Going without a car
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Hello,
How many of you don’t have a car?
U.S. residents?
I’m in Fort Collins, CO and when my lease is up in February, I’m giving serious thought to not getting another car. This will be rather strange since I’m 46, and have had a car since I was 16.
The thought of saving $400/month is very appealing. I’m only driving 300 miles a month as it is.
Thoughts?
Experiences?
Suggestions to prepare?
Thanks,
Glenn -
Impossible here in Yee-hawville (Texas), without a car we are absolutely stranded in the heat. Why not get a motorcycle/scooter if saving money is the issue?
I work from my home but use a car to visit job sites and clients besides the whole kids taxi thing, I have a motorcycle that I really enjoy when the weather is not triple digits. -
When your lease is up (the most expensive way to own a car btw), go without a car for 3 or 4 months. Set aside that $400 you were paying like nothing changed. Then after 4 months you will have $1600 and the experience of not having a car. I am sure you can get a beater car for that. Or a nice used motorcycle/scooter like Pete said. Then you can continue to put away $400 every month after that.
If you seriously think you can go without a car this will be a good test. Then after that 4 months if you realize you don't even need a car, you have started a savings account
Then build it up to a reasonable emergency fund and if you find you really do need personal transportation someday you can pay for it out of pocket.
(And before I get slammed with the "better said than done bit"; both of our cars are paid for and the only debt we have is our house payment of $500/mo). -
Glenn,
Life without a car? It ALL depends on where you locate yourself
and weather or not that place has been designed / evolved for
the car, foot or public transport.At home (Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland) I definitely need a car to
get around as the public transport system is pretty poor.However when I spend time in Brigton UK (with Daughters) I don't
need one as they are located in the thick of things and I can
get to everywhere I need either on foot, bus or rail. The same
goes for when I spend time in Torremolinos, Spain. Again I am
very centrally located and foot, bus and rail gets me to anywhere
I need to go. I have hired a car occasionally for a day at both
locations.I have been a car fanatic all my life but over the past few years
I am coming to the realisation that they are NOT meeting the needs
of most people and this has been highlighted more so with the current
hikes in fuel. Most, if not all of the car manufactureshave been
competing against each other for market share, copying eachothers
designs rather than developing vehicles that service our day to
day needs.Its very refreshing to note that there are quite a few small car
manufacturing companies that are developing very functional cars
that will meet the every day needs of most. I hope to see a lot
more of them in the future.Mike
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If you only drive 300 miles a month (and its mostly short trips) it might eb worth considering cycling.
If you get a decent bike and ride reasonably frequently you can often do short trips a lot faster than you would in the car. Its also a very enjoyable experience cruising along the open road. Depending on where you live, it can also be pretty easy to combine it with public transport.
Depends a lot on your habits though, just a suggestion really.
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I shouldn't really chime in because I live about half a minute walk from my work place (and another 5 minutes from my regular corner bar
). Sometimes I don't even leave the old historic centre (with the town walls) for days or even a week so there's no need for a car for me.So obviously it all depends on your needs and the circumstances you live/work in.
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I don't have a car, but then I live in the middle of a large city with an extensive mass transit system (which actually would get me to the edges of NYC's mass transit system, if I wanted to go to the trouble of spending a day on commuter rails). I haven't owned a car in four years, and I rarely miss it. When I travel, I go out of my way to not have to get a rental (for instance, I used CalTrain to get from the Googleplex to San Francisco after the 3DBC).
However, my wife has a Prius, so we aren't entirely auto-free here, even if I rarely ever ride in it. After our first child was born, we discovered that the MBTA is not particularly baby-carriage-friendly (I hate to think what it must be like for the wheelchair-bound). Once our youngest is capable of walking to school (about a fifteen minute walk for me, but a bit much for a toddler), I assume that we will dispense with the Prius as well.
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Very interesting comments…I too have been a car nut since before I could drive. Raced for about 6 years (IMSA, SCCA). Used to work in the auto industry, was disillusioned by the scam they are pulling on the general public.
I ride (mountain bike) daily, 1 to 2 hours for pleasure (sometimes on the trails, other days just around town).
I work at home so my commute is about 20 feet J.
The hard part for me to grasp is grocery shopping without a car??? I’ve thought about going 2x per week to carry less bags?
I live in Fort Collins Colorado, very bike/pedestrian friendly. I haven’t tried the public transportation yet….I see buses constantly. Maybe I should get a schedule???? -
I think it would be fun to use a 4 person bike for family needs and grocery shopping. This site has a bunch of intersting bike variations.
A rickshaw type thing with a big bucket in the front would make grocery shopping a breeze.
Chris
EDIT: Here's a link to a rickshaw page with pictures of using it to move lots of stuff instead of carrying people:
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Great links...I like the water bike...I wonder if they make aversion for snow
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Last summer, I decided to try life without a car. I'm self-employed and had contrived to arrange my working commitments so that I could handle the majority from my home office. Should have been a doddle.
Far from it. I stuck it out as long as I cold, but public transport here in the North of England is absolutely dire. Unreliable, infrequent, filthy, uncomfortable, inadequate, overcrowded, inconvenient, expensive. I could go on, but suffice to say that I recently took delivery of a new car, almost a year to the day after I gave up my previous vehicle.
It is wonderful to have the freedom and control over my ability to get anywhere, any time, at MY convenience.
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Ive owned a car for about a year now, and the rising fuel costs are making me reconsider owning it. There is no parking at work, and parking on the street outside is about €16 per day (and technically, i have to move it every 3 hours).
Commute by bicycle, its the only option! I cycle 20km a day to work, 3 times faster than a bus stuck in traffic or in the car. Always arrive on time too..
So I have a car sitting at home. I think it might be time for it to go, but, unfortunately, nobody here wants to buy cars these days. Damn.
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