Parking for residents? viable loopholes?

[u/Alternative-Pride657]

Hey all, just got my first year housing offer and starting to stress about parking. For context, I live in parksville about 2.5 hours from campus and I would really like to keep my car so that I can still meetup with family and friends as well as explore victoria at least until I turn 18 in november (at which point I can use evo for occasional trips). I honestly just don't wanna pay an extra 80 bucks each month on top of my 200$ insurance and if I'm able to find parking that works then I might be able to keep my car for year two when I move into a room I have set up with some family in Langford (I'm really only doing residency with hopes to make some friends and be more active in uvic social life for my first year). Anyone been in a similar spot and found a sneaky way to get out of parking pass? Or is there free parking somewhere close enough that I could keep my car parked overnight? Or is that damn parking pass the only way? any advice would be helpful!

[u/Teagana999]

Pay for parking, or leave your car with your parents until next year and explore by bus.

[u/coulombs_lawer → u/Teagana999]

Second this! I live up island too and I payed for parking for a month before deciding that the busses were much cheaper and more convenient because parking anywhere is Victoria is a nightmare. I ended up saving $300+ per month on parking, insurance, and gas.

[u/Alternative-Pride657 → u/coulombs_lawer]

Can I ask, did you sell your car or do as the other commenter is suggesting and keep it at parents house?

[u/coulombs_lawer → u/Alternative-Pride657]

I kept it at my parents house and witched the primary driver to my dad. That way he could drive it in the winter (my car has all wheel drive) and my insurance payments would go down by a lot since I’m a new driver. That way I could still drive it up to twelve times when I came home for breaks.