I have been thinking about your last question while working, and came up with; the cost issue should balance with your usage. Is it just to ride to school/work at this place is there a safe spot to stick it? Are you going to ride to the movies and to the store and errands? A real beater you will never worry about is quite nice to have, but there is an Happy medium like a Surly Pacer or Cross Check ( I ride and love my Pacer [with all the eyelet mounts but has road brakes]) that you can lock up and not worry too much about. A real nice 1000 dollar ride may make you hesitate riding everywhere. I do all errands on my "beater" and I bet it is worth around 800 dollars. I bring it in at night and double lock it if I have to leave it someplace like Midtown all day. If you are going to park it on the street I would chain the seat, take the quick releases off the hubs and possibly tape it up to sort of hide it and to lower the resale value if it is stolen. Good luck!