Reasons

I had been driving a 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander at the time of my decision. It got about 23 MPG on average. My school, Cal State Fullerton, was only about 11 miles away but over time all the traffic, searches for a parking spot and meandering around for lunch add up. In total I was spending about $280 a month on gas. Which wouldn’t have been all that bad if I hadn’t been already driving extremely conservatively to keep it under $300. Driving conservatively hinders a few things for me. Firstly, I am an avid photographer and adventurer. I love explore new places, usually spontaneously. This became problematic when a trip to Downtown LA for photos (24 miles away) would end up costing me nearly $10 per trip. If I had to sit in traffic, which is usually the case if you live in LA, it became even more expensive. Secondly, I wasn’t able to go to school as much I liked too. I would want to go to the gym in the morning but that meant at least two round trips. It’s also impossible for me to study at home. I’m a rare breed of creature that needs his relaxing/home space and his work space separate. Therefore I usually live in the library or Starbucks until midnight. This requires multiple trips home for food. My limit on gas expenditure, which was necessary at the time, was also beginning to severely limit my life.

I realized I had two options:

Stop using my car and move to an apartment on campus for relatively the same amount I was paying in gas. Get a new, more efficient car that allowed me to travel and go to school whenever I please.

Me jumping over Clara after having recently picked her up.

I decided to go with option 2. I had always wanted to give an electric car a shot because I enjoy being an early adopter of new tech. It intrigues me and I’m gifted with the patience of a hibernating bear which is very much needed with any first generation tech device. I went online and found myself a White 2011 Nissan Leaf for $14,800 that had the miles and color I was looking for. The minute I saw her I knew it was perfect! I headed that same day to Santa Monica Motorcars because I’m as decisive as I am patient. Once I’ve analyzed all the pros and cons and made up my mind about something, it’s very hard to deter me from that mindset. Almostobnoxiously so. I gave her the name Clara as a nod to the Doctor’s companion in Doctor Who. Since she’d be my companion throughout a few years in my life, it was only fitting. She drove like a gem and it was love upon the first, very silent, rev of the engine. She looked sleek and was all mine. This gave me some confidence which can be seen or interpreted as a minor way in which this huge change helped me.

Most college students would shy away from the thought of owning an electric car. Perhaps because the electric car industry comes off as extremely elite and expensive or perhaps it’s because the only electric car seen as ‘cool’ so far is a Tesla. Either way, I’m here to dispel those rumors. Are there some inconveniences? Yes. Does it require some extra planning sometimes? Yes. Quite frankly the thing I’ve come to realize with an electric car is that it requires patience and some sacrificing of your time. The thing is though, as a college student, what I have the most of is time anyways. The monthly payments for my car total about $278. Rather than see $280 go into a gas tank and literally be burned up I invested that into a nicer, more efficient car. Here’s everything that investment has gotten me.