"Scott en Aztlán" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 22:25:54 -0500, "Cory Dunkle" >
> wrote:
>
> >Personally I need a car and I need to work to be able to
> >afford one. If I don't have a car I can't work or go to school. It's a
> >necessity in my life. Sure I can bum rides from friends or family, but
not
> >every day at my convenience.
>
> Or you could MOVE.

Not affordable. Then I'd be back to working 50+ hours/week and going to
school at the same time to afford living on my own.

> >> >I've been on several college
> >> >campuses and the people who live there are for the msot part awful.
Lacking
> >> >in morals, don't give a damn about anything except partying and
drugs...
> >> >Totally immature.
> >>
> >> And you think living on a college campus is somehow the cause of this?
> >
> >No, I think these people are attracted to a college campus.
>
> That's ridiculous. If anything, the people who are willing to live
> without a car and walk to class every day are going to be the serious
> students as opposed to the pleasure-seekers.

I have a car and opt to not live on campus (assuming the campus had live-in
facilities). I am not the stereotypical "pleasure-seeker" you mention. I
live a pretty 'tame' life. The most excitement I get is going out to play
pool or bowl with some friends. All my 'pleasure-seeking' is satisfied with
my girlfriend.

> >Those that are
> >serious about their lives generally do not live on campus.
>
> You've never lived on campus, so how would you know?

When my ex lived on campus I practically lived there with her. I saw
everything there was to see on campus and experienced the good and bad.
There was a lot more bad than good. Lots of immature a-holes with no respect
for anyone. There were a handful of polite and respectful people who were
fun to hang out with, but most were disrespectful immature a-holes. I
visited friends at two other campuses and saw similar things. So there you
have how I know.

> >> It must be nice to have parents who have so much disposable income
> >> that they will foot the bill for your car expenses as well as your
> >> tuition. I pay my son's room, board, and tuition, but having a car is
> >> a luxury and that's where I draw the line.
> >
> >Having a car is not a luxury for me, it's a necessity if I am to work and
go
> >to school.
>
> WRONG.
>
> If your parents were dead, or broke, and you still wanted to go to
> school, you would find a way to do it. Maybe you'd move closer to
> campus.

And work 50+ hours/week again while taking 5 classes? That was hell and I
don't ever want to have to do that again. It amkes doing good in school very
difficult as you have very little time to ration between school work, sleep,
and eating, and maybe a little fun now and again.

> Maybe you'd change schools.

I'm going to the cheapest school I can go to. A public county college. I
suppose I could go to the Camden campus (one of the campuses I work at) and
take the train like I do when I go to work, but then my education would
suffer greatly. Camden County College is a great school, and in many ways I
feel is better than private universities. The students and faculty at
Blackwood are intelligent and talented. The Camden campus is quite lacking
in talent and the classes move very slowly. Most students and not that
bright and the classes move very slowly to cater to that majority. Some
students who were failing at Blackwood transfered to classes at Camden and
got A's (I was shocked they allow that to happen). Camden is a whole
different ballgame than Blackwood, and I wouldn't think of taking classes
there as it would be a waste of time and money. I'm smarter than that, and I
want to go to a school where I can learn and better myself through
education. That will not happen at CCC in Camden, however, I'm quite happy
at Blackwood.

> Whatever it took, if you really
> wanted to go to school and you couldn't afford a car, you'd find a
> way. Having a car is a CONVENIENCE, not a NECESSITY.

In many places it is a necessity if you are to have any quality of life or
education. Sure I could do without a car if I went to a dumb school where I
could not go to classes and get straight A's, and work at McDonald's for
damn near minimum wage and get by without a car. I wouldn't be getting any
sort of worthwhile education, it would just be paying money to get a degree
and not learning anything in the process. Then instead of doing work that is
in my field, in the process learning and practicing valuable skills and
making decent money I would be flipping burgers for minimum wage. In the
literal term I suppose a good education and a good job are conveniences,
however, for me, they are necessities. Due to the nature of my work and the
location of my school a car is a necessity. Even more so if I want to have
any quality of life.

> Let's face it, living at home with your parents gives you a pretty
> high standard of living as compared to a dorm resident, so I can fully
> understand why you don't want to give that up. And you're working
> extra-hard to maintain that (relatively) high lifestyle. As long as
> you can maintain your GPA, more power to ya.

Exactly. It's not all necesities in the literal sense, but if I want to have
a decent standard of living and be able to persue my 'dreams' as far as a
career and life in general are concerned this is the best way to achieve
that. It would not be possible to get the career experience I currently get
through my work without a car. It comes down to that. I may say that having
a particular car is a bit of a luxury, but when I drove those two
econo-boxes for a while (Honda Prelude, Olds Calais) it was out of
necessity. I didn't have the mony for a new engine at the time and a
$250-$300 car was my only option, despite it not being cheaper to drive than
the Galaxie due to higher insurance. Anyhow, I think we were both going in
the same direction with the standard of living stuff.

Cory