Could you go without a car?

[nalto]

I'm at the point where I'm thinking about getting a new (used) car. My dad was kind enough to let me "have" one that was an all purpose family car. Now, my sister needs a car. Instead of making them buy a new one, I thought I'd "give" it to her.

Anyway, I began thinking about how I may not even need a car. I live in the city, so Joe Metro could shuttle me to and from work. The only downside would really be evenings and weekends, but I don't really go out much, and when I do, I can always grab a ride from a friend or walk/bus it.

But man, it is nice to have a set of wheels...

[Deleted]

I cannot where I live, out in the country.

When DH and I retire to the city, we will give up both cars. We can just get a ZipCar if we ever need one....

[doxieluvr]

We could not do without a car. It is a good 5 miles just to the nearest grocery store.

[Deleted]

Technically I could but please don't make me!!!! Everything takes 4 times as long when you are walking or using public transit.

[coffeegrl]

Nope. The small town I live in is NOT equipped for pedestrians. Not every place has sidewalks and those who ride bicycles just about get run over by a lot of the drivers because of the, "EXCUSE me, I'm DRIVING here! Get out of MY WAY" mentality that the people in my town have towards bikers.

We have one bus that goes to various places in town, but I wouldn't rely on it, especially the bus stops at night. And our taxi service....let's just say I know more than one woman who ended up nowhere near her destination and the driver, "Must have made a wrong turn, Baby." Town's too small to make wrong turns and end up in the middle of nowhere.

[vnot]

I couldn't imagine life without my car though I do live right across the street from the subway and my work is accessible by the same system. It's just maybe a 10-15 walk to my work place. The thing is that it's not the greatest area to be walking in, especially if work ends at 7pm and it's dark. I'm really considering trying it out in the summer when days are longer though. Maybe a bike would help too.

[cael]

I need my car for my job, so no, I couldn't. No money to give us city cars, so we drive our own. If mine died, I'd have to get a new one within a few weeks or I don't know what could happen :/

Plus I like driving!

[pepperdoo]

I did without a car 1983 to 2000. I rode the same bicycle during that time. Paul never gave me a hard time about getting up my nerve to drive, and we did great.

This thread gives me a new idea. I think when I get the Harley sold, I'm going to buy a bicycle, like a cruiser or something, and not drive unless I have to on my days off.

[reader79]

I haven't replaced my car since my accident in 2009. I still have access to wheels because I am a candy-ass (is that the correct YM term?) who lives in my parents basement. Also, my insurance won't go down until March 2012 so I don't see the point in paying inflated rates for that long.

However, I live in NYC, commute to work on the bus or subway, and take the LIRR home when I stay out late. I don't neeeeed a ride, but it is sorely missed.

I may take over my dad's car payments for the last year of his loan so that he can go back to driving his paid for van. It's $214/month, and I was paying $180 for insurance.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

We're a 2-car family. If we really needed to, we could get rid of one and just share a car, I suppose ... but that would pretty much make me house-bound when my wonderful DH had the car at work ... he works about 20 miles away (all the way across town) and he can work some really long hours. I can bike to the grocery store and pharmacy, but that's not always ideal in the rain, when it's 110 degrees, at night, etc... and there's a limit to how much I can carry. We don't live near public transportation that would be of any practical use to me.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I have lived without a car, I have lived with one. Even with very good public transportation, I prefer to live with a car.

When I didn't have a car, I had other expenses which made transportation almost as much as if I had a car. For instance, I could not go to the cheaper grocery store, or the cheaper laundry mat. I would be renting a car almost once/month and taking a lot more cabs. Add to this a transit pass and it all adds up.

One thing to consider, friends WILL get irritated chauffeuring you all the time and you'll find your life hamstrung by needing to get to certain areas of the city that are not (easily) accessible by public transportation.

Where I live now, it is a necessity.

[dancinmama]

I wish I could say that I could do without a car, but there is NO WAY!! Now when DH retires I'd be willing to share a car, but I don't think he would.

[Apple]

No way. I work 45 miles from home and there is no public transportation. When I move in the next year or two (hopefully) I'll be about a 15 minute drive from the closest (small) town and 35 minutes to the closest town with a grocery store.

[tiredboomer]

Nope, I live in a small town with one store. To shop for other things I have to leave town.

[Tiny]

I could go without a car. I already walk to the train to get to work. I already do some "shopping" down town at lunch time. I can also easily walk to the local groceries from my house. I have a "Granny Grocery Cart" in bright red that I've used a few times in the past when my car has been out of commission or when i've borrowed it to my older sib. I usually do "grocery shopping" as part of running longer errands or going to or coming from some event I have on the weekends... so I don't always bother to walk over on Sat/Sun mornings.
I live in an older suburb that was built around the "main street" concept - housewives back in the 40's and 50's didn't always have a car to use to go shopping.
I do like having a car - I just don't "invest" alot of money in it. I don't mind driving a "beater" if it dies I'll just get it to the side of the road and walk home. I'll get back to it with someone to help me push it to the nearest car repair place (should be less than a mile) OR I'll call a tow truck to go get it and haul it to the repair place.
I save about $100 a year on my insurance by NOT paying for extra roadside assistance. I get one "complimentary" tow without paying extra. I also don't buy the "plan" to get a discount on a rental car. I can easily get by for a month without having a car before it gets annoying... I don't need a rental car.

[starearedkid]

I do. Unwillingly of course. Legally, due to medical reasons I can't drive. We don't live in the city; so public transportation is non-existent. Luckily, my husband drives me around; along with close friends and family that live in the area.

We make do with one car, but having two would be nice sometimes!

[donnafreedman]

I gave away my car in August 2009. Luckily I live in a city with decent public transit and in fact am within walking distance of most of the things I need: library, bank, post office, grocery store...
It's not for everyone. But some people do quite well without. You save so much money by not having the car that you can spring for a ZipCar membership or even an occasional weekend rental (made cheaper with Entertainment Book coupons or by booking through a cash-back shopping site).
Here's the column I wrote on the topic:
articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/is-the-car-free-life-for-you.aspx

[constanz22]

Nope. I live in a rural area. Although there is a grocery store about a mile away, that is the ONLY thing close by. Everything else would need to be accessed by car. There is no public transportation where I live. I also work 18 miles away and have to use my own vehicle for work, so, DEFINITELY NOT!

[TheOtherMe]

I'm another one who lives in the country, so it's not possible for me to go without a car.

When I lived in Denver, for about three years, I all but did. I took the bus to work and put about 1,000 miles a year on the car. Part of the reason I am still driving a 1994 Honda Civic with 112K miles.

[olderburgher]

We could go from two cars to one but even in this city with its somewhat expensive and yet somewhat limited public transportation there is a need for a car. How the heck would we deliver food for meals-on-wheels without one, or get to the movies or keep doctors appointments?

[Deleted]

No! We live in the Ozark hills, have no public transportation, no sidewalks and anything we need to get to is miles away.

[merryheart]

I live on the outskirts of a large metroplex. There is public transportation if you live in either of the two largest cities but none of the routes go toward my little town. And the town that I work in is about 20 miles from home and - you guessed it - not serviced by either of the largest cities public transports. So, even if I lived closer to work, I couldn't go without a car since there isn't public transport. And my house is paid for so moving isn't a very good option. I drive the above mentioned 20 miles to work one way and DH drives 25 miles one way. I would love to have the option of having someone drive me to work (public transport) as that 30 minutes to an hour would be heavenly for reading or knitting but it doesn't look like it will happen any time soon.

[patchwork150]

I'm another country bumpkin, so in my current circumstances no I could not do without a car. I would have to move and get a different job in a place with either public transportation and/or everything on the same road (grocieries, house, work, etc) and no severe weather (unlike NY state)

[texaspn]

Since we have retired we've gone to one car. My husband is disabled and could not get around easily otherwise. I would like to be able to walk or bike more on errands and am trying to do that when the weather allows. Even when our children were at home there were times when we had one car, but it was complicated!

[nalto]

I read somewhere (probably somewhere on these boards) that if you drop insurance, when you need coverage again, your rates will go back up, just as if you were a 16 year old driver.

May not be worth it.

[dragonfly7]

We couldn't go without them altogether because DH's workplace is 10 miles from the nearest public transportation, but I think we could live with just one. We have two grocery stores less than 1/2 mile away, and although I am currently unemployed, we live only 3 1/2 miles from the nearest train station. Right now, being located near that rail or its associated bus lines automatically makes a job more attractive to me.

[teen persuasion]

We're in the country, too, so we can't go w/o a car. In fact, we're having problems going w/o 2 cars, at the moment. DS2 totalled DH's car last week, and it has been complicated trying to share my car between us on the days we both work. In good weather I might be able to walk/bike the 3 miles in to the village, but at this time of year you'd be taking your life in your hands walking on our narrow 55 mph road, against the plows.

[motherto2]

I couldn't do without one either, since we live in the country. 13-14 miles from work, on a narrow 2 lane road. Bikers take their lives (and others) into their own hands when they bike on that road. It's not wide enough and has enough hills and turns to make it extremely dangerous for everyone. Sadly, I now have 3 vehicles I have to drive because both kids are away. Not worth selling either of their vehicles. Mine and the truck DS drives are both paid for, and I need a truck to take trash, leaves, etc. to the . And DD's jeep is her pride and joy and she got it for an absolutely awesome deal. She would never be able to get that type of vehicle for what she got it for again, and her payment is very doable. But it's not fun having to move the vehicles around so I can drive them to keep them running

[yogi]

Not possible for me since I travel all over the state to meet with clients.

[blackcard]

Sure could, if I wanted to suffer in our weather extremes of endless months of 100+ degree days. Then like yesterday, a 50 degee drop. From 70 above at noon to 20 degrees at 6pm.
Public transportation here is terrible also. Just buses and a rail system that is so short it goes virtually nowhere.