First of, think it's totally cool how your thinking about your dad. Yeah totally think you'll be able to have a good social life whilst commuting! I commuted for a year and did my uni reading on the bus (really helped with making the most of my free time!) and I actually ended up meeting some interesting people on the commute too! I would say though, look at your bus timetable... my last bus would be pretty early in the evening so missed out on the night social life. But usually friends are there to help with that and let you crash 😂