(article) Gas Prices Could Hit $3.75 by Spring

[Urban Chicago]

And it may be a faster demise for some who moved out of the suburbs into the urban fringe and wound up having to commute to everything--jobs, supermarket, church, movies.

Maybe, but not for me. I live on the edge of the city. I'll be able to take the train next month when they finish my station. So can DH. Church, supermarket, etc... are all walkable, or at the very least, "busable."

[Kung Fu Panda]

In my city we dont have mass transit, and the suburbs are 20+ miles from downtown. No choice but to suck it up and push employer to pay enough to make it worth it.
During the last big jump in Gas, everyone in the city rallied for masstransit, but there is just not the money in this down economy.
Conspiracy Theory: You just have to think that someone invented a super effecient engine, and the car maker lobbyist squashed it, because it would crush there business

[Deleted]

i traded in the big suv for a used civic because i couldn't afford to put gas in it. i commute 100 miles a day for my job, have no mass transit available, and the only people around me that i could carpool with still live at least 25-30 miles from where i am. i'm looking into leaving my great government job for those reasons alone, but nothing closer pays near as much. i know you'll say i should look into moving closer, but we're in a great area and our kids go to a great school. i really don't want to disrupt them. as of right now, i'm spending about $300 a month in gas, and it's $3.15/gal. once it hits $4 or $5, i really don't know what i'm going to do. we're already living paycheck to paycheck.

by the way, i'm not really looking for suggestions - just wanted to offer my two cents to the thread.

[thyme4change]

No choice but to suck it up

There is absolutely no housing anywhere between downtown and 20 miles away? There is zero urban living? Weird.

(Oh, I know - all of it is crime infested slums.)

[jkapp]

Just keep your tires propertly inflated...then there's no issues. That's all it takes, right?

[daisylu]

Jan 5, 2011 14:06:16 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

No choice but to suck it up

There is absolutely no housing anywhere between downtown and 20 miles away? There is zero urban living? Weird.

(Oh, I know - all of it is crime infested slums.)

Try too expensive. Low-rate apartments within 10 miles of our downtown are renting for $800.00. And that is extremely low end. So I will keep my 20 mile commute and my $350.00/month PITI mortgage, thank you very much.

[Poppet]

Maybe, but not for me. I live on the edge of the city. I'll be able to take the train next month when they finish my station. So can DH. Church, supermarket, etc... are all walkable, or at the very least, "busable

My mistake I meant rural, not urban. I get those two mixed up in me brain.

Rural.

Case in point. I have a brother who moved out of the suburbs to a more rural area about 30- 45 minutes to Los Angeles. His job is about a 30 minute commute. Supermarkets and whatnot are about a 20-25 minute drive. I wonder how he's going to deal with the gas hike. Nothing is busable.

[Poppet]

No choice but to suck it up

You can only suck it up so much and then it can become unsustainable.

[Urban Chicago]

Case in point. I have a brother who moved out of the suburbs to a more rural area about 30- 45 minutes to Los Angeles. His job is about a 30 minute commute. Supermarkets and whatnot are about a 20-25 minute drive. I wonder how he's going to deal with the gas hike. Nothing is busable.

Yes, that is different, and a problem. City folk will be in the best position to deal with gas prices, thus people will move into the city, thus cities have a bigger, richer tax base to deal with crime/schools. The burbs and rural areas lose that tax base.[/quote]

[Deleted]

Every time gas goes up I hope this will be the time I pull the trigger and buy a big, huge obnoxious SUV for a sweet deal.

Read more: notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=finance&action=display&thread=942&page=1#ixzz1ACRSPvgZ

I traded in my corolla for a V8 SUV the last time gas prices went up.

[ModE98]

I have heard predictions (Bloomberg TV) of $5+ later in 2011. The demand in the Far East and developing countries is growing fast. Worldwide supply and demand will work against us here. Looks like some the alternative fuel and electric cars will see more sales as prices of gasoline rise to new all time highs in the next year or two.

[8 Bit WWBG]

I've bashed SUVs and extolled high gas prices on so many threads, I don't know which ones are which anymore.

[Kung Fu Panda]

There is absolutely no housing anywhere between downtown and 20 miles away? There is zero urban living? Weird.
---------------------------

Yes there is of course, but its pricey. Houses in suburbia run 200k, houses in the downtown loop run 750+ for 50 year old tiny fixer uppers. So I will have to trade the gas cost against mortgage costs

[dancinmama]

Jan 5, 2011 13:23:29 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Jan 5, 2011 9:53:24 GMT -5 The J said:

Paid $3.37/gallon this morning. It makes me happy that 90% of the time I take the train.

Same here, and my work pays for the majority of our transit passes. Win-win! ;D

My DH commutes by bus to work and his company pays for his annual pass too. He only drives in when he absolutely has to (maybe half a dozen times a year), but he still has to get to the train station to catch the bus and we still have to go where we have to go.

I agree with a previous poster. By now, people have tightened their belts all they can. Higher gas prices will mean less consumer spending in other areas.

[Urban Chicago]

I know this is silly, but when gas prices go up DH and I will fill up more often (at half a tank instead of at a 1/4 tank) so the "hit" doesn't feel quite so painful. Again, I know it's silly and makes no difference in the long run. It just makes us feel better.

Actually, that does make sense. You car uses more gas after about 1/2 tank, because it has more room to evaporate in the gas tank. Even notice how it seems like your first half tank lasts forever and the second half is gone in a day or two.

[so1970]

the cost of daily driving doesn't affect me because i work on a boat and only have to travel to or from work 9 times a year. where fuel prices affect me is in the paycheck, if the price of diesel goes up there is less of a chance of pay raises going up.your average tugboat holds 28000 gal of fuel and burns between1000 to 2500 gallons a day.