DXchulo
08-12-07, 02:32 PM
It's official- my wife and I are down to 1 car. I'd like to think of myself as car free and say that my wife owns a car that I just happen to ride in from time to time, but that's not entirely true. No matter how you look at it, it's been a long struggle to get to this point.
It all started out two years ago. I was in Toledo for grad school and everything was ideal for me to go car-lite. I rode to school, to the grocery store, and to anywhere I needed to go while only using my car for return trips to my home state of Indiana, where my wife (my girlfriend at the time) was finishing up her undergrad. I had a dream to get rid of my car at that point, but it seemed like a goal that would have to wait until grad school was over and I didn't need to make relatively frequent trips between Toledo and Indiana.
Then I wrecked my car and damaged it to the point that it would have cost me more to fix the car than the car was actually worth. Most people think of that as a bad situation, but I was actually happy about it. I looked at it as a perfect excuse to go car free. I went about a month without a car and had no problems at all. Unfortunately, my parents were worried about it and all but forced a car on me. They did all the searching, paid for most of it, and everything. This probably sounds like a weak excuse to a lot of you guys, and I do regret that I let them push me around like that, but some of you out there may have pushy parents and can imagine how this might have happened.
I lived the rest of my time in Toledo hating my car. I hardly ever used it and it always seemed to unexpectedly cost me money at the worst times. For instance, right after I moved to a different apartment in town my car was broken into and my radio was stolen. I didn't care about the radio or even getting my car fixed, but my door was completely broken such that I had to get it fixed.
But good things come to those who wait. My wife is done with school and got a good job in Indianapolis. I moved to Indianapolis with her and we had agreed to go down to 1 car once we were settled in. That time has finally come. We officially got rid of her car this weekend. I feel good, but a little dirty at the same time. I still think of the car as "my car" and it is officially in my name. We kept "my car" because it was in better shape than hers. I guess I could sign it over to her, but that would be a waste. She is the one who drives it every day, so eventually I hope it will start to feel like "her car" or "our car".
It's not car free, but it's an improvement. What's funny is that my wife's place of employment would be perfect for a bike commute. It's only 6 miles from here and has bike racks and showers. I've mapped out at least 2 routes that are about as traffic free as you can get around here. Unfortunately, my wife isn't the type to bike commute full time, but she hasn't completely ruled out riding to work every once in a while during the summer months. I just need to do a little more convincing. But hey, patience has paid off before. ;)
It all started out two years ago. I was in Toledo for grad school and everything was ideal for me to go car-lite. I rode to school, to the grocery store, and to anywhere I needed to go while only using my car for return trips to my home state of Indiana, where my wife (my girlfriend at the time) was finishing up her undergrad. I had a dream to get rid of my car at that point, but it seemed like a goal that would have to wait until grad school was over and I didn't need to make relatively frequent trips between Toledo and Indiana.
Then I wrecked my car and damaged it to the point that it would have cost me more to fix the car than the car was actually worth. Most people think of that as a bad situation, but I was actually happy about it. I looked at it as a perfect excuse to go car free. I went about a month without a car and had no problems at all. Unfortunately, my parents were worried about it and all but forced a car on me. They did all the searching, paid for most of it, and everything. This probably sounds like a weak excuse to a lot of you guys, and I do regret that I let them push me around like that, but some of you out there may have pushy parents and can imagine how this might have happened.
I lived the rest of my time in Toledo hating my car. I hardly ever used it and it always seemed to unexpectedly cost me money at the worst times. For instance, right after I moved to a different apartment in town my car was broken into and my radio was stolen. I didn't care about the radio or even getting my car fixed, but my door was completely broken such that I had to get it fixed.
But good things come to those who wait. My wife is done with school and got a good job in Indianapolis. I moved to Indianapolis with her and we had agreed to go down to 1 car once we were settled in. That time has finally come. We officially got rid of her car this weekend. I feel good, but a little dirty at the same time. I still think of the car as "my car" and it is officially in my name. We kept "my car" because it was in better shape than hers. I guess I could sign it over to her, but that would be a waste. She is the one who drives it every day, so eventually I hope it will start to feel like "her car" or "our car".
It's not car free, but it's an improvement. What's funny is that my wife's place of employment would be perfect for a bike commute. It's only 6 miles from here and has bike racks and showers. I've mapped out at least 2 routes that are about as traffic free as you can get around here. Unfortunately, my wife isn't the type to bike commute full time, but she hasn't completely ruled out riding to work every once in a while during the summer months. I just need to do a little more convincing. But hey, patience has paid off before. ;)