<p>I live on the south side of Atlanta. Is it really necessary for me to bring a Car? I mean I want to go home every once in a while, but most weekends I'll be on campus. Would it be more of a hassel or a help?</p>
<p>I had lots of friends who didn’t bring their car freshmen year and got along just fine. Having it on campus is just an added convenience (and an expensive one at that). A parking permit will run you between $180-360 depending on what lots you request. I was glad I brought my car because I could go anywhere I wanted any time without having to mooch off of friends.</p>
<p>Bring both. A car to get you around town and a bike to get you around campus. I wouldn’t be able to live without my car. Then again, I’m self-sufficient and don’t like to depend on friends to get me to places. If you think there is any chance you’ll want to get OFF campus, then I’d bring a car.</p>
<p>So the Athens bus system is a no no? Meaning, I can’t get to essential places(i.e. Walmart) just using the buses? Other than home and (maybe) Atlanta where else is there to go off campus? Cause really I don’t mind catching a ride with others and what I’m thinking is that if I bring my truck it would just to sit in the parking lot until I decided to go home. But thats from the perspective of not living on campus. If I were to bring a bike there are bike racks where I can leave it correct?</p>
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So the Athens bus system is a no no? Meaning, I can’t get to essential places(i.e. Walmart) just using the buses? Other than home and (maybe) Atlanta where else is there to go off campus? Cause really I don’t mind catching a ride with others and what I’m thinking is that if I bring my truck it would just to sit in the parking lot until I decided to go home. But thats from the perspective of not living on campus. If I were to bring a bike there are bike racks where I can leave it correct?
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<p>UGA bus system is very convenient, especially when it rains. The closet Wal-Mart is a few miles away so I recommend bringing your own car as well as your bike. A bike will be nice for on campus, but when going to Wal-Mart, Kroger (closer than Wal-Mart), movie theatre with friends, etc., it’s best to have a car. It would cost you almost $400 for a one year parking permit, or that’s what it cost me for parking in West Deck. And yes, there are bike racks outside of all dorm halls. I am going back to Athens in a couple of days to take summer classes, and when I was came home for about 25 days, I didn’t bother to bring my bike back home. It’s still locked up outside the dorm hall right now, or so I hope. If you have any questions, contact me at <a href="mailto:ugabulletin@gmail.com">ugabulletin@gmail.com</a>. I do not check these forums often.</p>
<p>If you think you can handle not having a car, go for it. The Athens bus system is great. It goes all over town to all the major shopping centers and apartment complexes. And having a bike is very convenient.</p>
<p>I live in northern Atlanta and did fine without a car. The bus system is sufficient to take me anywhere I want to go, but I didn’t mind waiting for the Athens transit bus system, which come round once an hour. (That’s free for UGA students, by the way, and you’ll see Athens transit buses alongside the UGA buses at some of the stops.) I did use the Greyhound when I wanted to go home, though, since my parents didn’t have time for a two-hour drive and I went home more often than my roomie, who lives near me.</p>
<p>Now for you guys who did bring cars, in an average week how many times did you use it. Also did you have a kind of like a niggling little worry in the back of your head thinking if your car is okay? For Sola were the times you wished you had a car alot or a little? 
I’m trying to aproach this rationally and therefore I’m looking at it at different angles. Will this be an expensive investment (the price of gas, upkeep, parking, any other liablities) that will give me freedom to do what I have to do when I have to? Or an expensive waste of time (I can do all those things when I want to by footing/biking/hitchingrides/catchingthebusing it without the extra expenses) IDK. lol</p>
<p>I mean, I just brought a car for the convenience of it. I used it probably 2 or 3 times a week. I went to Walmart probably at least once a week, and I drove myself there. I didn’t really worry about my car. Just make sure you lock it and don’t park close to people. It is pretty expensive, but I don’t like my schedule being dictated by bus schedules.</p>
<p>The best time to see if you can live without the car is freshman year when you are on campus and on the meal plan. If you take a car, you will never learn if you could do without that added expense. There is some freedom in not having the responsibility of a car. Most likely, college is the only time you will still have this freedom. I think most people underestimate the expense and cars are sitting parked most of the time. It is handy to have a car-sure, it is cost-effective and environmentally friendly-no.</p>
<p>I really only wished I had a car occasionally, usually when I wanted to go to the public library but didn’t feel like either walking or taking the public bus, or when I wanted to go home and my roomie wasn’t available to carpool with. All told, I wanted to drive a car maybe once or twice a month.</p>
<p>I did have two friends who brought their cars freshman year. One had an off-campus job and wasn’t on the meal plan; for her, the car was definitely necessary. The other one used hers largely to go home once every two weeks; aside from that, I can count on one hand the times I saw her use it. So it does vary by your situation.</p>
<p>Well thanks for the input everybody, I think I’m going to foot it for the first semester or so. I guess the best way to know if I can survive with or without a car is to actually jump into it. Thanks again.</p>