Corben

When I was a young nerdy single guy I lived a car free life. I walked and rode where I needed to go or got a ride from a friend. Or borrowed a car.
Then that all changed when I became involved with a girl. I needed a car. Then we'd break up and the car would break down and I'd live car free again until I got involved in another relationship.
Today my wife and I have been together for over thirty years and not only have I had to pay billions of dollars to maintain not just one but sometimes two vehicles since we been married.
I bet had I put all that money into my 401k we would be able to retire ten yrs earlier.
My wife thinks I'm nuts when I consider life without a car. She says things like " how are suppose to pull the travel trailer?"
Good point.

I-Like-To-Bike

Sounds more like you miss being the single nerdy guy of thirty years ago.

Not to worry, you can always read about others on LCF living that kind of life; but to tell the truth their posts do not give the impression of folks rolling around in their "saved" money as is they were Scrooge McDuck.

prathmann

poormanbiking

My car free days ended before my wife came along but if I had stayed car-free I could be real close to a very early retirement. Just get a tandem and pedal her around.

Roody

What's that little icon at the bottom of this message? I never saw that before, and it doesn't seem to do anything. (Unless my computer blows up in 30 seconds)

Machka 

It's a placeholder.


But on topic ... do you miss your car free days?

Roody

How about you? Do you miss it?

In many ways I do miss my carfree days. (For those who don't know, I was carfree until my family moved in with me a couple years ago. In Rowan's terminology, I am still "car-ownership-free", but my household is not carfree.) Now, a lot of our household income goes to pay for something that I don't want or need for myself. There are many things I would rather spend the money on. But one family member needs the car to get to work. There is no transit to her workplace, and she is unable (on many levels) to ride a bike to work. The family relies on her income, so we "need" the car. Being part of a family often entails compromises and even sacrifices.

The other morning I went with my son when he drove his mother-in-law to work (she lives with us and it's her car, not mine). The alternator went out just as we arrived at her workplace. We had to wait more than an hour for the tow truck. It was much colder sitting in that car without a heater than it would have been riding a bike home! That was one time I really wished that I was carfree....

What is a place holder?

Machka 

No ... most of the time I don't mind that we own a van. However, most of the time I don't use it. Bus to and from work ... lots of walking and cycling. For me, it's kind of the best of both worlds. I don't have to deal with driving and finding parking etc. but we can go places further afield on the weekends if we want.

And the van does something very important ... it gets Rowan to work.


A placeholder is an icon that Internet Explorer (and others?) put on a page where there should be an image ... but the image isn't there because of a broken link or a temporary inability to access the link or something along those lines.
Why can't I see pictures on websites? - Windows Help

I-Like-To-Bike

There was/is nothing wrong with the posted link (https://www.myfreewallpapers.net/cart...duck-money.jpg); the image is there, the inability to see it is due to some issue at Roody's end.

Machka 

It's a placeholder for me too ... I can't see it either.

I-Like-To-Bike

For those who have Internet issues:
This is NOT the impression given by the posts of the LCF "money savers":

Walter S

I think car free people generally save quite a lot of money. The reason they don't feel rich is the same as the reason that most rich people don't feel rich. Most people find stuff to do with their money regardless of how much of it they have. And then they feel like they don't have enough.

I-Like-To-Bike

Perhaps, but let us not forget that accumulating savings is dependent not only on not spending on this or that item or activity, but also on having an income greater than expenditures. Some people do not spend money on motor vehicles because they are forced to"enjoy" car free status due to low income and low income also may explain why they may not feel rich.

Walter S

I'd say you've hit the nail on the head when it comes to most car free people. The people on this internet forum are a different group. IMO the vast majority of car free people are not car free by choice.

Machka 

Here you go ... the solution ...

Pedal Away From It All?With an Ultralight Camper Trailer Attached - CityLab

I-Like-To-Bike

My guess is that your opinion about our BF LCF comrades resembles reality but may be off somewhat at least for some "carfree" posters.

One, some of the "car free"posters on this list are NOT car free, but rather choose to ride a bike for most of their own local transportation requirements, someone else in the house uses the motor vehicle, to include perhaps for the chores (vacations, shopping, transportation of dependents, etc.) that the carfree individual's choice make difficult.

Two, my guess, judging from the posts that read as I don't know how others can afford to own a car or as testimonials about the nature of the simple life they lead, is that the income level for some of the posters is not too high and that their carfree "choice" may be driven by their own economic necessity.

Three, an alternative guess is that the primary choice to be carfree may have affected the ability or desire of some posters to work/live in various occupations/locations with more economic opportunities if such jobs or locations could affect their carfree status.

ofgit

I miss my car free days too. Those were also my 20 something years old days though and that might have something to do with the feeling.

Roody

It's too bad you had to ruin a nice thread with off-topic value judgments and idle speculation. Can you state any reason that these posts should not be considered as trolls?

Machka 

It's not trolling when his comments have a ring of truth about them.

BTW, if you want to see trolling, you should hang out in General a while. It's pretty quite right now, but should flare up again in about March.

Roody

Thanks, but I really don't want to see trolling. I was enjoying the topic here before ILTB derailed it. Your last message was interesting:

Something I miss about my carfree days is the twice weekly (or more often) bike trips to get food. I tended to go to small markets and specialty shops a lot more, along with farmers markets. Now the bulk of the shopping is done by car once a month. It's just a big chore, instead of a fun little task.

I also miss the personal relationships with the shopkeepers that you have when you go to small family stores. Every fall I used to bike way out in the country to buy backpacks full of tomatoes that I brought home to make sauce for the winter. The farmers always remembered me, even though they hadn't seen me in a whole year: "We were hoping the bike guy would be here again this season!" Then they would load me up with free basil and peppers to go in my sauce...

Yes, I could do all that stuff in a car--but it loses something that way!

Walter S

I certainly accept that. My comment is just based on gut feel. I don't know how accurate it is and certainly don't mean for it to apply to all members of this forum.

Walter S

That's an interesting perspective. In my car free environment I feel that I shop at fewer places than if I drove. In order to keep things reasonably efficient I want to buy as much stuff as possible at one place rather than go from one place to another. I have a very busy work schedule and so I consolidate my shopping to one afternoon per week. I use a cargo trailer so I can haul everything we need in my two-person household.

In a car it's easy to zip around town to this and that shop. Car free, it's much slower to get from one shop to another that may be separated by a few miles.

My week in week out shopping is almost entirely at the farmer's market and walmart. Every few weeks I make a trip to Trader Joe's or the drug store.

ofgit

[QUOTE=Roody;17287187]Thanks, but I really don't want to see trolling. I was enjoying the topic here before ILTB derailed it. Your last message was interesting:



Something I miss about my carfree days is the twice weekly (or more often) bike trips to get food. I tended to go to small markets and specialty shops a lot more, along with farmers markets. Now the bulk of the shopping is done by car once a month. It's just a big chore, instead of a fun little task.

I also miss the personal relationships with the shopkeepers that you have when you go to small family stores. Every fall I used to bike way out in the country to buy backpacks full of tomatoes that I brought home to make sauce for the winter. The farmers always remembered me, even though they hadn't seen me in a whole year: "We were hoping the bike guy would be here again this season!" Then they would load me up with free basil and peppers to go in my sauce...

Yes, I could do all that stuff in a car--but it loses something that way![/QUOTE



Used to carry loads to the laundromat on a spindly Pletscher rack. Strapped bags of groceries on it too. Tended to make that new '74 Fuji handle poorly.

I-Like-To-Bike

Mr. Roody believes that posts that are not in synch with his own views/opinions/ideology should be considered "trolls."

Especially if the posts have a ring of truth; doubly so, if the ring of truth hits uncomfortably close to home.

Nothing new.

Roody

You are still off-topic for the thread. Do you miss your carfree days?