Machka 

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

Machka 

When we moved to Hobart, we had about 5 days to find a place to live. Prior to that, Rowan had given me a list of suburbs to consider based on his experience when he lived here a decade ago, and I watched the real estate website for several months to see what was available. In the couple weeks before we came, I had made a list of about 10 places and had made contact with the real estate agencies.

So, our first consideration was location. We wanted to be in one of about half a dozen suburbs, all of which are quite close to where I work. We wanted my commute to be fairly short and easily accessible by bus, cycling and/or walking.

We also wanted a sunny suburb. Because there is a large mountain looming over Hobart (Mt Wellington), many suburbs are in shadow most of the day and can be quite chilly and damp. In fact, the previous tenant was there when we looked at one place, and she told us that she had to buy a dryer (a very unusual appliance in Australia) because nothing dried, everything remained damp all the time. It was one of the reasons she and her family were moving. We didn't take that place.

And of course we wanted good proximity to shopping, banking, medical facilities, library, church, fitness centre, etc., etc. ... which isn't hard here. All the suburbs we considered met that requirement.

Next, the price had to be under a certain amount.

But at the same time, we wanted a place with a garage, 3 bedrooms, and a low-maintenance yard.

We hoped to be close to the beach ... and we wanted decent cycle-ability.

Our choice narrowed to 2 places really quickly ... we got one but not the other (the market here can be quite competitive), and we were momentarily disappointed, but the place we didn't get wasn't as cycle-able and the public transportation wasn't as convenient. It was high on a hill which would have made cycling from home (or more specifically to home) quite difficult for me, and I would have had to walk about 1 km to the bus. The place we got is somewhat more cycle-able and definitely more convenient for public transportation. I can even walk home from work if I want.

So, the place we got ticked all the boxes, plus a good view.

From our balcony ...








But the compromises ... we've discovered that the cycle-ability is something of an issue. It's OK here, but not brilliant. We're kind of hemmed in by the terrain. And the place is just a bit small ... our things are still in storage because we couldn't have fit it all in. And the biggest difficulty was that shortly after we signed the lease, Rowan got a job approx. 40 km away ... not at all convenient.

So ... we're on the move again.

Machka 

We've been able to get high-speed wireless internet wherever we go ... but one of the places we lived was in a little bit of a dead zone when the wind came up. Not sure why exactly, but if the wind was really strong, it was almost a lost cause to maintain an internet connection for more than about 5 min.



I wondered if anyone would mention the kitchen. On the home shows I watch, the kitchen always seems to be the most important room in the house. I've never really cared about what kind of kitchen a place has, but gradually a few kitchen features have moved up the importance list ... one is a dishwasher. We have one in our current house and the one before, and I'm hooked. They're great!! Another is storage. And something that is not common in Australian houses are upper cupboards. I don't know why they're so uncommon, but it means we've got to have a pantry.



What is a Zipcar?


Nice! And you got that?

We lived in one house for about 6 months that had a bit of that feel. I like going away somewhere about once a month, travelling, but when we lived there, I didn't want to leave. I loved that house ... still do. But we had to move for work. I would have happily brought that house with us if I could.


And the house I mentioned above was like that ... possibly 80+ years old, but very nicely renovated. It was gorgeous!! Even though we could only be there a short time, I felt privileged to have the opportunity ... and I really hope to have that opportunity again some time.

ro-monster

You're thinking of what gets passed off as high speed to residential users. But we run a business that relies on the internet, and the service we have is much much faster than that. There are large portions of the US, even in some urban areas, where this kind of connection isn't obtainable.


Zipcar
A really great alternative to the burden of actually owning a car. I used it when I lived in San Francisco. Within a few minutes' walk from my apartment, I had access to over 30 different cars and trucks anytime I needed to carry something bulky or go somewhere that wasn't easily reached by bike, foot, or transit. It's one thing I miss about living in the city; I've heard that it will finally make it into this area in the next year or two.

Machka 

Interesting ...

We need to get from Vancouver down to Eugene and back in September. I wonder if that would be less expensive than going the usual car rental route.

Rowan

That is changing somewhat here with the roll-out of the National Broadband Network using fibre-optic cabling. It's supposed to be faster than anything that's available with wireless or the old copper wire network. But there are some bottlenecks.

The roll-out has been expensive and slow and the whole project is teetering on failure.

Supposedly, domestic connections are supposed to have access to the same speeds as businesses, and its great promise was instantaneous interactivity for things such as education and medical procedures. We have to wait and see...

One of the factors for finding a new residence for us was that the issues with the NBN connections had already been solved, and it looks like they may have been, although we won't find out until we finally move.

I-Like-To-Bike

Better check out the terms of agreement/use with Zipcar before counting on it . I believe it is intended for short term (a few hours) and local use. Perhaps ro-monstor or someone else familiar with it can clarify.

Lo2w

The car shares I've used have always been in town use only. You could book and rent at a day rate but I think there's meager restrictions.

rockmom

I don't know how zipcar works. We belong to a different carshare and receive a discount on traditional car rentals for longer trips. Our local carshare also partners with others in different cities so that we could use cars there as well.

ro-monster

Zipcar is primarily intended for shorter trips, although they clearly wanted to allow for "weekend getaway" trips as well. There are several factors that might make your intended use impossible or impractical.

• The maximum reservation period is 4 consecutive days.
• Cars must be returned to the same place they were picked up.
• Mileage is limited to 180 miles/day. If you go over that, you get charged by the mile, and it's pretty expensive.
• If your trip happens to coincide with a major holiday, prices may be higher.

Roody

In keeping with the main topic of this forum, I recommend that people check out trains and interurban buses before they rent a car. After all, a rental car is still a car, and we're supposed to be discussing alternatives to cars here.

Buses are a great way to travel in many cases. I did a monthly 400 mile round trip by bus for well over 10 years. In almost 300 trips, the bus was late only a couple times. I saved a lot of money and was responsible for a lot less pollution. It was fun to enjoy the scenery and relax with a book. Many of the buses even have free wi-fi now and outlets for charging your phone, tablet or laptop.

ro-monster

Agreed, train or bus is much more pleasant than driving, unless you're going out to the wilderness or on back roads. My friend always wonders why I take Amtrak to LA to visit her, since it takes 11 hours (including transit to the Amtrak station), when I could rent a car and drive there in 6 hours. Ah, but during that 11 hours I can read, walk around, eat, look at some lovely beaches, take a nap, play games, meet new people... And it costs 15-20% of what car rental would cost.

Actually, it would take me more than 6 hours to drive it anyway. I can't stand sitting in the car for more than about 2 hours, so I stop frequently to walk around.

ro-monster

Roody's post about the bus got me thinking. If I needed to make that trip, my first choice would be the Amtrak Cascades train. If you have bikes with you, they can be brought on board.

bulevardi

Kind of. I get less stressed and more relaxed now. Surrounded by a lot more green and fields.

Not 100% my dreamhouse of course. But it roughly covers more important stuff like nearby railway station, school and other stuff.

I liked to have a balcony... not possible on this house, but will put a terrace somewhere in front of the garden.

bulevardi

Same here. I like doing my daily commuting by train here, while others do that by car as double as long because they're standing in traffic jam. I can take a nap and read the newspaper

But there are certain people who really like driving. A friend of mine did a route from Belgium to Turkey, which takes normally around 25-30 hours. He once did that in just one ride, with a couple of coffees and power drinks. And then he arrives like a wreck and needs to cool down a couple of days

Machka 

That would be the deal-breaker.


And right there is the problem with trains or busses for this particular trip. They take too long. We don't have much time.

Plus, we want to stop a place or two on the way back, briefly.

Plus, we won't have bicycles on the way down, so we'd have to rent a car once we get there or take cabs or something to get around Eugene.

I've looked at several different options (including flying down), and for us, renting a car seems like the best choice.


I like trains ... especially in Europe. But sometimes public transportation is just not convenient.

Machka 

Sounds quite nice.

Zedoo

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.

Rowan

I've done the train trip from LA to Vancouver, and will never do it again either way. It is way too unreliable (something like 10 hours late to arrive). That's the penalty of a passenger service on a freight line for much of the way.

Rowan

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.

Rowan

In case you missed the title to this thread, it says "Car-Light Lifestyle: Choosing A Place to Live".

Machka 

Yes ... I've done Sacramento to Eugene by Amtrak. It was supposed to leave about midnight ... didn't depart until 7 am. And by the time we got to Eugene, it was running 12 hours late. I had to cancel my plans in Eugene and pay for a room there, an expense I didn't intend to incur.

I asked around about the delay ... was this common? was this a one-of? I was told this was very common and if anyone were to do the LA to Vancouver, they should add an extra day (each way) into their schedule to take into account the inevitable delay.


In our case, this coming September, we simply can't add an extra day each way to sit around waiting for a train. Not enough time for that.

I-Like-To-Bike

We took AMTRAK from Chicago to Pendelton Oregon once in the winter; arrived 18 hours late in Ogden, UT where we were to catch the next train towards our destination. AMTRAK put us up for the night and paid for several meals due to the missed connection. Also the heat varied about 40° in the passenger compartment 50°-90°. We arrived more than 24 hours late at our destination.

The once-a-day AMTRAK train from SF to Chi passes through my town. It comes and goes at any time night or day coming from SF, and any time within about 6 or 7 hours late from Chi. There is no convenient actual arrival times posted at the train station or on line. Take the train? Not a chance unless I didn't care what time I'd arrive at the destination or cared how long I would have to wait at the sparsely furnished train station.

There is no comparison between European and U.S. passenger service. We took the train all over Germany and neighboring countries when we weren't traveling with our children; with children our car was far more practical.

Roody

In case you missed the title of the forum, it's Living Carfree.

Now I have nothing against people being carlight or using taxis, car shares, or car rentals. It's their life and they can do what they want. In fact, I'm carlight myself, strictly speaking. But this particular forum is about being carfree. The forum blurb talks about using cars less. I shouldn't get hassled for mentioning that we should talk about using cars less from time to time.

Many of the posts on this thread have been about using cars, or how much of a hassle it is living on a busy road because your car might get hit while its parked outside your house. I think other than a few frequent posters who are more into cars, most people would be more interested in talking about choosing a place to live that enables using a car less.

Roody

Thats why I generally prefer the bus. I think I mentioned earlier that in over 300 interurban bus trips, my bus was late only a handful of times. Other bonuses are that the bus costs only about half as much as the train, and seems to serve a lot more locations.