Living Car Free - Car-free living?

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?

Well, I'm newly car free. I am 28, live in the city (about 20 miles s. of Seattle), no kids, no family for at least 2 states in every direction. Really it's not that big of a deal. Haven't found anything I need bad enough that can't be transported by my current bike. Though I admit, I'm not a homeowner, so that probably makes it a bit easier. I'm sure there are several in this category that are though, and they probably use trailers to transport the big stuff needed for home repairs or maybe call someone to do it for them with the money they save by not buying gas. Not sure, but if you are considering it, it's not for everyone, but it is fun.

Will be car free in the fall:

22 at the moment, my new apartment (to facilitate car free) will be in our University District on the edge of downtown (2.5 miles to central part of downtown). My family, in relation to the new place, would be about 25-30 miles away. I'm single, no kids (that I know of...) and can't wait to ditch the car.

I'm 51, single for 12 years, car-free for nine, cyclist for two. I live just outside the center city. My parents are 16 miles away--close enough for occasional visits, far enough away that they call my brothers to change the lightbulbs.

29, obviously not retired
No children, no spouse
Parents live about 4 miles away
Urban, town has about 100,000 people

I'm 33 and married. My husband and I have two children, 8 years old and almost 5. Currently we have some family living within 60 miles. We live in an urban area (roughly 220,000 in the city proper). I've been car free for almost 15 years.

-not retired
-I got a 2 yr old
-from 5km, to 40km
-29yr (soon to be 30)
-Urban

Never had a car.

- Not Retired
- no children yet
-5-10 miles
- 30
-Urban

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?

Very car lite.

Not retired.

Never married, no kids

I live on the family farm. Parents' house is about an half mile away, brother's house is about half mile away.

40's

Rural

Retired.
Three adult kids.
Most family members scattered at distances of 80-350 miles.
55.
Suburban.

I'm a peak oilin' Kunstlerite who's just trying to figure out how to "make other arrangements" for living in an energy constricted future.

Not retired. No kids. Partner's parents are about 50mi away, mine are about 1500. 30ish, and urban. No car (1st anniversary of no car is next month).

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?


Not me, don't even expect to be when my time comes (in another 18-20 yrs.).
One of my own, three more of my sister's.
Next closest relative, and I've seen him once this decade, is 5 mi. away. Others are 19mi., 300 mi., 1300 mi. Parents are both gone (sniff! I'm an ORPHAN!)
Corner of urban and suburban....

Been car-free for 3-1/2 years; it was a choice -- replace the car or keep the house. I think I made the right choice. Besides, I miss the bike every day I'm not on it.

Somebody once said, "sex is like air...it's not a big deal 'til you're not gettin' any." Well, the bike and riding IS a big deal, whether I'm riding or not -- so does that make riding more important than sex?

Effectively 39, been car free for a year now, moved closer to family a few months ago, now within a 2-3 mile radius. Same for work and grocery store etc. married no children, just a niece and nephew, semi urban?

Whose retired?
Still working and likely to be for the rest of my life

Who has children living at home?
None. All grown up now.

How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
Another State -- 600km away, or 15,000km away (another continent) if talking about SO.

How old are you?
Over 50

Urban or rural?
Rural -- which makes car-ownership-free somewhat more challenging than many could imagine... such as 50km round trip for weekly shopping.

Car-ownership-free for 11 years.

You that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural

On disability

One grown kid who lives 1,250 away

Mother and brother within 8 miles

56 years young

Urban- A dying Rust Belt city of 153,000

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?

I'm not retired, nor will I ever be, probably.

No Children. (I would still be car-free even if I did have them, though... I've seen it, and know it's possible.)

My nearest family is in the Ohio Valley, but we talk a lot.

I'm 47; I've been car-free for four years.

Totally urban. I can see the Space Needle from where I live. I think, for this environment, car-free is the best choice, but I would seriously consider a car if I lived back on the farm in KY. Riding 20 miles on high-speed, narrow two lane roads in an area where no one's ever seen a bike, and the average IQ is rather low, is asking for it, IMO.

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?
Working full-time and no children. My brother and his fiancee live 5 miles away. The rest of our family live in Detroit and Los Angeles. I'm almost 35 and we're living in an urban area.

Working
Single, no kids
Family is mostly local - but they are not relied upon for anything
49
Urban
Car-Free 8 yrs plus

If the weather in the Winter - meaning ice and/or lots of snow, is too bad - I have the advantage of taking the bus to work. Other than that - I commute, shop and travel via the two wheels.

Whose retired?
-I work full-time, but will be going to part time and going back to school full-time at the beginning of the new year.

Who has children living at home?
-No kids yet...but my fiance wants to change that within the first year of being wed.

How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
-Mom and Dad, 15 miles away. Sisters, 40 miles away.

How old are you?
30

Urban or rural?
Urban

Whose retired?

Work 3 part-time jobs to make ends meet and put away a little money for independence.

Who has children living at home?

I am the child living at home (for a few more months anyway).

How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?

Folks and younger brother are in-house. Sister is about 10 miles W. The rest of the family is in Oregon, Arizona, Texas and Alaska.

How old are you?

22 and loving it.

Urban or rural?

Suburban, the main reason I want to move out. I love gardening and would like to try farming some day so rural would rock, but I also like the fact that traveling around cities is easier. The automobile suburb on the other hand has few redeeming features, and the suburb in which I live is worse than most.

Whose retired? Nope, single. Female.
Who has children living at home? None. Thankfully.
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius? A give hour bus trip. I moved out of town when I moved and I take the greyhound up for visits.
How old are you? 25 years old!
Urban or rural? Urban! :D The city is where its at!

Single as a response to a retired query? This isn't a dating forum missy... :p

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?

Of you that are living car-free, retired has children living at home, has family, and choose a living tatus of something.

Hmmm that should be about 3 percent of the population of course depending on the lving status varible?

Myself liberty, car-free, everyone is far away , camping (rural) or no camping (urban), and I am thirty three percent depleated.

I'm car-free, 54, not likely to retire ever because I can't afford it, my family lives over 1,500 miles away, no spouse, no kids. I'm surburban.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?

not retired. no children. about 3000 miles from my family. 25. urban.

... and only sort-of "car free".

Not completely car-free, but extremely car light (doing about 5 miles a week by car these days...)
Not retired. But getting ready to work less.
3 adult children but 2 living at home at the moment.
One child living in Canada. Over 500 miles from here. Most other relatives in Canada, too.
54
Urban.

Not retired
No children
Hmmm... another continent
<25
Urban

Divorced
No Kids

Not sure why any of this matters though.
Humans can actually live car free, no matter what their situation.
Your choices make it viable or not.

Just the 10,000 years of recorded history proves my point.

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?

I was carfree for about 7 years, but I'm not right now. However, when I was ...

-- not retired
-- no children
-- closest family was about 1400 kilometers away
-- I was in my 30s
-- I lived on the edge of the city ... my commute was in the city, the rest of my riding was outside the city.


Why do you ask? Will we see a chart which you've created to summarize all this? Do you have some concerns about living car free?

The whole reason I asked was because I'm curious as to the demographics of those on this board. I, myself, am considering giving the car lite life and option. I'll be without a car and my wife will have her car, so calling myself car-free is not really true. However, I will be doing everything possible via two-wheels. Also, if I found someone in a similar situation as myself, then I am able to ask them questions and they can answer me based on experience.

Not retired
No children
Family lives 10km away
30
Live in the city

I ended up driving a truck at work the other day and I got to thinking that it had been over a year since I had driven a vehicle. I hope I can go at least a year again.

I'm 53 (as of today!), live alone in a city. Work is 4 miles away. My family lives about 200 miles from me. I visit them every month via interurban bus.

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?

Car light for four days! Sold my pickup and the wife's car, bought a Honda Element. I'd been bike commuting exclusively for a year, and put less than 1000 miles on my truck; most of which was simply to drive it so it didn't rot in the garage.

Still working (wife stays home)
One child- pre-schooler
Family lives within 4 miles; in-laws are 250 miles away (!)
32 years old, living in a suburb, with a 1.5 mile commute.

I'm about twenty years too young to retire (sadly) and have my son living at home (he's 14) and live in downtown Toronto. Some of my in-laws are within a 15 minute bike ride, but most are an hour or three away by bicycle. My family, for the most part, do not live anywhere near me (hmmm, could it be me? lol). I have six employers believe it or not and can manage to get to all my jobs by bicycle. There are 5 large grocery stores 5-20 minutes away and I have a trike with a trailer to haul both foodstuffs and other items around. In poor weather, I have public transit that is reasonably reliable 'though nowhere near as quick as cycling, available to me. For me and my family, it made a lot of (dollars and ) sense to sell the car and become proudly car-free.

Car light, but I almost could live car-free. I'll bet that quite a few of my neighbors are car-free.

Not retired
No kids
Parents are about 1150 miles away by car, so maybe 1000 miles "as the crow flies"; sister's in Germany
I'm 36
Urban, in a city with lots of heavily-used public transit.

I'm 53 (as of today!), live alone in a city. Work is 4 miles away. My family lives about 200 miles from me. I visit them every month via interurban bus.

Happy Belated bday Roody.

Whose retired?
:roflmao::cry: Planned on an early retirement, but don't see that happening any time soon.


Who has children living at home?
Finally got rid of them for the time being...900sf has it's advantages:love:


How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
From about 250' (the inlaws) to halfway around the world. My parents live 18 miles from us, I have brothers and a sister 100 miles, another brother 1700 miles (the smartest of the bunch IMHO) Children 2, one in the UK one on the West Coast.


How old are you?
Old enough not to want to do it again!:eek: (49)


Urban or rural?

Used to be rural, but getting overrun with golf course communities and housing development, with little to no improvement in infrastructure:(

BTW I am carfree...I only own trucks:p But do my level best to minimize the usage of them, last year personal mileage was around 3,000...

Aaron:)

I'm 53 (as of today!), live alone in a city. Work is 4 miles away. My family lives about 200 miles from me. I visit them every month via interurban bus.

Happy Birthday Roody!

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?

Well, I'm about to turn 30 in June.
Retirement is for chumps - although I wish I was self-employed.
No children, at home or elsewhere, but my brother has two daughters and bicycle commutes. (to add to the stats...)
My immediate family (brother, parents) all live within 20km (easy cycling distance) of me. My girlfriend lives within walking distance.
I used to be fairly urban but have moved into the sprawling suburbs to get closer to work and family. Ironically, the ride to work is shorter but less enjoyable from here.

Of you that are living car-free.

Whose retired?
Who has children living at home?
How close does your family live to you? Rough radius?
How old are you?
Urban or rural?
Working. 30-something, single, no kids. But would like to have a family sometime and still stay car-free (Bakfiets!) Urban. I have a sister 2 miles-ish away, and my parents are about 100 miles. Cycle there in nicer weather (usually with a commuter train boost to get a bit out of the city first) on a weekend. Or could take a train (that doesn't allow bikes) or Greyhound bus to under 10 miles away for a pickup.

The whole reason I asked was because I'm curious as to the demographics of those on this board. I, myself, am considering giving the car lite life and option. I'll be without a car and my wife will have her car, so calling myself car-free is not really true. However, I will be doing everything possible via two-wheels. Also, if I found someone in a similar situation as myself, then I am able to ask them questions and they can answer me based on experience.

Until quite recently, I was in your situation: I was car-free, my significant other was not, which made me car-lite. Well, maybe not car-lite. We agreed in principal to use bikes for trips under 5 miles, but, for a variety of reasons, this simply did not happen. In effect, I was car-free unless I was with the SO, in which case I was the the driver of her car. It ultimately becomes a question of values: do you value the whole car-free thing, or do you value her (if she insists on a car)?

48 Year old, divorced with no kids.
Living with parents since spinal injury from motorcycle accident a few summers ago.
Also fight with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which makes life a bit inconvenient.
But on a good day I can still ride a bike just fine, so I've been "almost" car free since the accident.
Borrow dad's car once in a bit for emergencies, but really simplified my lifestyle so I don't need to.
Rural Illinois small town is not all that bike friendly, but it's not fast paced either and I like it.
Evidently I'm commited to this for the long haul. Just added a new Trek cross bike to the
stable that already contained a vintage Bridgestone RB3.
So bye-bye $4 gas and coma caca OPEC.

I'm 21 and live in rural Sonoma County, CA. My immediate family is about 60 miles away and they either come up to visit me or I take the bus down. I'm a college student and car-free by choice.

I'm 22, no kids yet, living in an apartment with my flatmate. I'm in a rather dense urban setting (I left the burbs to study, but also to live a car-free lifestyle), but definitely not downtown. Family lives 250 km away from me, for the closest ones.

I'm car light right now since I need a car at work. I'm widowed with no kids and I'm living in a small community. I'm one to two kilometres from most of what I need on a day-to-day basis, but some services I use less frequently are 20 to 70 kilometres from here. The rest of my family is at least 1,500 kilometres away.

Until quite recently, I was in your situation: I was car-free, my significant other was not, which made me car-lite. Well, maybe not car-lite. We agreed in principal to use bikes for trips under 5 miles, but, for a variety of reasons, this simply did not happen. In effect, I was car-free unless I was with the SO, in which case I was the the driver of her car. It ultimately becomes a question of values: do you value the whole car-free thing, or do you value her (if she insists on a car)?

My situation is much like yours (and sounds like the OP is in the same boat..). Of course, your priorities should be with your wife. You could look at it as an opportunity to sway one more person to becoming carfree. :) My rule is that you should encourage her to get out and walk or bike to the store. Another thing is to encourage her to drive if she has to use the car (that might actually dissuade her. Lastly, set a good example. She might come to appreciate what you are doing and perhaps join you.

Anyway, that's my opinion and if that doesn't work, I might just hide the keys. :)

Retired? Nope! I work full time + overtime.
Kids? No, but I have to take my cat to the vet next week and it will be an adventure.
How close is family? I'm single and live alone. Most of my family is a 9-mile ride away (close enough to hang out, far enough that I can be "too tired" when I need a day to myself.) The rest of my family is about 20 miles. I catch a ride or take the bus to see them.
How old? 26
Urban or Rural? I live in Downtown Denver and commute to the suburbs west of town.

I've been car free for about two years, and see no reason to purchase a car in the future.