How I did it: I got divorced and moved to San Francisco. My ex got the car, and I bought a bicycle. I live and work in the city, and I purposefully found an apartment near my workplace and in a neighborhood that is more or less convenient for grocery shopping, going to places I like to go, etc etc.

The only difficulties I've really had are getting heavy, bulk items home from the grocery store, like big things of cat litter and cat food. That, and getting wet when it rains. But I never get parking tickets, I never get towed, I don't have to pay insurance or worry about the price of gas. There are obvious environmental benefits, and I've gotten stronger and healthier due to all the walking and biking and lugging groceries around and so on.

Lessons & tips: This is a lot easier to do if you live in a city. My solution for the bulky/heavy item problem has been to do a big trip once a month or so, and just take a taxi home from the supermarket. I'm thinking about having vegetables delivered from a CSA too, one less thing I have to get to the store for.

I tried CityCarShare, a program where you join and pay a monthly fee for the privelige of using a car occasionally, but I found I very rarely used this service, so I'm getting rid of it. It is worth a try, though.

Nov 15, 2008, 05:00AM PST | 1 comment | 4 cheers