I’m back from Northern Europe, secured a great internship with the New England Clean Energy Council and things seemed to be falling into place but I have run into a rather strange problem.

I need to pick up a part-time job to supplement working for free 3 days a week this summer.  I decided to approach my job search with a wide open mind.  If I could find something that is interesting and beneficial to my long-term goals, great!  But realistically, I’m well aware that I am in no position to be picky and would be happy to take whatever I can get to put that green in my pocket.  With this attitude I attacked all your classic avenues for part-time work with some positive responses and a few good leads.

A problem I didn’t anticipate or perhaps I chose not to think about was the necessary proximity of this potential job.  I knew that Worcester is not the most bike friendly city from a strict getting from A to B standpoint but trying to locate and acquire a part-time job has provided a whole new perspective.  A number of the opportunities that have seemed to be a perfect fit for me and the prospective employer have fallen victim to commute logistics on my end.  I have found that many of the best opportunities in the Worcester area are located just outside of the city in large “carfree” dead zones that are difficult or impossible to bike to and/or have no public transit options.

In a lot of ways this realization is what CarFreeBrad is all about.  I’m forced to address and face challenges that would have never been on my radar.  It also opens my eyes to the struggle that many people face who don’t get to “choose” carfree living.  What a great privilege!  I’m still convinced and the numbers are still on my side that living carfree saves a tremendous amount of money but I can’t deny that a vehicle can open doors and make a job search like mine easier.

In an ideal world I would find a part-time job on Shrewsbury street that I could walk to and be available to pick up random hours so I will continue to scour the area for this mythic opportunity.  Until then, I will have to embrace the fact that living carfree is easy when you control all the schedule variables but becomes “real” as soon as you are at the mercy of othertimetables.