live without a car

The boyfriend just sold his car, which…didn’t fare too well after dragging our stuff across the USA. It was doing okay, just few problems not really worth fixing. But. We can get by without it. It’s been 3 days and we haven’t even noticed because of the great transit system in Chicago.

But I can get over that. Though, I kinda want this goal to read live practically without a car. Very occasionally I still expect to perhaps rent a car or use a zipcar service to drive home to visit family (6 hours away) and/or for trips. But I want to essentially live day to day without the car in the city I live in.

Well I was carless for years in Chicago. Easy to do in the city, but elsewhere it’s about impossible. Can’t go skiing without one!

I live 4 blocks from work. The grocery storw (with a post office inside) is across the street, and my bank is just down the road. I can take the bus downtown to the Mag Mile if I want to do any shopping, which I do once a month or so. Otherwise, I use my boyfriend’s car when we go out to the suburbs to visit family. Life is good.

And best of all, I’m willing to pick up extra shifts at work. After all, many people spend at least 8 hours a week commuting to and from work. At least I get paid for the extra 8 hours that I sacrifice in my week (when I choose to)

I’ve never had a car. As long as I’m living in a city where there is a decent public transport, I never will. Easy as that :-)

I have actually done this when I lived in London, Berlin and San Francisco, but I’d like to do it again. When you can’t just jump in a car, you think about each trip, plan better and life slows down to a nicer pace.

My car’s engine exploded on my way home for Easter. Something about it not having any oil in it. idk, but anyways I’ve been borrowing one of my parents cars and they use it as leverage to control me. I am staying with them while school is out but I plan to ride my bike to work. I have nothing else going on so I can spend the time. The only thing is that it is 13.2 miles one way is that too far? I need to regain my indepence and their is nothing more independant than powering your own transportaion.

I might have to start earlier than I expected. My car is really acting strange, and I doubt I can afford to fix it.

i’ve lived (basically) car free for the majority of my life. i’ve never had a drivers license. i have been riding my bike daily for years. mind you, i can bike to the store but the tube of toothpaste i buy still has a petroleum cost to it. it had to get to the store somehow and i have yet to see a human powered semi out for deliveries. i was married for 8 years and my husband had a car during that time (although he bikes as often as he can). we have two daughters and i often depend on his ability to drive them places when the weather is really horrible…but in general we bike, walk, bus everywhere.

the key is finding areas to live where you have centralized goods and services (harder to find no that the age of the corner store has given way to the age of the mall complex), safe bike/walking routes, a good transit system. older neighborhoods in larger cities are ideal. it really helps to have friends who also don’t drive (and a few who do!).

It is just an expensive waste.