People Who Do Not Own Cars
Quite a few threads have me wondering what your lifestyle is like that it doesn’t necessitate owning a car. I think it is great that you are able to live car free, but I am wondering how this is. Many people have expressed the feeling of freedom that comes with not owning car, but for me it feels like a lack of.
Do you work in the city or commute to the suburbs? Are you otherwise required to commute to areas outside the city on a frequent basis? Is your family local and how often do you see them? Would you describe your lifestyle as minimalistic? This is the part of me wondering how I would have gotten that all-in-one printer home the other day or the cans of paint and bbq I just bought. When I run my weekly errands, I get everything done in one shot. How is that possible on a bike? Do you use car-sharing services? How often would you say not owning a car creates a hindrance? Do you ever feel like you are losing time in your day due to a reliance on public transportation or that it is more of a hassle?
Do you work in the city or commute to the suburbs? Are you otherwise required to commute to areas outside the city on a frequent basis? Is your family local and how often do you see them? Would you describe your lifestyle as minimalistic? This is the part of me wondering how I would have gotten that all-in-one printer home the other day or the cans of paint and bbq I just bought. When I run my weekly errands, I get everything done in one shot. How is that possible on a bike? Do you use car-sharing services? How often would you say not owning a car creates a hindrance? Do you ever feel like you are losing time in your day due to a reliance on public transportation or that it is more of a hassle?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on
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Q: Do you work in the city or commute to the suburbs?
A: Both in the city, 6.5 miles one way, bicycle most of the year, one bus + 0.75 mile walk the rest of the time.
Q:Are you otherwise required to commute to areas outside the city on a frequent basis?
A: Not required.
Q: Is your family local and how often do you see them?
A: Distant suburbs or out-of-state. Once or twice a year. It's all cousins and in-laws.
Q: Would you describe your lifestyle as minimalistic?
A: Somewhat, I could be more minimalistic if I tried some.
Q: This is the part of me wondering how I would have gotten that all-in-one printer home the other day or the cans of paint and bbq I just bought.
A: See the picture above. Take a cab if necessary. Have it delivered.
Q: When I run my weekly errands, I get everything done in one shot. How is that possible on a bike?
A: Our (my wife and I) errands are more daily than weekly. We still combine them with some other need to travel in that area.
Q: Do you use car-sharing services?
A: Not very often. Sometimes I borrow a friend's car or rent if it's needed for several days.
Q: How often would you say not owning a car creates a hindrance?
A: Less than 3% of the time. After a while you just don't think about driving/having a car at your beckoning.
Q: Do you ever feel like you are losing time in your day due to a reliance on public transportation or that it is more of a hassle?
A: We lose a little time, but again, after a while you just don't think about having a car.
COMMENTARY: We've been car-free for more than 20 years. While I don't know where the extra money went, if you figure cost-per-mile of a motor vehicle, you probably need to keep it for 10 years or longer to get into the bicycle/bus range, costwise.
Then there're the health benefits. (You could get hit by a motor vehicle, but probably not.)
It is a life-style choice that is not for everyone, although, 100-110 years ago nearly everyone got around without a motor vehicle; 120 years ago no one had a motor vehicle. Society made it pretty far without a car.
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Permalink Reply by milesperhour on
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H3N3 said:
I'll wait to respond at length until I see that you're genuinely interested in the answer and not just trying to prove that car-freedom is for societal fringe-dwellers (see street cleaning thread), but in general I'll say that I've made choices that have made it easy to get by without a car-- you do have the ability to choose where you work, live, and shop.
I am completely genuine. Like I said I think it is great, but it has me wondering what sort of travel you do outside of the city boundaries, what your life styles are like, and how you make it work.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Kenseth on
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I'll use the same format...
Q: Do you work in the city or commute to the suburbs?
A: I live in the city. For 1.5 years I rode my bike to the Metra and took it on the train to Villa Park or Elmhurst, then rode to Addison for work. Now I go to grad school and have a shorter commute. I actually miss the long commute by bike/train/bike. I got my exercise, ate my breakfast, read free papers, did homework, and talked to people before and after work. It was great.
Q:Are you otherwise required to commute to areas outside the city on a frequent basis?
A: Not required.
Q: Is your family local and how often do you see them?
A: I frequent Rockford and Madison area, 4-6 times a year. My girlfriend drives us in her car. However, I hate it. I would rather take the bus to Rockford or Madison. I absolutely hate the traffic and the tolls on I90. (Our IPass was stolen, and I refuse to get another one.) If my girlfriend didn't have a car, I would take the bus.
Q: Would you describe your lifestyle as minimalistic?
A: Yes. But my life is maximalistic. Quality of life is more important than the quantity of things. I have less material possessions but more life. If die with a lot of money in the bank or a lot of toys, I will have lived my life lifeless.
Q: This is the part of me wondering how I would have gotten that all-in-one printer home the other day or the cans of paint and bbq I just bought.
A: I-Go, Zip car, bike trailer. Or shop nearby. We found our all-in-one printer a half block down the street in an alley. People throw away perfectly good stuff just because one little hinge part is broken.
Q: When I run my weekly errands, I get everything done in one shot. How is that possible on a bike?
A: I guess I don't have weekley errands. We walk to the grocery store or my girlfriend frequents the farmer's market near her work. Again, weekly errands could be done via car sharring. Saturday, I picked up a watermelon and went to the bank. That was a weekly errand I guess.
Q: Do you use car-sharing services?
A: I haven't used one yet.
Q: How often would you say not owning a car creates a hindrance?
A: 0% of the time. I absolutely love it. Even in the rain and snow. I'm prepared for it.
Q: Do you ever feel like you are losing time in your day due to a reliance on public transportation or that it is more of a hassle?
A: Maybe a little, but what is time? It's relative. I think I gain time. Life goes slower when I read or people-watch while on the bus/train. Walking 4.5 miles to school is the best time to clear my head and think about things. Also, it's usually quicker for me to bike a few miles and park my bike then it would be to drive my car and search for pay-parking. Oh, and I don't miss having to go re-pay the meter. I feel like the few minutes I may lose in time by biking to the bank or a soccer game, I gain in not having to find parking.
COMMENTARY: I feel more free by biking and walking and using public trans. I can dodge traffic, smell the flowers, and find wooded streets and parks to ride through to enjoy my commute. I also like running into friends while on my bike. We can actually stop and talk for a bit. I believe that cars are dangerous mentally, physically, and environmentally; immeasurably more dangerous than biking. I can't prove any of this with facts, but I believe the car has torn apart our social fabric and is tearing apart our environment (think: sprawl & farmland, air pollution & landfills, oil fields & refineries...etc.) See "Taken for a Ride" to realize how much we've been duped by car and oil companies. Read about Robert Moses to see the impacts of highways on the neighborhoods of New York, which led to the bankruptcy of NYC in the 70s or 80s(?). Look at our wars on oil-rich nations.
I can't measure the quality of a car-free life. There is no lost time when my senses are always sensing and my experiences are always expanding.
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I second that, H. Jeesh...What did people do before 1940? (Don't answer that.)
H3N3 said:
. . .I was afraid this was going to be another one of those "tell me how you get by without a car and I'll tell you why it won't work for me or most normal people" exchanges. Seen enough of those to last a lifetime . . .
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Permalink Reply by Dr. Doom on
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I work from home, my wife works three blocks from our house, and our son goes to school a block from our house. On the one hand you could say that it's easy for us to not have a car given this, but on the other hand these things didn't happen by accident. We deliberately chose work that would allow us to avoid having a car and deliberately chose to live in a walkable neighborhood with good transit because we hate being in cars and hate paying for them. We use a car share every few months to get bulk groceries but other than that don't really need a car for anything at all.
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These were actually questions i was wondering and intended to post about before that thread. I no longer commute for work and am trying to reduce my car use even more.
I just don't like when people who make elitist statements, claiming that their lifestyle is the correct one and that everyone should be able to live exactly that way.
H3N3 said:Oh, OK, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt then. As you posted this on the heels of your response to TC which seemed to be putting forth a pretty definitive position statement that cars are an absolute and permanent necessity to the majority of people:
. . .I was afraid this was going to be another one of those "tell me how you get by without a car and I'll tell you why it won't work for me or most normal people" exchanges. Seen enough of those to last a lifetime . . .
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Thanks Marcos, Michael, and Mark. These are all insightful responses. Keep 'em coming!
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Permalink Reply by Carl on
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Here's a couple reports on my path to car-free living:
http://www.ecomii.com/blogs/car/2008/12/15/the-freedom-of-car-sharing/
http://greenlifejournal.blogspot.com/2009/05/carfree-life-1-transit...
It most certainly involves making a strong decision. Despite my former firm belief that Car = Freedom, I will NEVER again take a job that is not accessible by transit or bike or foot. I've passed up several opportunities to make alot more money in the burbs, but being car-free reduces my need for that extra money, and not having a job that requires an extra 2+ hours of daily unpaid driving time/costs, actually balances out the money differential, and you get that lost time back, free of charge.
A really good movie to watch is Contested Streets. It shows how urban life used to be before car use took over, and how other cities are trying to reduce the need for cars, and how their quality of life is improving as a result.
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Yes. Of course, Jane Jacobs. Thanks for reminding me. An activist for public participation against the highway building of Robert Moses. Her book is on my list.
Cameron Puetz said:I'd also add Jane Jacobs to your reading list on how car culture has changed our cities.
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H3N3 said:"Elitist?" "People claiming that their lifestyle is superior?"
I haven't seen that here-- can you give me an example?
What I see is people making defeatist and hopeless statements that cars are "necessary", and when anyone speaks up to share their experience and say they're not, they're labeled as simplistic, judgmental, short-sighted, condescending . . .
So, I gather that you currently don't have a commute because you "choose" not to work?
I really don't want to turn this thread into a debate, but I would be more than happy to do so elsewhere.
I do work and am fortunate to do so from home. ; )
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Permalink Reply by Michael on
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Car-free for about 5 years, now. 1 mile walk/bike to work. Bike trailer for groceries up to 100 lbs. Borrow a heavy-duty trailer for loads up to 500 lbs. Bike or transit to see relatives in the city.
On the 5-10 days a year that I actually need a motor vehicle, I rent one. I take taxis occasionally. I don't worry about the cost, because all of my transportation costs combined add up to a minute fraction of the costs of car ownership. I also benefit from the absence of car-related hassles like parking tickets or worrying about whether my windows will be smashed for the 32 cents in my change cup.
Speed is not an issue. If I want to get somewhere on time I leave a few minutes earlier. Because traffic is so unpredictable in Chicago, I find that biking or taking the El are almost always more reliable and less stressful than driving ever was.
I do not miss owning a car. Ever. Additionally, I like having several thousand dollars more in my savings every year. The annualized cost of owning a car, in my experience, was $4-5k/year. My current transit costs, as described above, amount to about $1k/year. I look at the difference as a tax-free bonus of $3-4k a year. At my current salary, it is the equivalent of a 5-7% raise. Beats the cost-of-living adjustments at my work hands down. Like money? Ditch the car.
There are appropriate uses for motor vehicles. Are you a building contractor or a tradesman? Do you make heavy deliveries for a living? Are you caring for elderly relatives that are too ill to get around on their own? Are you a farmer? The list goes on, however, the majority of urban Americans do not need a car. They have been conditioned to think that they need one.
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I always compare not having a car to not eating meat. If you don't like meat, don't eat it. If you dislike factory farming, the environmental consequences of meat eating, etc. but like meat, just eat less of it, and get it from better sources.
For me, not having a car makes sense; for others, it won't. It's probably better to worry less about being car free than about driving just as much as is necessary and no more. Car use is a spectrum, not an either/or.
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