Commuting - Anyone not own a car?

I haven't purchased a car on account that I don't feel like I need one. I can get to wherever I want to go fine walking, and I have enough reasons to not use a car that I could write a book on the subject. Recently, I purchased a bicycle to make getting around a bit more fun, and that's what I'm doing on these forums.

The problem is, I'm getting to be that age (21) where purchasing an automobile machine is sort of expected to happen as part of the typical progression of an individual's property, in accordance with increasing income and greater responsibilities. That, of course, is a social illusion. My pals all own vehicles (have for years), but their parents still pay for the things they can not yet afford, like insurance and maintenance.

Regardless, when on the road I do feel inadequate next to the cars, simply because of that social tier that exists among people my age. Does anybody else suffer this? What are some ways to deal with it?

i hate your friends. gettin everythig paid for...

anyway. if you don't need a car why buy one? just amaze them with all the pron and games you can buy!

i had a car... the damn thing fell apart every two months and i went flat broke. if i had have bought the car i couldve had many many nice things... like a nice bike.

screw the car!

now i will not buy a car unless i am making at least $50,000 a year.

oh, also, people our age are idiots. why bother with them? they ain't the ones that are gonna determine whether or not you're gonna get "the money" or anything else in life.

you really feel insecure cus dumb-dy do gets his parent to buy him a car? why? he's a damn momma's boy.

also, stay away from anyone under 30. they're dangerous and have no value as far as helping you succede in life goes.

Hey rs woods. I live in New Orleans also and don't own a car. I don't feel any inadequacy as a result. To the contrary, I possess more bicycles and nicer bicycles than anyone I know. In my mind, they should be envious of my possessions, not vice versa.

I can get around the city faster, save a ridiculous sum of money, get great exercise and avoid gridlock. I find bicycles fun and cars not fun. Embrace your lack of cardom!

What are these cars you speak of.

I do have a car, but I really never use it. I'm 23 at this point, and after graduating from college, I moved to DC for my job. I live less than 2.5 miles from work and I'm right next to virtually everything I need to buy. I kept telling my parents that I don't need a car and I'd rather save the money I'd have spent on a vehicle and put it toward something more useful. However, they insisted that I have a car. They were so insistent that they're paying the insurance and parking fees on a car that's had all of 800 miles put on it in eight months (this includes the mileage of driving from my old home in SC up to DC). And all the miles that I DID put on the car could have just as easily been put on my bike or subway. I'm not sure why they continue to throw money into something that doesn't see any use, but no amount of effort on my part will convince them that I honestly don't need, nor do I want to keep a car.

I don't feel the least bit inadequate next to cars. There's no good reason to. In a city, a bicycle is superior to an automobile. It has very low upkeep, it doesn't require a parking permit, and it gets places just as fast as a car given all the traffic lights you get in cities. I prefer to think of myself in a way as more enlightened than those who drive a car because commuting on a bike would be "plebian." Especially now that gas prices are going through the roof. I get a little feeling of pride when I pass the gas stations in town and watch people filling their SUVs up with $2.80/gallon premium gas.

For some, car-less living isn't a choice. For me, its both a financial and a lifestyle choice. I don't want to drive a car because I don't need to and I don't want to support suburban sprawl and its disastrous effects on the planet (hippie, I know, but I studied my ecology in college and I've never had a class actually scare me before) I know I couldn't afford to keep a car. But for those who can, I can understand how it might feel odd to give up a luxury/status symbol even if it is unnecessary. The best thing I can think of to get over it is to just keep riding. Once riding becomes routine, you probably won't even notice the cars. You'll blend right into traffic and all will be well.

Also, on a more lighthearted note, if you don't have a car, you can very easily get out of being the designated driver! You also won't be the guy who gets called to take folks places or pick them up from other places. A bike can be an exercise tool, but it can also help you be lazy :p

You're in a good city to go car-less. If I didn't have to drive 42 miles one-way to work, I wouldn't own one either. Your friends can give you a ride if you have to go long distance. You're also old enough to rent a car if you need one occasionaly.

You can do without the car, besides, look at the price of gasoline on top of insurance, maintainance, etc.

Stay car-less.

KS

I have never owned a car. Don't want to, but will have to one day (want to live out in the sticks).

30 years. No car. Happier. Healthier.

Here's a suggestion: Ask your friends to give you an estimate of what they spend on driving in a month. Average your responses. Take that amount of money from your income, and put it in the bank. In 6 months, tell your friends how much money you have in the bank. Ask them whether they'd rather have that amount in the bank, or drive their cars.

I wish it was possible for me, but having kids, and life in general in the 'burbs makes it not possible. I use my bike when I can. If my wife and I could do without...*runs off to do some math*...we could save about $10k a year. I think I'll be ill.

If you mature (as opposed to just aging), you will arrive at a point where you don't really give a damn what others think of you. The sooner you reach that point, the happier and more productive your life will be.

30 years. No car. Happier. Healthier.

ditto

If you mature (as opposed to just aging), you will arrive at a point where you don't really give a damn what others think of you. The sooner you reach that point, the happier and more productive your life will be.

he's so wise! :eek:

Thanks for the replies, pals. What others think has never stopped me from doing I want to, and it definitely won't get me in a car (like I said, I have a very strong opinion about the subject). I'm less concerned about what others think about me than I am concerned about what I think about myself. Specifically, how I feel about my carlessness. Nobody really bothers me about not having a car, but it's awkward for me, personally, to always be the passenger. The elitism thing has never really appealed to me and perhaps that's why I feel the way I do.

I could get a car, but decided to get a sweet bike with less than I would have spent on insurance and save the rest.

It seems parents often want to keep "helping" you for as long as they can, and if it looks to them like you are lacking something, they want to help you to get it. Especially if it's something that's so widely assumed to be "necessary". I think it takes a while for this urge of theirs to go away, and maybe in some cases it never does.

When I graduated from college, I realized I didn't have a TV and decided to see how long I could do without one. It lasted for about 2 years until I was given one from my grandparents' house after my grandfather died, because no one else in the family needed another one. (Fortunately, by then I had broken the habit, and have watched very little since.)

As a grand old man of 39, I'm very encouraged to see you twenty-somethings thinking consciously about this. The good thing about being aware of these alternatives so early is that it will allow you to make wiser choices as your lives get more complicated. Many people my age get trapped into needing a car (and other ecologically unsustainable habits) because of choices made earlier in life, when maybe they were less aware (if they are even aware now). As you make future life choices regarding where to live and work, you already have a good idea of the trade-offs to your values. These decisions may not be easy ones, but I think it's easier to "do the right thing" gradually as a matter of habit than to suddenly try to do it all at once without having prepared yourself for it.

I haven't owned a car since February, 1999.

Here's a suggestion: Ask your friends to give you an estimate of what they spend on driving in a month. Average your responses. Take that amount of money from your income, and put it in the bank. In 6 months, tell your friends how much money you have in the bank. Ask them whether they'd rather have that amount in the bank, or drive their cars.


It's nice in principle, but I have real trouble getting the money into the bank in the first place before I spend it on ... bike bits... bike clothes... bike touring.

BTW, eight years next month without owning a car.

I'll be 26 in a couple of months. That's 26 years of not owning a car.
I hope I'll live to be a hundred, so I'm expecting another 74+ years of carfree living.

I haven't owned a car since February, 1999.
August 1997

I'm 23, and basically stopped using my car more than a month ago. I know what you mean. At first, there is some sort of feeling of lowerness. I've had a car, and used it daily practically, since I was 16. My dad gave me a car...he always provided one for me, and he pays the insurance.

When I started trying to bike places, or walk, I would feel inferior...so open out there , walking outside in public... and would feel kinda lame or something. Hard to describe, but I decided not to let those feelings get ahold of me... After awhile, I got used to doing what I did, and I started noticing the benefits. I started feeling better, and everyday that went by that I was car-free, made me feel that much better.

I think the more your away from the culture of the car, and the more time your away from driving one, eventually you kinda just forget what its like to actually drive, and you don't get as caught up in the whole mindset and culture of it..

I do get feeling of satisfaction, when I'm walking to work (I live about 15 minutes away) and see cars getting backed up, seeing stressed out drivers, and hearing car horns from angry drivers... That is when I get reminded that I'm walking, and have a lot of freedom in movement. I get satisfaction when I walk into the shopping complex where I work, and the parking lot is FULL of car all competing for spaces... I can just walk right by, leisurely. It honestly feels good. Not to mention that I'm more ready to work when I get there.

I now look forwards to my mornings. I never thought I would say that. But, because I've been waking up and walking 45 minutes on the way to work, for some reasons my biological clock reset or something, and I end up waking up naturally early in the morning, and I'm ready to go. Its like my body is ready to go out and walk, and get out there in the sun. The only annoying thing is hearing the noise of the cars, and all the toxic fumes they make... but I've started wearing earplugs, which helps alot... There's always ways to deal with them....

Today, on my way to walking to work, I noticed someone had broken my rear passenger side window...its shattered. I had to file a police report, and now I have to drive it to get it fixed and all that sh*t. How annoying. It makes me want to get rid of that thing even more, so I never have to worry about it.

I think your right, that with age, comes increasing incomes (usually) and greater responsibilities. But I think one of those responsibilities is realizing your own impact on the environment, which you are understanding I think. Alot of people are ignorant...so maybe when your biking and the 21 year old passes you in his tricked out Mustang...he probably has no idea the impact he is having. Thats why you need to keep riding, as a model for other 21 year olds, as a model for everyone.

i just bought a car( a 1999 daewoo lanos) i spend 160/mo. on insurance and about 100 on gas, but weather and distance dont permit biking, im wanting to move to a bigger/more condensed city in the next few years, so i can get rid of that burden

*Sigh* Own an SUV, at least it's plastic with a mouse motor (most gutless saturn vue they make hehe) and actually gets decent mileage, and is great for transporting bikes, and I have to carry all kinds of crap all over for my business.

No car since 2000. Happier. Healthier.Wealthier. I don't really give a care what anyone thinks of it.

my wife and I share 1 car. I get the best of both worlds. a car when i need to go to the store or on a trip, but a bike or bus/train when it's raining or i just don't feel like riding. It takes me 3x as long to get to work either by bike or bus vs. in a car but I don't mind. I get to read and walk a bit.

I find that people are constantly concerned with my modes of transportation. Constantly offering rides and such, they're just trying to be nice and I appreciate it but rarely accept. Oh, and I've also found that I need to be entertained less. All the time walking and biking give me lots of time to myself to think and stuff....so when i'm not biking or walking or riding the bus, I can just sit and stare at the wall and think. It probably looks wierd to others, but that's their problem :)

I am way over 21 and do not own a car. I was given a truck at one point but never used it. I have never had a drivers liscence and quite frankly don't want one. Yes, in an emergency i could drive someone to the ER<i did learn on a stick, so i am pretty sure i could drive an automatic>

I ride my bike to work, do my laundry, grocery shop etc..

I have a real job and own a business, and i do not own a car. ride on...

Don't own a car.

In fact, don't even have a license. :D

ditto... no need for it. I'll keep my $5000 a year and spend it on stuff better than a money pit most people know as a car. Granted, I still get reminded quite often that I "need a car". Why I need one, I don't quite understand. For transportation? My bike is transportation. nix that argument... uh, so I don't get wet in the rain? Since when did rain hurt anyone (directly speaking)? Yup, that's right.. we're not gonna melt in the rain. So I can get places faster? What's the rush? So yeah... can anyone tell me why I need a car? I can't figure it out yet. ;)

I am 24, and haven't owned a car for... *(does some math)* 24 years. Before last year, I never lived more than 3 miles from anywhere I needed to go, but last year, I moved away from downtown/campus, and started getting much more heavily involved in cycling. I don't feel inferior at all.

I could've managed without a car before we had kids. But with 3 kids (now teenagers) I can't even imagine not having a car. I've commuted by bike 100% for 4 years now, so I AM trying to reduce my car usage.

I'm curious to know if anyone is managing to raise kids in a typical middle-class househould without a car and are still able to have their kids participate in sports and extra-curricular activities all over the city every night and every weekend. If there's a way, PLEASE enlighten me. :(

I own two. One small suv and one car that I leave at my business for meetings and such during the day. I'd love to have a life simple enough to not need a car but that's not reality for me. Besides the world is too big and I love to travel. :) I'm starting to bike more and more though, I want to get to the point that the SUV doesn't start for a week at a time.

I live in a small town in Iowa, It essential that I have a car to get around to other towns, i have friends all over. I actually have a school bus that I drive around every once in addition to my regular car. I probably burn more fuel in that school bus in 1 hour than many of you burn all year long. Sure is fun though. By the way, I also have a nice bike, and I ride it when I can.

No car. This may be rare in the world of geezers.

Payments, insurance, gas, busted windows and stolen stereos, parking, maintenance… I'll be a slave to my passions (and vices) a hundred times over before I'll be slave to a car again.

Apart from their threatening behaviour in intersections, I feel superior to cagers all the time. I KNOW they're looking at me and thinking, 'I wish I was riding a bike right now, instead of being stuck in this stupid car in traffic. Oh, I gotta buy gas, too. Geez, a dollar seven a litre, I'm gonna have to get a weekend job. Oh, sure, just cut me off, jerk. Learn to drive. What an idiot. I can't believe the value of this car went down seven thousand dollars the instant I drove it off the lot. Where'd that guy on the bike go? Wow, he's already four blocks up. What's that noise? I've never heard that noise before. Oh crap! My oil light just went on!'

I'm curious to know if anyone is managing to raise kids in a typical middle-class househould without a car and are still able to have their kids participate in sports and extra-curricular activities all over the city every night and every weekend. If there's a way, PLEASE enlighten me. :(
Sorry, I do not bring enlightenment, just more questions. (Isn't that always the case?) My two kids are not quite that old yet, but I'm sure we'll get to that point. Would it be possible for them to ride their bikes to those extra-curricular activities? Or is it that:

it's too far for them to ride?
they're not old enough to handle the traffic, and there's no good alternative routes?
they're not old enough to ride safely after dark?
you're concerned about their general safety apart from traffic and darkness?
they have too much equipment to carry?
I'm wondering so that I'll have a better idea what's in store for me! :)

Sorry, I do not bring enlightenment, just more questions. (Isn't that always the case?) My two kids are not quite that old yet, but I'm sure we'll get to that point. Would it be possible for them to ride their bikes to those extra-curricular activities? Or is it that:

it's too far for them to ride?
they're not old enough to handle the traffic, and there's no good alternative routes?
they're not old enough to ride safely after dark?
you're concerned about their general safety apart from traffic and darkness?
they have too much equipment to carry?
I'm wondering so that I'll have a better idea what's in store for me! :)

I wish I could offer some advice, but here's my experience. I was raised in a car-dependent home and I'm still trying to unlearn and undo all the damage. I drove a HALF MILE to school and extra-curricular activities in high school. I think it was peer pressure and the status of having a car and a parking permit more than any of the other factors. That, and if I wanted to leave campus on my newspaper press pass I was required to be in a car. Before I drove, I rode buses and walked to school. The only concern on your list that was an issue for me was equipment. I used that as my excuse for parking permit approval, but it was easily avoidable anyway--the school had a few instruments available for us to play during rehearsals and with the proper equipment (hard case and secure shoulder strap) I would have had no problems taking my own violin on my bike with me. If, for some reason, there was an event which was not at school, they supplied buses to transport us and our equipment.

My parents had no problem letting me (and now my younger siblings) drive that 1-mile round trip every day, which seems so ridiculous to me now. I think it would take considerable effort and planning, but yes I'm sure you can live car-free with a family. It's very encouraging to me that you are even considering it.

I bought a car at 18 and I have wasted more time and money on it than I could have ever imagined. The money that I have spent on my car could have paid for 4 years of college. In the time that I spent working for that money I could have earned both my AA and BA by now, and graduated debt free. Instead, I have a car that I rarely use, a car loan, a student loan, and I'm a 4th-year freshman. It was a terrible decision.

Don't buy a car if you don't have to.

35 years old no car ever ride everywhere including between citys and provinces only ride in a car a dozen times a year cars are the scurge they have softened our society and left us at the mercy of the big oil money kill your car

35 years old no car ever ride everywhere including between citys and provinces only ride in a car a dozen times a year cars are the scurge they have softened our society and left us at the mercy of the big oil money kill your car

But remember, punctuation uses no oil. I suggest you throw a few periods in there.

I bought a car last summer that I haven't had out of the driveway even one time! Don't know what I was thinking. If anyone thats on here living in Atlanta and happens to be an old volvo nut, PM me and I'll make you a killer deal on the thing.

P.S. pardon the grammer, I cant find my Strunk and White!

I own a car, however, I do not possess a drivers license. My license is going to be revoked for a long time due to DUI's. I found commuting my bike is getting better and better. I really don't miss driving like I thought I would.

26 here. Never owned a car. Now I think I could fork the money on it if I wanted to, but it would mean changing a lot of things. My bike wouldn't be as nice, and I can't allow that. Nor would I be losing weight like I am.

Sometimes I do feel the pressure to get a car, esp since getting out of the montreal island on a bike isn't exactly easy here (I wish I could go to the wilds easily). Anyhow, I keep getting *subtle* messages from my family that I need to get a car, but I don't want to. :) Maybe sometime I'll buy a cheap car that's not fun to drive so I only drive it when I have to.

Later in life when we move on to semi retire status...My intent..Replace my wife's aging car with a new car..Not so with my Jetta..getting older...a 97...a car I do like...
we will have one and one half cars...I will frequently commute to my new job...my wife will have a new car..
and my Jetta will be in semi-retirement status..Commiting me to be mostly dependent upon my bikes as my major means of transportation... we will not be buying two new cars... if the Jetta is down and don't want to ride, there always is public transportation...
1 and 1/2 cars..I do find buying 5 sacks of groceries on a bike a little difficult...We will live in a location where biking is common place and accepted..

I don't have a car, but I do have a license. I'm not likely to drive, but a license is a useful thing when you need it for things like renting moving vans and such.

It's not my plan to own a car. As long as I have legs, I can ride my bike. I am actually thinking about getting one of those trailers from Bike Friday so I can do grocery shopping and stuff. I have the suitcase, but they have other sized trailers available for my bike.

Koffee

This is the most encouraging and inspiring thread I've seen.

Lots of great advice and perspective on this thread. You should be able to get some positive vibe from all the responses. For me, I'm 53 now or at least on Friday of next week, I didn't own my own car until I was about 27. Most of the time I walked, rode my old bike, took the school bus to school, used public transit to and from college or shared rides with others. My folks were and still are very much into the "Amercian Dream"; the house, cars, clothes, vacations etc. At 28, my dad wrecked the VW bug that he was going to give to me but instead I got a 1968 Ford Galaxy with a huge 390 V8; boy did I hate that thing. Anyway, over time I gave in to the attitude that you've got to have a car in Los Angeles, Ca. As others have written, I've spent way too much on cars, insurance, service etc that the car is worth. My grandfather used to say "another hunk of junk". Boy was he right. At this point in life, I don't really own a car. My 1999 Blazer,which I bought 2nd hand, is paid for by the company I work for as I'm a field sales rep; they also pay for 90% of the gas via a company gas card. My wife's car is a lease; we do pay for it and that's a pain, but it's mostly her car that I rarely drive. I've been making my own changes to go "car-lite" and ultimatly "car-less". Just bought an older Raleigh 3-speed for getting around town; I'll add a utility trailer when I find a good used one. Biggest change will be in my job; I'm looking for something closer to home in the San Fernando Valley area. When I make that change I will dump the car. Thanks for letting me rant. Thom.

Go travelling. See the world, see how differently people live in other places, see how totally normal it can be to live without a car. The more you see of societies that don't worship the motor car so much, the more you'll come to really appreciate how ridiculous and limited the "standard" ways of life and tiers of society can be.

Perspective is wonderful.

And the guy with the avatar with super-yoga porno cat (can't remember name) had a great point as well - save the amount you don't spend on your non-car, then after six months show your friends how much they're sinking into theirs.

What, and their parents pay for insurance and such as well? Spoiled punks. They don't even have a full understanding of what a money sink those things are. If you resist temptation you'll be laughing your way all the way to the bank, literally.

(and you'll be fit - more pulling power there than any car)

One way to compensate for the car less lifestyle, or reduced car usage is renting. For those few times a month that you need a car you get a new one for way cheaper than a car and insurance payment with no worries about maintenance or even washing the thing.

Taxis in the big city are great too, no parking, no worrying about a DUI, just step outside and flag one down. Sure $30/$50 can seem like a lot to spend on cabs in a night, but even if you went out every weekend it's still cheaper than most car payments and again no maintenance expenses.

-Marcus.

PS- One more thing that definitely makes the car free thing easier is a Bob Trailer or some other cargo implement for the bike. It's so great to load a week's worth of groceries onto my bike or run errands without ever having to fight for parking. It's been two weeks since I've driven my car and in Los Angeles that is saying something.

I belong to a great carsharing network. It's called I-Go, and they have carsharing all over the USA. If I ever do need a car, I can always rent one from them. It's by the hour and strictly for local use, so don't think about getting one on permenant loan or something. It'll cost ya.

Koffee

No car, did not renew liscense about 4 or 5 years ago. If I need to get somewhere for my job, one of the other people I work with drives me.
Sometime ago I read an interesting article on average speed driving. It included stop time in traffic jams, red lights, etc. Some incredibly low average was the result, I have know idea where I saw this study, but it made me wonder why cars were able to do 100+mph.
Did you know that if you drove 30,000 miles a year at an average speed of 50 mph you would have spent 25 days inside a cage? Adjust according to your own driving style and mileage.
There was a major jam on Pratt Street in Baltimore, so I ended up sidewalk riding, took about 10 minutes longer to get home. I watched at one intersection and cars did not move in three light changes, incredible, and today was Bike to Work Day in central MD.

I'm 3-cubed years old, and haven't owned a car since I was 17.

It doesn't sound like you need a car.

You need to get over your social insecurities. I'd humbly suggest your friends or even therapy over a public bulletin board.

See http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=1119634&postcount=104

We have only one young child. It's hard to say how we'd manage with 3 young teenagers with far-flung activities, like gmacrider. I think I would be a less enabling parent, frankly: activities that cannot be undertaken without car support are nothing I'd accommodate on a regular basis. I suppose that by the time my son is a teenager, peak oil will have made this a less radical stance: http://www.countercurrents.org/po-kunster280305.htm