If my daughter requires non-emergency treatment, she will be travelling there in a pram pushed by my non-driving wife. We live in the centre of town, five minutes walk from the doctors surgery.
That's nice.

i'd been car free for some time, and with the news of a newborn in the future, we had to make some of the same decisions.

live walking distance to work, and everything else, but for her on the other hand her bike trek was a bit longer.

only problem was right at about the 6 mos range, her bike became uncomfortable then became the debate over public tranportation cleaniness, because out here there are very gross and nasty people on public modes of transportation and i really didn't want to have to deal with a sick mom nor want my child to be exposed to any of this bacterial bs - added to our decision to break down and pick up a car.

that and a friend had an extra car that was doing nothing but sitting in the driveway and couldn't think of a better fit for it than me.

my hats off to you guys and gals that can make it without a car with a newborn. heck we had to go to the hospital a couple times before the "real stuff" came along, and when it did i was glad that we had made that decision, since it provided a way more comfortable ride than any public form of transportation could, and that first step when..."its time" no one should have to wait even long enough to make a phone call for a cab or whatever.

when i was car free... i was car free, didn't as much as ride in one...period. it even took me a while to warm up to using public transportation, trains & buses...

i can remember lots of talk about $$ being it saved this and that, taxi's, renting a car, car share... done it all, but other than for buying it, it really costs more using cars in this manner than owning one...especially one thats already paid for.

even on the high end side, as if you have a huge gas guzzling boat of a car...like me i cry each and every time i fill it up...
but i know its going to sit til its dusty in the garage, but when we want to use it for whatever... its there, ins doesn't really cost that much.

i know with me sometimes it seems like throwing $$$ away, but it pays for itself the first time you need to use it.

you're about to become someones' entire universe and you should use every single resource available to you to carry out that role.

only problem was right at about the 6 mos range, her bike became uncomfortable then became the debate over public tranportation cleaniness, because out here there are very gross and nasty people on public modes of transportation and i really didn't want to have to deal with a sick mom nor want my child to be exposed to any of this bacterial bs - added to our decision to break down and pick up a car.
You and ILTB should maybe smoke your countercultural selves on over to the car-bound forums, then; I mean just because you're unusually sensitive and privileged to live as you do doesn't mean the rest of us normal people should listen. :)

You and ILTB should maybe smoke your countercultural selves on over to the car-bound forums, then; I mean just because you're unusually sensitive and privileged to live as you do doesn't mean the rest of us normal people should listen. :)
If you are observant, you would have noticed that only you and one or two other posters are carfree with children. The rest either have cars or no children.

Luckily for you and the few other "normal" people you have had reasonably healthy child(ren) (so far), and no difficult pregnancies. Enjoying living in dense urban areas seems another shared trait. It will be interesting if you remain enamored of such a life when your children attend the local schools. And if car free living will seem so easy when the children wish to participate in school/peer activities and with friends you didn't select to meet your agenda.

Do you have a bomb shelter, ILTB?

You shouldn't have asked... what if he does?! ;)

You and ILTB should maybe smoke your countercultural selves on over to the car-bound forums, then; I mean just because you're unusually sensitive and privileged to live as you do doesn't mean the rest of us normal people should listen. :)

i don't get it. the original poster has a car and is just considering dumping it yet no mention to OP about being car free.

sometimes its not about YOU its about that original poster. hey if you want to get right down to it she wasn't unusually sensitive just being she had had previous female problems that required surgery to correct we were not leaving anything to chance...

privileged?

isn't one of the 7 p's

prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance...

picked this up in the military, live my life by it. nothing i have is due to privilege, for someone that talks about making sacrafices in order to do this and that, surely you can understand.

when the time came for the decision to be made whether or not to remain car free or to make her more comfortable, it was from years of being car free that the decision both to move into another place without stairs & pick up car were able to be made.

both had medical reasonings behind them, but i just didn't want to come from a medical way. with some folks, they are willing to take the chance that they and people around them know more about something than trainned medical personel.

was the chance of complications high or low...didn't matter, it was just one that could be removed, i would hate to have to deal with some complication that could of been easily avoided.

no one wants to think of the possibility of something going wrong during pregnancy, but it happens and wouldn't you really feel something low if something was to happen and the window of this complication is narrowed down to not going and getting that dull pain checked out for its a long ride and its not hurting all that bad anyway suck it up we're car free mentality displayed by some.

i haven't posted in this forum since i picked up the car, btw even though there were many car-lite types here when i read this all the time, but just popped in when i saw the thread, tfahrner lighten up

Quote - Do you have a bomb shelter, ILTB?

You shouldn't have asked... what if he does?! ;)
I don't know whom you are quoting but you both indicate that you must consider obtuseness a virtue.

sometimes its not about YOU its about that original poster... tfahrner lighten up
Bottom line should be up front. Applicable to Tfahrner and other similar smirkers who think their unique situation can be applied anywhere by anybody under any condition - if only the untermensch (i.e. those who don't share their value system) weren't so morally weak and impure.

Bottom line should be up front. Applicable to Tfahrner and other similar smirkers who think their unique situation can be applied anywhere by anybody under any condition - if only the untermensch (i.e. those who don't share their value system) weren't so morally weak and impure.
LOL. i was making a joke. i guess it flopped, so i'll stomp on it by explaining that i found it funny that ILTB and karmical came down together on the "not practical" side when ILTB in Iowa is always harping on how car-free is a privileged urban hippy thing, and karmical in OaKsTeRdAm is, well, maybe some of those things who happened to find a paid-for car in his driveway somehow. No meanness intended. I'm former military too by the way; I know how **** out of SOL you can be when you fail to follow standard operating SOP.
http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/images/imgbicyc/skytte.jpg
sniping smirkers

ILTB in Iowa is always harping on how car-free is a privileged urban hippy thing,
You don't think that's a fairly accurate description of those harping people who believe that a bicycle can handle anybody's/everybody's practical needs for transportation? Wouldn't your description fit almost everyone of the actual car-free posters on this list, including tfahrner; except for the privileged part; I suspect some are cultural dropouts living at poverty's door.

BTW I lived 30 years in Philadelphia and 10 years in Germany, as well as in Illinois and Oregon. I've been around and biked for transportation purposes as well as fun in many environments, unlike some of the clueless provincials and ideologues who post here.

You don't think that's a fairly accurate description of those harping people who believe that a bicycle can handle anybody's/everybody's practical needs for transportation? Wouldn't your description fit almost everyone of the actual car-free posters on this list, including tfahrner; except for the privileged part; I suspect some are cultural dropouts living at poverty's door.

BTW I lived 30 years in Philadelphia and 10 years in Germany, as well as in Illinois and Oregon. I've been around and biked for transportation purposes as well as fun in many environments, unlike some of the clueless provincials and ideologues who post here.


And yet you STILL recommend keeping the car to someone who so clearly WANTS to go car free and is in an area where you have first-hand knowledge that doing so is not only possible, but very doable. I've been following this discussion closely over the past few days and I'm frankly a bit shocked at the number of people advocating for the car. Maybe those of us who really have given up the car are clueless provincials and ideologues to believe that the lifestyle we choose in the area we choose it can work for others who desire the same kind of lifestyle in similar environments.

Lieren originally posted that she wanted to get rid of the car and was simply looking for a few tips on how to make the transition as smooth as possible. She was also looking for a little encouragement to help make a change that would likely be seen as insane by most of society. Understandably, she came to the section of Bike Forums where people come to discuss the car-free lifestyle looking for such information and encouragement. Ironically enough, most of what has come out in the discussion (in my opinion) is much of the same fear that keeps many people frrom making the transition to car freedom and that makes me a bit discouraged. Perhaps many folks who visit this forum are not really serious about the car-free lifestyle. While I certainly agree that there are a vast number of reasons why being car-free would not work for a person in a given situation, I also firmly believe that most people are simply unable to get over the cultural programming that seems to make owning a car a "necessary" thing. I admit it's not easy. Even though I am car free, I STILL have issues with my choice from time to time. Bucking the cultural majority is not easy, but it bothers me to see people so unwilling to try.

Lieren, follow your own direction and do what feels best for you and your family. Should you choose to ditch the car, keep in mind that there will always be some of us here ready and willing to support you in your choice. Should you decide the keep the car, know also that we will continue to support you in your efforts to be as car-free as possible.

Do you have a bomb shelter, ILTB?

You shouldn't have asked... what if he does?! ;)

I don't know whom you are quoting but you both indicate that you must consider obtuseness a virtue.

Why thank you, ILTB. That's the best compliment I've seen you give on bikeforums! :)

Why thank you, ILTB. That's the best compliment I've seen you give on bikeforums! :)
You are welcome. You and your mystery-quoted-poster deserve it.

There's a young dad who used to bring his daugher to the library where I work P/T, towing his daugher in their Chariot bike trailer. One day a couple of weeks ago he arrived by minivan. I was shocked, and asked why. He had his infant son in a carrier and explained it to me. More disappointed than either of us, was his daughter. She loves the Chariot but dad won't be riding for a year. Had a little resentment going there against her baby bro' for that.
You can get around this by strapping an infant car seat into the trailer, just like you would in a car. If you run low pressure in the trailer tires and ride reasonably there should be no problem.
Craig

I lived in Philadelphia for 30 years. When you do get to your parked car it is ready to go, unlike arriving at the transit stop wondering when/if the trolley is coming .It is hard for me to imagine waiting for a trolley to arrive if in labor pains or with a sick baby, in the rain or snow, or at Midnight. Remember, emergencies and sickness won't always happen when convenient or according to the daytime rush hour schedule of SEPTA trolleys.


My wife had a baby just two weeks ago... We still have a car. We went to the hospital the day before, they sent us home because her water had not broke, and the contractions were not soon enough. The next morning she ended up having the baby in our apartment. Even with a car we still did not make it to the hospital. The O.P. lives fairly close to the hospital, I say go for it, why pay to keep a car around "just in case". As for myself, I keep the car, because of the wife...