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?  

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Permalink Reply by milesperhour on August 10, 2010 at 4:47pm
I was just wondering if there was any correlation between being car free and living with less. It turns out there's not.

I have access to public transportation. Someone mentioned getting to O'Hare as being quick on the blue line. When I lived off of the blue line, that was not my experience, especially when it was under construction (are they done with that yet)? I can drive to the airport, in rush hour, park and get to to the terminal faster than taking public transportation.

Trips to the suburbs are without a doubt faster for me. Today, I went from the city > Hinsdale > O'Hare area > back to the city. Each trip took 25 min, 20 min, and 20 minutes, respectively. I'm not even sure if there is a way to get from Hinsdale to O'Hare area via public transportation, but if there was none of those trips would have been that fast.

So for now, I will bike as much as possible in the city and use the car for suburban stuff. My transition will not be overnight.


H3N3 said:
I'm not sure I understand the "make do with less" question. I have many ways to transport stuff, and have much more stuff than I did when I had a car (carfree 8 years now). And you can get pretty much anything delivered. A few times a year I line up help to haul large loads, e.g. a tree I had to get home from the north side last fall, or 2,000 lbs. of compost I needed earlier this spring.
Is there something specific you think you would have to make do without?

Regarding transit times-- I think you're comparing apples to oranges asking city dwellers for an opinion on something that's much much less of a viable option where you've chosen to live.

milesperhour said:
Thank you to everyone for all of the responses. I never imagined so many people would respond nor at such length too! This is so encouraging. I have a special appreciation for the parents who make it work as well. I am surprised by how many of you there are. And I love the pictures of you kids. So cute! Liz, is your son wearing a cape?
Some people asked me what I meant about leading a minimalist life style and about losing time and the hassles of public transportation. I was wondering if you make do with less given that you don't have a car to haul things around. As far as public transportation being a hassle and taking longer, that has been my experience with it in the past. It's often quicker for me to get in a car and do what I need to do than rely to on public transportation, especially when driving to the suburbs. I guess the traffic doesn't bother me as much. Locally, I would agree that biking is faster than driving and parking though.
Permalink Reply by milesperhour on August 10, 2010 at 5:19pm
I'm new to biking, so there is hope. I can't say I'll ever give up my car completely, but I do like the idea of not using it in the city as long as the temps are above 30 degrees.

I've never felt bogged down by owning a car, but maybe that will change when I start biking more. Yes, there are the occasional annoyances with owning one, but that happens with anything in life. Although a flat tire on a bike is definitely better on the wallet than with a car.


H3N3 said:
Well, I wish I could beam my perspective into your head . . . there may be times when driving is faster, but just feels so good to not have a car . . . before I got rid if it I thought having it meant freedom, and the times I've had one since (inherited one via unfortunate circumstances last fall, for example) it's been like a ball and chain I couldn't wait to be free of.
I'll let someone else split hairs about the time you spend getting your car serviced, looking for parking in congested areas, renewing registrations and such, and how your time in the car is time you can't use for other things . . . hopefully you're not one of those folks that drives to a health club to run on a treadmill . .
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on August 10, 2010 at 6:10pm
I cheerfully and unapologetically own a car (which I park in a garage). I also own a 1985 Vespa PX 150E and 5 bikes. Sometimes I need to be in a courtroom in Waukegan or Geneva (today), or Joliet, or Wheaton, or Ottawa, Illinois at 9:00 am. I play somewhere between 25-45 rounds of golf a year. My regular tee time is 8:05 am Sunday mornings in Romeoville. Sometimes I have a 200K or 300K or 400K bike ride in Delavan, Wisconsin that starts at 7:00 am. Sometimes I shoot trap at a gun club in Hainesville, IL. My parents, both 84 years old, live in Park Ridge. My only sibling lives in Prospect Heights with her family. Every year, I fish in Hazelhurst, WI and snowmobile in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I almost always take public transportation to the airport. Most of my errands in the city are done by bicycle. I commuted by bike to my office in the Loop 228 days last year. Last year's aggregate bicycle mileage was ~3500; car ~4000; scooter ~800. Sometimes its not political, it's all about choosing the right tool for the job.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on August 11, 2010 at 1:57am
I judge you far more for owning a Vespa then I do for owning a car...



Kevin Conway said:
I cheerfully and unapologetically own a car (which I park in a garage). I also own a 1985 Vespa PX 150E and 5 bikes. Sometimes I need to be in a courtroom in Waukegan or Geneva (today), or Joliet, or Wheaton, or Ottawa, Illinois at 9:00 am. I play somewhere between 25-45 rounds of golf a year. My regular tee time is 8:05 am Sunday mornings in Romeoville. Sometimes I have a 200K or 300K or 400K bike ride in Delavan, Wisconsin that starts at 7:00 am. Sometimes I shoot trap at a gun club in Hainesville, IL. My parents, both 84 years old, live in Park Ridge. My only sibling lives in Prospect Heights with her family. Every year, I fish in Hazelhurst, WI and snowmobile in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I almost always take public transportation to the airport. Most of my errands in the city are done by bicycle. I commuted by bike to my office in the Loop 228 days last year. Last year's aggregate bicycle mileage was ~3500; car ~4000; scooter ~800. Sometimes its not political, it's all about choosing the right tool for the job.
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on August 11, 2010 at 5:16am
BZZZZZ!!

notoriousDUG said:
I judge you far more for owning a Vespa then I do for owning a car...



Kevin Conway said:
I cheerfully and unapologetically own a car (which I park in a garage). I also own a 1985 Vespa PX 150E and 5 bikes. Sometimes I need to be in a courtroom in Waukegan or Geneva (today), or Joliet, or Wheaton, or Ottawa, Illinois at 9:00 am. I play somewhere between 25-45 rounds of golf a year. My regular tee time is 8:05 am Sunday mornings in Romeoville. Sometimes I have a 200K or 300K or 400K bike ride in Delavan, Wisconsin that starts at 7:00 am. Sometimes I shoot trap at a gun club in Hainesville, IL. My parents, both 84 years old, live in Park Ridge. My only sibling lives in Prospect Heights with her family. Every year, I fish in Hazelhurst, WI and snowmobile in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I almost always take public transportation to the airport. Most of my errands in the city are done by bicycle. I commuted by bike to my office in the Loop 228 days last year. Last year's aggregate bicycle mileage was ~3500; car ~4000; scooter ~800. Sometimes its not political, it's all about choosing the right tool for the job.
Permalink Reply by Gregory on August 11, 2010 at 5:29am
I've never owned a car and simply put, there is no reason behind it. Growing up, I was never handed the keys to one by my parents and once I became an adult, I found it easy to get around by walking, taking a bus or train, riding a bike or borrowing a car from a friend. Buying a car never seemed like it was worth the money.

I have nothing against people who own cars, I just think like anything else, if you've had something you're entire life, it's hard to give it up.

Something that helps indeed is watching people shell out their time and money servicing their car; it's definitely a detterent. Traffic adds to the equation as well.....

I don't run weekly errands. I'd rather go to the store a few times a week and pick up items rather than one big haul because a) its easy and b) I like fresh food.....I suppose if I need to buy a big item I'll phone someone up with a car and ask for a ride or borrow a car.

Situate your home close to your work, it makes things easier... :)

Most importantly, I don't think of myself as someone living a car-free lifestyle, just like I don't think of myself as a cyclist or a pedestrian. cheers.
Permalink Reply by Christine Escobar on August 11, 2010 at 5:40am
Do you work in the city or commute to the suburbs?
I'm a freelance writer/editor and stay with my kids, who are 5 and 10. They are unschoolers, so we are together a lot, but also out of the house often with activities, lessons they want to do, park days, etc. We live in Evanston. Husband works in Skokie, so one easy bus ride for him.

Are you otherwise required to commute to areas outside the city on a frequent basis?
We're lucky that Evanston is an ideal place to be if your carfree (that rhymes), since we recently came into being carfree, after our car was essentially totaled in an accident. We decided not to have one for now and probably for awhile.

Is your family local and how often do you see them? My family live very close, grandma lives with us part time, husbands family is in the burbs.

Would you describe your lifestyle as minimalistic? Definitely, we're a family of four plus grandma in a 2bdrm apt, that is quite small, but we don't collect much stuff other than books, toys and our necessary items. Part of our reasoning for not having a car was our desire to live more simply. Not live without, but live more fully. Experience being outdoors more, free up money to do more long distance travel with the kids, it allows us to use the funds in ways that are more meaningful to us and less draining on the environment, in my opinion.
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? We borrow my mom's car when we can, but generally do errands by bus, groceries is easy for us, we never buy too much at once now. I love to bike to get errands done and most places, like the bank and the post office, library, etc are very easy for us in Evanston to get to. For larger items, like going to Home Depot or the garden store, I'm looking into buying a trailer for our bike. We love not having a car, my husband and I have lost weight doing more walking, the kids sleep better at night, because they get more exercise. We experience more of the places and people of the city we live in. There is less stress from them bickering in the back seat and the budget is definitely better without the added expenses. We feel actually freer to do more without the default situation of owning a car and paying for it to get around. We haven't done car sharing yet, because we usually need the car for several hours at a time if we were to use it, but may look into it once a week for my son's music lessons. Or maybe just cab it that day.
Permalink Reply by milesperhour on August 11, 2010 at 6:25am
I live in a great neighborhood for walking, bus, and the metra. the El is a bike or bus ride away, so i don't use it anymore. when i used to live off of it, i used it for trips to the loop, but those were rare.

H3N3 said:
I don't see the bicycle as the automatic solution to all transportation problems (although I personally prefer to bike when it's 30 degrees and under over summer temps)-- is there any chance at all you could move to a place that's easier to get around in by walking, bus or train, and where the things you need aren't so spread out?

Permalink Reply by Laura Blake on August 11, 2010 at 7:44am
This is a great thread with lots of good information. Its reinforced my decision to ditch my car when my insurance expires in November. I've had a car pretty much since I was old enough to drive, so its been hard to imagine being without it. I've flip flopped for a few years now, but enough is enough!! If all of you can do it, why can't I?!
Permalink Reply by Christine Escobar on August 11, 2010 at 8:14am
If nothing else, try it out, for awhile, you may like it and can always go back to having a car a later date. We did this with television, we got rid of ours when we moved to our new place (choice between the big box, it was an old one) and our bookshelves). Guess which one we picked? We can still watch lots of things online or dvd anyway, and turns out we liked it. That was 2 years ago this fall.


Laura Blake said:
This is a great thread with lots of good information. Its reinforced my decision to ditch my car when my insurance expires in November. I've had a car pretty much since I was old enough to drive, so its been hard to imagine being without it. I've flip flopped for a few years now, but enough is enough!! If all of you can do it, why can't I?!
Permalink Reply by Jera Sue on August 11, 2010 at 9:37am
I'm 29 right now. When I got my license, it was only a couple years before I had my own car and could stop using the family car. At first I lived in the Chicago suburbs with my family where public transportation was infrequent and actually pretty taboo. Then I lived in a couple other, more far-flung places. So, from the ages 18 to 23ish, I was VERY car dependent. If my car was in the shop, I was climbing the walls. I had no bicycle most of these years and even if I did, I saw it as recreation and didn't see it as a feasible mode of transportation.

When I lost my last car, it was because I was sharing with someone, and I moved out. Luckily, having moved to Madison, there was a pretty well-structured public transportation system and I learned it quickly. I saw all the cyclists there and actually witnessed the near-demise of a couple and decided that cycling was far too dangerous an option for me to consider.

Over the course of the three years spent in Madison, I'd abandoned the idea that owning a car was something I wanted to do. Car ownership was really effin' expensive... riding the bus was NOT. And if you knew where you were going and were familiar with how the busses run it wasn't THAT inconvenient.

When I moved to Chicago, I was a fan of the CTA. It is infinitely more convenient than the system in Madison. Plus, from growing up in the suburbs, I had happy memories of riding the El to Cubs games and dug riding it to work for the first few months. The nostalgic value of the El made me giddy that such a relic from the good times of my childhood was now a part of my every day life. I was happy doing that for quite a while. I still held firm on the idea that riding a bike was too dangerous an option.

Then just a couple of years ago, at about the same time, I met two cyclists. Both commuters. One, a friend of a friend, and the other, I worked with. Neither of them seemed like daredevils, neither of them stuck up elitist bastards (as I had imagined the Chicago bicycle community to be comprised of), and both of them overwhelmingly excited to help me get on my way as a cyclist.

I saw this as the next step. From car addiction (and indeed, dependence... I lived in some places where you can hardly exist without one), to car-freedom in the form of public transport, to being a cyclist. I went from buying gasoline and car insurance and maintenance (at the time, at least $150 a month), to public transport (at the time, about $80 a month), to, well... right now I think I've taken the CTA about three times this summer. As far as expenses go... well, I bought some fenders a couple months ago... some chain lube recently... hmm...

Besides the expenses of car ownership, there's the invaluable, obvious fitness aspect. I've lost 30 lbs since I started riding a bike, without even trying. I think I even eat more than I did before.

I do live in the city and commute to the burbs, but I think saying that is cheating since I live in Rogers Park and commute to Skokie. It's a 25 minute ride by bike, and at the time of day I commute, it's 45 minutes on the CTA and 30 by car.

I share a house with my partners and their three children, so they have a van and I'm glad that they do. I can't imagine calling an ambulance if one of them broke an arm or something. The two youngest will be riding without training wheels before we know it and then the five of us will be riding bikes to the Movies in the Park instead of taking the van out.

There are reasons for car ownership, and they're all personal. You can decide on where you want to live and work based on your favorite mode of transportation, or you can just let everything fall where it may and work it out later. I personally feel like I'll always decide on where I work and live based on whether I can get to where I need to go on a bike. I feel like I'll always want my work to be at least 5 miles from where I live.

My dad once tried to give me a car that he was trading up. He wanted me to have it so that I would come see him more often in Grayslake. Again, it's a personal thing. I think my dad needs to be less of a hermit and get more fresh air and stop sitting on his butt in front of the TV and come see me instead... so I declined and gave him an open invitation to come see me whenever he wanted.

Besides, I think it'd be a fun ride from the Metra to Grayslake, someday. I should get on that.

I couldn't call myself anti-car in general, but I can honestly say that for me, a nulliparous, able-bodied, city-dwelling, helmet-wearing individual, I am delighted that I am to a point in my life that owning a car is wholly unnecessary.

Does it make me a cheater if I eat the groceries that come home in the van? Probably. But I bring plenty of the groceries in the house home on my bike, too.

Ooh! Ask another question! I love talking about myself...

:)
Permalink Reply by payton on August 11, 2010 at 10:04am
1. "Location and locomotion are two halves of an equation where neither is constant." Driving blinds people to distance, which is why drivers measure distance in minutes and not miles. Non-drivers have to pay attention to what's nearby. If nothing's nearby, move.

2. "Every minute you spend walking [or cycling] extends your life by three minutes." You don't "lose time" by walking there slowly. As Alan Durning points out, the extra time it takes to walk or bike somewhere isn't time you would have spent doing something else; it's time you would have spent lying in a coffin, dead. You cheat death by biking. That's how amazingly good for you it is. (Okay, so if you subscribe to "live fast, die young," then that argument's not for you. Next.)

3. As regards large purchases, a few years ago my parents not-so-thoughtfully got me a Costco membership. Some ways I got back from there:
- packed a heckuva lot onto my cargo bike, something like half a jumbo cart full (it's an Xtracycle, looks kinda like Liz's bike with kid. Oh, and I haven't used it in three years -- anyone want to buy it?)
- got a friend to drive there, in exchange for letting him in
- took the bus home with a few bags and a box of stuff
- a few times, I managed to get in & out just filling two panniers with those smaller items which are indeed much cheaper there (e.g., printer ink, tomato paste, and vitamins). On many items, their unit prices aren't really that much lower and it's actually quite a hassle to make a special trip and then find a place to stash a giant box of stuff.

4. Major construction on the ORD Blue Line is over, although there's still some little work now and then. I routinely leave my Logan Square apartment one hour before flight departure, paying $4.50 for the return trip. Try doing that in a car.

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