Would you live without a car?

[mekap04]

I've been dreaming of getting a car for a long time now. I've walked, paid expensive cab fares, got lost taking public transportation, wasted so much time waiting on rides, missed appointments, and stayed home a lot since I had no car. At the moment, I am still without a car but when I get one this year, I will surely keep it around as long as possible.

[MardenI]

I probably won't need a car when living in a big city with good public transportation.

Although now and then I would rent a car to go to areas where's no good public transportation.
In that way a car is quite convenient.

The other day I read about youth nowadays don't see a car anymore as sort of status symbol. Is that so? In general young people won't necessarily have a car of their own?

[Nika]

We have lived without a car for most of our lives. We have one now. It is very convenient and insanely expensive (car payment is nothing, it is the insurance and the tolls and the parking).

We got one when DH got a job in NJ (you just CAN'T get anywhere without a car there). But now we are used to the convenience. But when I travel to other US destinations, a car is a necessity most places. That is unfortunate.

[BrianJone]

not a cahnce

[BrianJone]

could you?

[JBL]

I resent my car every day. I live in the city; insurance is astronomically expensive as are taxes. Parking is a headache. I use the car very infrequently but find it practically essential to have. When pets get ill or I need to get to the hardware store and schlep stuff home I need the car. My small city has horrendous public transportation and it takes ages to get places. Fortunately, I can walk to many places. We do use the car for vacations (usually several trips of 200 miles or less, plus maybe one or two longer ones).

I am currently still paying off my car and it costs me about $7500 per year to own and drive about 9000 miles. When the loan is paid, it will cost about half that. It's a lot of money.

I've recently made a few adjustments to my lifestyle to cut back a bit on driving. I'm hoping that I can at least make this car last for a good long time.

[Tree0164]

These days I would say no due to where I am living and having children.

[cwg9409]

I don't think I could survive without my car, because my job is a 30 minute car ride away, and my school an hour. Also in my town there isn't public transportation so I'd basically be screwed without a car.

[MaraJadeC]

Yup. I am 23 years old, working, and don't have a car. I don't mind commuting as well. But it can be a bit of a hassle especially on rush hour. Saves a lot of money if you ask me.

[Liopleurodon]

Cars are my passion in life. I'm careful with my budget and spending so I can afford the type of vehicle I want to drive.

[cardtrick]

No car for me. I use public transportation. That's the benefit of living in a big city. The GF has a car but I rarely use it for myself. Every once in a while, I'll need a ride to the suburbs and she'll take me, but I could also use public transportation for that. Unless you have a monthly pass, it is pretty pricey to use public transportation. I pay $100 per month for my monthly pass (it's tax deductible). So, when we both go out, we usually take the car. We go out of our way to find free parking. I hate paying for parking.

[shaggy]

I haven't had a car since 1990. I like to walk and take public transportation. When I have a big load to carry, I call a cab.

No car for me. I use public transportation. That's the benefit of living in a big city. The GF has a car but I rarely use it for myself. Every once in a while, I'll need a ride to the suburbs and she'll take me, but I could also use public transportation for that. Unless you have a monthly pass, it is pretty pricey to use public transportation. I pay $100 per month for my monthly pass (it's tax deductible). So, when we both go out, we usually take the car. We go out of our way to find free parking. I hate paying for parking.

Wow, $100 per month is a lot for a transit pass. I think where I live they are $62 a month.

[baselle]

its not bad

Wow I'm the oddball here. I had a car when I lived in North Carolina, but for most of my adult life I've lived without a car. If I travel out of the country, I learn of many people who get along without a car, but boy as a carless American it is an ice breaker.

Seattle has just enough public transit to do it. My employer subsidizes my bus pass by about 50% so I can use it on non-work trips. I also have a Zipcar account and now Seattle has a city wide car sharing program called Car2Go. (Difference between not owning a car and not being able to drive.)

99% of the time its fine. I do have to walk much more, when I moved the walkability of the new neighborhood was top reason to buy my condo in the area I did. I have a wheely soft cart for groceries, but for a couple of bags I consider it a free gym workout (keeping the weight down cheaply is a big benefit) There are some errands that I have to do when the weather is nice - nothing like lugging 30 lbs of kitty litter in the rain. But lugging that kitty litter is like a good kettlebell workout. Its freeing - when I did have a car all I did was worry about it breaking down. No car, none of those worries.

I do have understanding friends - if I'm the back seat, everybody knows that they can take the HOV lanes. I also don't mooch (I can get to nearly anywhere by transit) and I pay for gas.

1% of the time I have problems. I can't buy super heavy or bulky things. I can't blow off the UPS guy and assume I can drive to their HQ pick up my stuff. I have to pay for delivery for furniture, even smallish stuff. Taking kitty to a routine vet visit isn't too bad, but in an emergency, no car will be an issue. I save money, but it costs in time. If I have a problem that I need to solve, I have to come with a way that doesn't involve using a car.

Of course, I can always rent a car for the 1% - I'm within 10 blocks of a car rental.

[hamchan]

I haven't had a car in over ten years. I do live in downtown Seattle now, but I have also gone carless in Anchorage, Alaska and Fairbanks, Alaska. And in both of those I managed it with a young child. So I kind of raise an eyebrow when people claim they could never do it.

[hamchan]

When our cat was vomiting up blood at five in the morning last year we took a cab to the emergency vet clinic. We might use a cab six times a year at the most. If I need to pick up something large or heavy I will usually pah one of my two out-of-work friends with a vehicle to drive me. I take the train or bus to work. Almost everywhere else I can walk. I can take the train to Portland to visit my aunt, or the Greyhound to Spokane to visit my mom and dad. Not having a car can definitely affect where you choose to live and work, and you do have to arrange your life around it somewhat, but to have one would be extremely expensive, and no more convenient for getting to and from work due to parking issues.

Not having a car in Alaska, well that was just plain hard times. Once a week I would walk half a mile and then take two buses to do my one load of laundry. I could not do more than one load a week as that was the maximum I could carry. I also had to pick up groceries on the way back too, and bring those back along with the laundry. And it was usually around zero degrees or lower and snowing. And my daughter, who was four at the time, had to come with me. She never once complained. That kid deserves a medal.