Owning a car becomes less relevant?

[cypher1]

Simple answer: it depends. While I love driving and grew up working on cars, if we had a better transportation system in MN (lightrail mainly in the twin cities), I could consider switching.

Different scenario, my GF has two kids and lives in St. Paul. She works in downtown Minneapolis, plus has to drop off one for daycare in the suburbs. So giving up a car would not be an option for some parents (if not most).

[nuggetsvolume1]

The No Car Thing

This is an interesting topic: I actually joined just to chime in.

I don't have a car and I live in a walkable area of a small town. I sort of never bothered with one because I assumed I would move to a big city with good transportation; this might happen in the future, but for now I am sort of stuck, carless, in a small but walkable area of my city.

Being without a car is certainly peaceful: there are no insurance rates, gas or repairs to worry about. You also don't have to worry about accidents.

It is also VERY boring to be stuck in just one neighborhood with no car. I have everything right here, including employment opportunities, but it gets very old, very fast. I see the same people every day and I always shop at the same stores. I even (thank god) attend A.A. right in my neighborhood, as well as church. But frankly, as quaint as that is, it gets old.

You also have to consider wether or not you are single: it's great when I see families ditch their car and walk/bike everywhere, but not having a car for a single guy can be a huge hindrance. There are plenty of places, a few miles away from me, where I would have better access to the mating game but can't get there because I lack a car. Also, not all women approve of a no car lifestyle...

I just wanted to weigh in as a guy with no car. All in all, I would say it is doable, but very boring. It severely cramps your lifestyle. I really just have one neighborhood to pick from. Again, I live in a small city in the Tampa Bay area. I'm sure it would be different if I lived in Brooklyn or The Pearl area of Portland. But my situation is what most people in the US would be dealing with sans car.

Bottom line: you can do it, but it kind of sucks.

[disneysteve]

It is also VERY boring to be stuck in just one neighborhood with no car.

Welcome to the site.

When I was in college, I didn't have a car freshman year and I was miserable. I had everything I needed either on campus or in walking distance but I felt so trapped in that little area.

Sophomore year I got a car and it totally changed my mood and attitude. Just being able to escape campus for an hour and go to the mall or go to a movie or eat somewhere different made a huge difference in my life. And it did make it much more interesting to go on a date when I could actually take the girl somewhere other than the campus pizza shop.

[nuggetsvolume1]

btw, there is a great book about this called "How To Live Well Without A Car". The guy lays out the finances of how much money you can save without owning one, and it IS a huge savings. Just a life cramper. Book is a little bit overly optimistic in my opinion, but has great tips for anybody thinking about doing it.

[james.hendrickson]

This is an interesting topic: I actually joined just to chime in.

I don't have a car and I live in a walkable area of a small town. I sort of never bothered with one because I assumed I would move to a big city with good transportation; this might happen in the future, but for now I am sort of stuck, carless, in a small but walkable area of my city.

Being without a car is certainly peaceful: there are no insurance rates, gas or repairs to worry about. You also don't have to worry about accidents.

It is also VERY boring to be stuck in just one neighborhood with no car. I have everything right here, including employment opportunities, but it gets very old, very fast. I see the same people every day and I always shop at the same stores. I even (thank god) attend A.A. right in my neighborhood, as well as church. But frankly, as quaint as that is, it gets old.

You also have to consider wether or not you are single: it's great when I see families ditch their car and walk/bike everywhere, but not having a car for a single guy can be a huge hindrance. There are plenty of places, a few miles away from me, where I would have better access to the mating game but can't get there because I lack a car. Also, not all women approve of a no car lifestyle...

I just wanted to weigh in as a guy with no car. All in all, I would say it is doable, but very boring. It severely cramps your lifestyle. I really just have one neighborhood to pick from. Again, I live in a small city in the Tampa Bay area. I'm sure it would be different if I lived in Brooklyn or The Pearl area of Portland. But my situation is what most people in the US would be dealing with sans car.

Bottom line: you can do it, but it kind of sucks.

Nuggest, actually you still date without a car. You just need to schedule dates closer to your house. This is actually better because if you don't like your date, you can always bail out early and you don't need to drive a long way home.

Also, I think you are correct, the no-car lifestyle is easier in some areas. For example a dense urban area like NYC or Washington DC with excellent public transportation makes it easier to live without a car.

Also, if you are bored with your neighborhood, why not consider moving to someplace where you might be happier?

[Gailete]

Not only did I not own a car in college, I didn't even have a DL until I was married at 23. My husband at the time told me point blank that he wasn't going to drive me around and his dad would teach me how. When I tried to get DL before college, I failed my test miserable. I think partly due to undiagnosed dyslexia at the time. My step dad in his bid to teach me to drive made me drive about a mile up a long skinny out of the way path that wasn't really quite a road. Then he expected me to back out. I can't do things in reserve. It was horrible!!! And I have a hard time telling my left from my right without looking at my hands. Remembering which is left or right and then knowing which way to turn. My husband has long ago learned if he asks me which way to turn, if I give him an 'instant' anser, to turn opposite, but if he sees me checking my hands he knows the answer will be correct. Hard to admit most 2-3 year olds are better at their rights and lefts than me. That doesn't get into the rest of the problems. Anyhow, driving was NOT a pleasant experience until my FIL took over and in a month I had my license and felt very confident driving. A big difference between me at 17 and me at 23!

My college was on a bus route so we could go into town if and when we had time and or money to shop. I also had a family that 'adopted' me where I could go for dinner, to rest, even to sleep if needed. I stayed witht hem during one Christmas vacation when I didn't have funds to go home. Because of things like that, I never felt lonely or having a need for a car. Glad I can drive now, but I am cutting back on my driving, especially at night. We have deer in our area and now we also have snow, so safer to stay indoors.

[snafu]

OP, what opportunities to rent a car or unofficially share a car and it's expenses with a colleague or neighbour? Observing from a distance, I have the impression that a lot of relationships are merely electronic, Tweets, texts, etc.

[moolahmonkey]

Depends on where you live

It really depends on where you live. If you live in places like San Francisco, Oakland, or New York City, it's much easier to get by without a car. Public transportation is way better, and for places you can't get to, you can take Uber/Lyft now. If you lived in a place like LA, you can't get by on public transportation. You'd definitely need a car.

If you can get by without a car without making huge sacrifices, I'd totally get rid of my car.

[Gailete]

If you can get by without a car without making huge sacrifices, I'd totally get rid of my car.

I would too, but we live in a rural area with no bus service except for in town and the bus goes to the city and back, mostly for the convenience of the college students in town. I would prefer having a car to have the freedom of going to where I need to go when I need to. More than once we have had to take unplanned visits to the ER, etc.

I got my billing amount for our car insurance next year. If I recall what I saw before passing out, It is $895/year. Our mileage so far this year is less than 3700 miles! So about $1 for every 4 miles we drive which is ridiculous. I have got to get on the phone ASAP! Off hand I think we filled the tank 11-12 times. I remember when I was working and traveling for work I was getting gas every 4 days.

[SavingBucks]

My son lives in LA and was carless for 4 years! He is a poor college student and took the bus everywhere. He graduated from community college and is attending a local university, so his dad let him use a car. But now he is on the hook for greater expenses. He is on break now and is back to using the bus to get to work because it is cheaper! He makes sure to move the car every few days so he does not get a ticket. He could actually take a bus to school but the trip would be a lot longer and he would have to get up earlier. I gifted him with a AAA membership just in case!

[Gailete]

He makes sure to move the car every few days so he does not get a ticket.

My youngest son who is about as frugal as possible, called this morning to say because of the snow, his work is shut down. He might have been able to work if possible because he moved so now is only a few blocks from work. However he is 6'2" and told me the snow is up to his waist, it is impossible to move his car to the other side of the street. He says if he gets a ticket, so what, there is no way or place to move it! I just hope they don't tow him. Where he lives it is odd even parking so the cars have to be moved everyday but in a snow crisis like this, how do they expect people to move cars with around 4' of snow on the ground? Very much a disadvantage to having a car, but unless the bus is going where you want to go, you are out of luck.

[SavingSteve]

I went without a car in LA for 11 months while I saved enough money to buy and stop leasing. In some ways it was fun because I felt like I was more "out there in the big city", and not sheltered in my own little world. But it grew tiresome because I had to take a train and bus to work, which too twice as long as driving. And sometimes there were maniacs or really weird, sometimes dangerous people on the public transportation. LA is so spread out that some places were easy, but some it took a ridiculous about of time to get there. After buying my car I wouldn't go back.

In LA I'd say a car is not essential but a very high priority, right after food, clothing and shelter comes transportation.