The city is huge, life is busy, and the neighborhood is... exciting.
One of the biggest adjustments, though, was finding out that parking on campus at the University of Texas might run up to 1000 dollars and probably required joining a waitlist. Some people might think I'm a crazy person for not just buying a permit (or at least joining the waitlist) but between the cost and the logistics involved (graduate classes sometimes conflict with permit hours) I knew I didn't want to deal with this system. Instead, I decided to get a bike and cycle 6 miles each way to school.
This decision ended up being a total lifesaver in some ways. At the time I had my own car, but several months after moving here, a distracted driver wrecked both my car and my fiancée's car. Now, we're sharing just one car and it wouldn't be possible for me to drive to campus even if I wanted to (most days).
In other ways, though, it's been a real struggle. Cycling ~50 miles every week is tiring, the weather will make you sweat in the heat and shiver in the cold, and sharing the road with cars can be terrifying.
I don't regret my decision to do this one bit. In fact, I consider it one of my life's greatest accomplishments not only to have moved so far from home to complete a program so demanding as the MSITM, but also to risk life and limb, expending great effort just to be there each day: gaining the skills and experiences necessary to realize the visions of my life.
Perhaps I'm too dramatic; But, I would invite anyone who thinks so to attempt a similar commute in one of the United State's 11 largest cities and see if they don't feel the same.
As of last week, I have commuted over 600 miles in total since the start of my Master's program in July 2022.
For my Utah folks, that's (roughly) equivalent to biking from Salt Lake City, UT to Los Angeles, CA.
For my Texas pardners, that's (roughly) equivalent to biking from San Antonio, TX to Wichita, KS.
For all of the good and bad that has come with doing this every day, I'm proud of myself for staying with it. The best things in life aren't easy and it's important to develop the tenacity it takes to earn them.
