Angus37

I've read a lot of posts in this thread and find it pretty interesting. I'm wondering, how many of you car-free folk have families?

I don't consider myself car-free, maybe car-lite. We have one vehicle and don't use it too much; when we do we try to combine many errands. I commute and love the idea of doing as much as I can by bike, but we live in the middle of the Mojave Desert and it gets into the 110s during the summer. While I don't have a problem riding in the heat (for too long), I don't want to subject my wife and two children (3 mos and 2 yrs) to that kind of environment if we need/want to go somewhere around town.

I'm curious to hear what the car-free folk have to say about families.

bikinpolitico

We are still one car, but are contemplating car-free now that we have our Xtracycle setup to haul our kids. I think you have to choose where you live very carefully to pull it off. You need to be able to easily get the places you need to go by walking, bike, or transit. Having carshare available also helps.

I-Like-To-Bike

Living and working in a college town/or similar self contained Utopia helps too.

Torrilin

My partner and I don't have children. May happen someday, may not. We keep the possibility in mind when planning, but kids don't take a whole lot of special transportation beyond what a sick adult might need. We don't own a car and would prefer to never own one again, but it might be necessary in some situations. Neither one of us much likes city driving, and we both prefer to live in a medium sized or large city, so odds are we can continue on without a car.

Before cars and air conditioning, people just didn't go outside much in such extreme weather. Chores and errands would happen early in the morning, or at night after it had cooled off.

Once a kid can talk, it is pretty easy to figure out how they're feeling. When they're a baby and can't talk, it is much harder. So babies shouldn't have much exposure to extreme temperatures (either hot or cold). As the kid gets older, they can do more. But I still wouldn't expect them to handle things the way an adult does... they need to be taught to drink enough, wear a hat when it is too hot to go without and so on. And little kids don't always feel thirsty when they should.

And well, your wife is a grown woman. If she doesn't want to go outside in 110F, she can say so (and will!). And if she does want to go outside, presumably she's sensible enough to bring water with and dress appropriately. (if she *wasn't* sensible enough, her first run in with heatstroke would be quick and quite unpleasant... and would already have happened)

8bit

I'm car-free and I have a family. My mother thinks nothing of my car-free status.

Oh, wait, were you saying that I don't have a family unless I have children of my own? Sigh. Another lonely night awaits me with no family.