Just graduated from school and got my first job, need help considering living space and transportation.

I just graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science a few weeks ago and I finally got my first job in the field. I'll be starting pretty soon but I'm going to have to deal with a few issues.

My financial situation: I have about $3,500 in the bank and my new job will be paying about $54,000 a year and offers benefits like health and dental.

1. I have a long commute (1-1.5 hr) and an old gas guzzling vehicle with a few mechanical problems. I'll probably need to get a new vehicle. My family said I should lease a new vehicle and get something with good gas mileage because newer cars tend to do better. I'm concerned that because of the long commute that I might go over limits in the lease. My family is concerned that if I get a used vehicle that I'll break down on the road in the middle of nowhere.

2. My living place is relatively far away. If I move closer I can reduce the commute but where I live now I only have to pay minimal rent because it's with family. If I get my own place I'll have to pay more in rent and utilities but I'll be much more easily able to commute to my job and maybe I won't need a new vehicle.

3. My student debt will start being collected in a little over 5 months. I believe my total debt, including interest, is about $41,000. I think that will be about $300 a month. Compared to my salary that doesn't seem like it will be too difficult but it's worth considering. I planned on putting a lot of extra money into my debt in the beginning to reduce the burden later on, in case I lose my job or something.

I've never really paid for bills and utilities on my own (if I ever did pay for them I just gave my family the money and they'd handle the payments) so I'm a little worried about handling things on my own if I move out. I would like to establish my independence but I'd also like to save up a little bit of money for a safety net before I do so. I'm just not sure how best to move forward to keep financial security in my future--but my immediate concerns are how to manage living space and transportation for my new job.