Car-Light Lifestyle: Choosing A Place To Live
#51
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I've been taking the train to work every day for the past seven years or so, and I can only blame Renfe (the state-owned Spanish railway company) for arriving late twice: once when a bridge was washed away during a storm, and another time when a train broke down. The high-speed AVE trains are so reliable that passengers are guaranteed that they will arrive on time. If they are more than five minutes late on the Madrid-Seville line, they are given a full refund. What a shame the US is incapable (or unwilling) to provide better service!
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I lived on a busy street for years. The collision I had while backing out of the driveway affected my insurance rate and my decision of where to live next. I automatically excluded all main roads from my search and passed on some houses on streets with too much traffic. That is less of an issue now without a car, and the smaller lots in this neighborhood make it noisier, but I am mostly satisfied with my choice within the limits of my budget.
I seemed to have spent much of my life at the end of a cul de sac. I like that, and we are about to move to another cul de sac location.
I point-blank refuse to be on a busy main road. I was once, and some idiot ran into the back of my old car parked legally on the road, and never paid for the considerable damage. I swore then never again.
I point-blank refuse to be on a busy main road. I was once, and some idiot ran into the back of my old car parked legally on the road, and never paid for the considerable damage. I swore then never again.
Yes, the "busy main road" is definitely a consideration when we've chosen a place to live.
In our previous town, our first house was on one of the main roads through town, and we hesitated over that decision a little bit because of that, but when we looked closely at the area, we realised that the traffic would likely die right off in an evening because the road became a twisty back way to get to the next town (not great for evening/night driving), and that we were far enough from the downtown area (about 500 metres) that it wouldn't be so busy where we were. And we were right ... by about 7 pm there was almost nothing on that road.
Our next house was near a school, and got a bit busy around 8:30 am and 3:00 pm, but that didn't bother us, and other than that, it was very quiet. Being within the 40 km/h school zone was also nice ... even though that's only for certain time periods, traffic tended to travel quite slowly most of the time.
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I can't even think of a theme park here in Tasmania or in Victoria. Maybe they exist and I just haven't noticed.
Edit: Rowan just reminded me of one in Melbourne. We've walked past it several times.
Luna Park
Home | Luna Park Melbourne
Edit: Rowan just reminded me of one in Melbourne. We've walked past it several times.
Luna Park
Home | Luna Park Melbourne
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#54
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I have a gratis, shuttle van that takes me, 2 hours each way, to the Portland VA Hospital,
main source of my medical care ..
It leaves from a Parking lot almost across the street. at 7AM.. scheduled a week ahead.
2 blocks away, seen out windows on 3 sides is the Columbia River,
and 10 miles to the west is the Pacific Ocean.
main source of my medical care ..
It leaves from a Parking lot almost across the street. at 7AM.. scheduled a week ahead.
2 blocks away, seen out windows on 3 sides is the Columbia River,
and 10 miles to the west is the Pacific Ocean.
Last edited by fietsbob; 07-14-14 at 06:21 PM.
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So Roody ...
You're big on being car-free ... what features about your current place appealed to you so that you could continue living your car-free lifestyle?
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Last edited by Machka; 07-14-14 at 11:39 PM.
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Regarding car-rentals ... one of the things that appealed to me about where I lived in Winnipeg was the fact that there were several car-rental dealerships (or whatever they are called) quite close by. I didn't pick the place because of that, but discovered it after I ceased owning a car. I had the option to move a few times, but that was one of many reasons why I stayed in that particular location for as long as I did.
And that was one difficulty with living in the small town in Victoria ... the nearest car rental place was some distance away (70 km). We might have considered not owning a vehicle there and renting one when we needed it, but acquiring a rental car was a journey in itself.
And that was one difficulty with living in the small town in Victoria ... the nearest car rental place was some distance away (70 km). We might have considered not owning a vehicle there and renting one when we needed it, but acquiring a rental car was a journey in itself.
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Last edited by Machka; 07-14-14 at 07:30 PM.
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I don't think it's inevitable that sharing the rails with freight trains will cause delays. Bay Area commuter trains share rail with freight, and that doesn't affect the schedule. If the trains are late, it's usually because of either police action or someone launching themselves in front of the train and dying.
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I don't think it's inevitable that sharing the rails with freight trains will cause delays. Bay Area commuter trains share rail with freight, and that doesn't affect the schedule. If the trains are late, it's usually because of either police action or someone launching themselves in front of the train and dying.
But I was also told that route was particularly bad, while other Amtrak routes weren't so bad. Apparently the eastern US routes run reasonably close to on-time.
Now perhaps in more recent years they got tired of the complaints and have improved the service.
Nevertheless, even if the train did run on time, it won't work for us on this particular trip. When we travel (which we do a lot) we consider all our transportation options and pick the one(s) that suit us the best. Much like when we move to a new place ... when we choose a place to live. We consider all our options, and pick the one that suits us the best at the time.
If it makes everyone feel better ... we won't be driving to Canada.
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Last edited by Machka; 07-14-14 at 11:40 PM.
#59
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I've ridden Amtrak on numerous occasions in several different parts of the country, and it's never been late for me. Air travel, on the other hand...I've only flown a handful of times in my life, and one of those times the flight was diverted to another city overnight, so we arrived the day after we were supposed to. But the longest travel delay I ever experienced was -- you guessed it -- driving. The car died in the middle of nowhere and I had to wait a day and a half for repairs to be finished. My one-day trip was turned into three days.
I don't think it's inevitable that sharing the rails with freight trains will cause delays. Bay Area commuter trains share rail with freight, and that doesn't affect the schedule. If the trains are late, it's usually because of either police action or someone launching themselves in front of the train and dying.
I don't think it's inevitable that sharing the rails with freight trains will cause delays. Bay Area commuter trains share rail with freight, and that doesn't affect the schedule. If the trains are late, it's usually because of either police action or someone launching themselves in front of the train and dying.
But on the LA-Seattle line, the freight priority is well known... because the tracks are owned by the freight train companies.
All my other travel experiences have been completely the opposite to yours. Flights on time (or reasonably so, and certainly not 12 hours late), and reliable hire cars.
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I don't think it's inevitable that sharing the rails with freight trains will cause delays. Bay Area commuter trains share rail with freight, and that doesn't affect the schedule. If the trains are late, it's usually because of either police action or someone launching themselves in front of the train and dying.
Last edited by I-Like-To-Bike; 07-15-14 at 08:52 AM.
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Zipcar charges a fairly high price on a per hour basis, with everything included (fuel, insurance etc), so it is best when you use the car to run one specific errand which is local -most of my zipcar rentals are for one or two hours. The cost is usually $8 to $10 per hour, so for a short rental it is much less than a traditional rental car, and the paperwork is much easier (swipe a card).
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Yes they do.
In Dutch it's: "appels met peren vergelijken", literally translated: "to compare apples with pears".
In Dutch it's: "appels met peren vergelijken", literally translated: "to compare apples with pears".
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Bike Fridays!!
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A couple more considerations:
1) What about bicycle storage?
2) What length of bus trip to work/school would be acceptable?
1) What about bicycle storage?
2) What length of bus trip to work/school would be acceptable?
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#68
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I'm actually moving from the small town where I've lived the past 5 months or so (and worked) to a smaller town with similar character along the train line here in Sweden.
Mostly, I wanted a rental with a semi-permanent contract. Here in Sweden rental housing is tough to come by in many places. Certainly where I live now, but Stockholm is much worse. Here I asked the local rental companies, and was told that I shouldn't expect a call for 4-5 years. In Stockholm, it's more like 25-30 years... As it is, I have a weird place in a good location that's 450 square feet, split into two floors, with a severely sloping ceiling limiting the use of the top floor, which therefore really limits the place to about 300 square feet of marketable space.
Last night I took the keys to a place that's about 775 square feet, more-or-less the same price, on a single floor that's pretty much amazing. I also will no longer rely on expensive, prepaid 4G internet service. And I could go on-and-on about the advantages of it. It lengthens the commute, but it's not such a big deal. It'll be something like bus-train-bike on the way to work, or maybe the opposite, after I figure out what I want to do. I think the social and financial benefits of living in a smaller town will be truly beneficial.
Mostly, I wanted a rental with a semi-permanent contract. Here in Sweden rental housing is tough to come by in many places. Certainly where I live now, but Stockholm is much worse. Here I asked the local rental companies, and was told that I shouldn't expect a call for 4-5 years. In Stockholm, it's more like 25-30 years... As it is, I have a weird place in a good location that's 450 square feet, split into two floors, with a severely sloping ceiling limiting the use of the top floor, which therefore really limits the place to about 300 square feet of marketable space.
Last night I took the keys to a place that's about 775 square feet, more-or-less the same price, on a single floor that's pretty much amazing. I also will no longer rely on expensive, prepaid 4G internet service. And I could go on-and-on about the advantages of it. It lengthens the commute, but it's not such a big deal. It'll be something like bus-train-bike on the way to work, or maybe the opposite, after I figure out what I want to do. I think the social and financial benefits of living in a smaller town will be truly beneficial.
#69
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I'm actually moving from the small town where I've lived the past 5 months or so (and worked) to a smaller town with similar character along the train line here in Sweden.
Mostly, I wanted a rental with a semi-permanent contract. Here in Sweden rental housing is tough to come by in many places. Certainly where I live now, but Stockholm is much worse. Here I asked the local rental companies, and was told that I shouldn't expect a call for 4-5 years. In Stockholm, it's more like 25-30 years... As it is, I have a weird place in a good location that's 450 square feet, split into two floors, with a severely sloping ceiling limiting the use of the top floor, which therefore really limits the place to about 300 square feet of marketable space.
Last night I took the keys to a place that's about 775 square feet, more-or-less the same price, on a single floor that's pretty much amazing. I also will no longer rely on expensive, prepaid 4G internet service. And I could go on-and-on about the advantages of it. It lengthens the commute, but it's not such a big deal. It'll be something like bus-train-bike on the way to work, or maybe the opposite, after I figure out what I want to do. I think the social and financial benefits of living in a smaller town will be truly beneficial.
Mostly, I wanted a rental with a semi-permanent contract. Here in Sweden rental housing is tough to come by in many places. Certainly where I live now, but Stockholm is much worse. Here I asked the local rental companies, and was told that I shouldn't expect a call for 4-5 years. In Stockholm, it's more like 25-30 years... As it is, I have a weird place in a good location that's 450 square feet, split into two floors, with a severely sloping ceiling limiting the use of the top floor, which therefore really limits the place to about 300 square feet of marketable space.
Last night I took the keys to a place that's about 775 square feet, more-or-less the same price, on a single floor that's pretty much amazing. I also will no longer rely on expensive, prepaid 4G internet service. And I could go on-and-on about the advantages of it. It lengthens the commute, but it's not such a big deal. It'll be something like bus-train-bike on the way to work, or maybe the opposite, after I figure out what I want to do. I think the social and financial benefits of living in a smaller town will be truly beneficial.
#70
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Car-Light Lifestyle: Choosing A Place To Live
Usually you would rent from the first hand contract holder for short periods of time while they're traveling. I was mostly ignored when I sent emails about these places. Or I'd go to see a place, only to find myself with 20 other "applicants."
Many people actually purchase as an easy alternative to renting! It's the only place I've ever lived where money can't solve all of my everyday problems...
Many people actually purchase as an easy alternative to renting! It's the only place I've ever lived where money can't solve all of my everyday problems...
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I've ridden Amtrak on numerous occasions in several different parts of the country, and it's never been late for me. Air travel, on the other hand...I've only flown a handful of times in my life, and one of those times the flight was diverted to another city overnight, so we arrived the day after we were supposed to. But the longest travel delay I ever experienced was -- you guessed it -- driving. The car died in the middle of nowhere and I had to wait a day and a half for repairs to be finished. My one-day trip was turned into three days.
I don't think it's inevitable that sharing the rails with freight trains will cause delays. Bay Area commuter trains share rail with freight, and that doesn't affect the schedule. If the trains are late, it's usually because of either police action or someone launching themselves in front of the train and dying.
I don't think it's inevitable that sharing the rails with freight trains will cause delays. Bay Area commuter trains share rail with freight, and that doesn't affect the schedule. If the trains are late, it's usually because of either police action or someone launching themselves in front of the train and dying.
Aaron
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3) And what about elevation? Low enough so you don't have to climb steep hills to get home every day ... but high enough so you don't get flooded?
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#73
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Besides the weather, there are other causes of delay on motoring trips--including accidents, road construction, breakdowns, and politicians closing bridges to get even with their opponents.
The safety record for private cars is also very poor compared to trains and buses.
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#74
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Car travel is often delayed--perhaps more so than train and bus travel. A co-worker recently sat in her car for more than 24 hours when Atlanta got a couple inches of snow. A neighbor family nearly froze to death in their car during a freak Thanksgiving ice storm years ago.
Besides the weather, there are other causes of delay on motoring trips--including accidents, road construction, breakdowns, and politicians closing bridges to get even with their opponents.
The safety record for private cars is also very poor compared to trains and buses.
Besides the weather, there are other causes of delay on motoring trips--including accidents, road construction, breakdowns, and politicians closing bridges to get even with their opponents.
The safety record for private cars is also very poor compared to trains and buses.
For the number of passengers who travel by that train, and the number of people who drive, the incidence of delays on the train is huge by comparison.
We weren't discussing the merits of safety on either mode of transport.
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More Things To Think About When Choosing a Place To Live
A few more considerations:
1) What about bicycle storage?
2) What length of bus trip to work/school would be acceptable?
3) And what about elevation? Low enough so you don't have to climb steep hills to get home every day ... but high enough so you don't get flooded?
4) How about the amount of sunlight a place might get? Too much and the place is blazing hot all the time ... too little and it's dark and cold?
5) Room for entertainment? (That seems to be a big one on Escape to the Country)
1) What about bicycle storage?
2) What length of bus trip to work/school would be acceptable?
3) And what about elevation? Low enough so you don't have to climb steep hills to get home every day ... but high enough so you don't get flooded?
4) How about the amount of sunlight a place might get? Too much and the place is blazing hot all the time ... too little and it's dark and cold?
5) Room for entertainment? (That seems to be a big one on Escape to the Country)
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