How much would you pay for parking?
spiderlashes5000
Registered Users Posts: 17,898 Curl Virtuoso
For various reasons, my parking situation at my downtown has changed. I went from a very convenient attached parking arrangement (parking garage was physically connected to my office building by a doorway so I never had to step foot outside from the moment i woke up until I went to bed that night) that cost $115/month.
I consider that expensive but not a dealbreaker and I was paying for the convenience of never having to bring boots, sneakers, a hat, a coat, an umbrella...never having rain-hair or wiping out in the snow. Plus, it cut down on my "commute" by not having to walk.
We left that bldg and moved to where the best parking option was an enclosed, private garage exactly catty corner to the office bldg. At $85/month, I was OK w/ this. You had to walk outside but just long enough to cross the street one way, and then ceross it again the other way...less than two minutes outside. Needed sensible shoes on icy days but not necessarily boots.
Then we left that bldg, and moved to a place where the best parking option was underground parking attached to the office building. At $185/month, this might just too much. IDK how i feel about this. Leaning towards no.
So instead I was at a place 5 blocks away from my bldg but could walk most of that indoors, thru other office bldgs and a series of covered overhead catwalks. That cost $100/month. It was Ok but the management pissed me off and I left.
Now I am at a place 1.5 blocks away. I got the first two months cheap, but come November, it will be $105/month.
Several coworkers are saying these options are all too expensive and they want something cheaper. (That will put them at 10-15 minute walks, all uncovered, outdoors. But for prices ranging from $46-85/month. One spot has a 12 minute walk and provides a shuttle during the coldest 10 weeks of the year that would take me about 2/3 of the way to my bldg.)
Maybe they have the point; i'd like to save more money every month.
I'm trying to decide it I am willing to brave the elements (esp during the winter) to save $50 or $60.
I can't really consider any of this exercise bc 10-15 mins of walking barely counts (I think 15-20 mins is the minimum that can count as aerobic activity?) bc on NICE days I walk 30-60 minutes at lunch. 10 mins in the rain or snow is more of a pain in the ass than exercise IMO.
What are your thoughts?
I consider that expensive but not a dealbreaker and I was paying for the convenience of never having to bring boots, sneakers, a hat, a coat, an umbrella...never having rain-hair or wiping out in the snow. Plus, it cut down on my "commute" by not having to walk.
We left that bldg and moved to where the best parking option was an enclosed, private garage exactly catty corner to the office bldg. At $85/month, I was OK w/ this. You had to walk outside but just long enough to cross the street one way, and then ceross it again the other way...less than two minutes outside. Needed sensible shoes on icy days but not necessarily boots.
Then we left that bldg, and moved to a place where the best parking option was underground parking attached to the office building. At $185/month, this might just too much. IDK how i feel about this. Leaning towards no.
So instead I was at a place 5 blocks away from my bldg but could walk most of that indoors, thru other office bldgs and a series of covered overhead catwalks. That cost $100/month. It was Ok but the management pissed me off and I left.
Now I am at a place 1.5 blocks away. I got the first two months cheap, but come November, it will be $105/month.
Several coworkers are saying these options are all too expensive and they want something cheaper. (That will put them at 10-15 minute walks, all uncovered, outdoors. But for prices ranging from $46-85/month. One spot has a 12 minute walk and provides a shuttle during the coldest 10 weeks of the year that would take me about 2/3 of the way to my bldg.)
Maybe they have the point; i'd like to save more money every month.
I'm trying to decide it I am willing to brave the elements (esp during the winter) to save $50 or $60.
I can't really consider any of this exercise bc 10-15 mins of walking barely counts (I think 15-20 mins is the minimum that can count as aerobic activity?) bc on NICE days I walk 30-60 minutes at lunch. 10 mins in the rain or snow is more of a pain in the ass than exercise IMO.
What are your thoughts?
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Comments
hmmmmmmm
I just feel very foolish paying double what other ppl are paying, when I stop and think about it, esp since either way I will have to do some walking.
What was the significance of tax season in your story? That you worked late those months bc your office was busier than usual?
But other than the near attack, did you hate the 6 block walk? Was it miserable in the winter?
Rock on with your bad self.
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Be excellent to each other. ~ Abraham Lincoln
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But something that would be a consideration for me is the amount of time I have between the time I get off work and the time I have to pick up the kids. I rarely get to leave on time so a long walk could really mess up my schedule.
You don't know everyone's situation. Maybe money is really tight for them, so a long walk is worth saving a few bucks. Or maybe they do see that as their daily exercise.
If you can afford it and you like the convenience of parking close to work then do it. Don't worry about what the other people are doing or how much they're paying.
I thought about it - if I had other options, how much more would I pay(because it does kind of suck)? 50-60 more might be much. You could save over 600 a year by walking a little further. I don't know if i could justify that to myself.
I can afford to pay what I am currently paying but I would like to start saving more money every month.
So if I saw the closer parking as a necessary evil, I would continue to pay. But if I started to see it as a frivolous waste of money w/o a significant benefit, then I would switch to something cheaper.
Like I am worried about noticeable wear and tear on my shoes, mud-stained backs-of-pants on rainy days, the possibility of losing a shoe by having to wear sneakers for the walk and carrying shoes in my bag, torn clothing from falling in the snow, damage to my handbags from carrying too much crap too far, frequent bad hair days, too much time added to my commute (thank you, Po).
Don't laugh at me...this is how I think.
To make matters worse, another parking garage downtown was condemed last week and will be torn down, displacing 400 parkers. Now the closeby garages have all filled up. So if I leave my current closeby parking garage and decide I don't like the long commute over the bridge, there may not be anywhere available for me to come back to.
And we need a group of 10 to get the $46/month rate. We have maybe 7 ppl ready to sign. So if bail, I could be messing it up for the others.
IDK this is becoming such a hard decision for me.
I think it stems from the yrs of bad hair days and running from the rain (you know, the curly hair syndrome).