okay birth control has affected all these lives. Though some of them just married young and stupid.

Maybe 16 year olds shouldn't drive and you shouldn't be allowed to get married before age 25. Just as a rule of thumb.

Right! Plus bridge tolls. (A not inconsequential part of our regular expenses.)

You'd still have to pay tolls in the Zipcar.

His schools are actually close to a BART station. However, moving the baseball gear and school backpack and laptop is a bit much for him to be carting back and forth by himself.

Feh. It's not always baseball season. (Uphill, both ways, in the snow...)

I'm sure y'all have taken this into consideration, but a rolling backpack really helps a couple of highschoolers I know. One was having back issues from all of the textbooks and the school nurse suggested a rolling backpack. It's really helped.