Originally Posted by
Roody
OP here. I was intending this thread to be personal accounts of how much people spend on non-car transportation expenses. The purpose is to help people estimate what their expenses would be in various stages of being carlight or carfree.
Please try to stay on topic.
So do tell...how much do you spend on bikes and whatnot?
But, it is not possible to consider the savings of living carfree without including opportunity cost of living carfree.
I recently returned to the states, I would estimate $1200 on direct bike costs. However, there were a lot of job opportunities that I missed out on because I am carfree. I Finally found a job in another state. I am shipping my bike and trailer (about $120) along with some other stuff. Then I will fly, that will run another $500. Then, because I do not have the ability to transport stuff, when I get where I am going I will have to equip another home with stuff that I have purchased, and walked away from several times; that I will probably eventually walk away from these purchases too.
Unless you live like a homeless person, living car free can be quite expensive when all of the parts are added in. Yes, one can eventually realize savings if a lot of stars align. However, if you are not one of the lucky ones (stable job in good location) it can be quite expensive. You really have to include opportunity cost.
Going back to actual costs, the last time I moved shipping bikes was stupid expensive; so I took one as second bag (an extra $200) and left the other. On this trip the baggage is even tighter So i was going to leave it behind and just order a bike online. However, I found, and am going to try a discount shipper (uses FedEx). If all goes well the bike and trailer I already own will be waiting for me to reassemble when I arrive in Kansas.
So:
Bike ~ $900
Trailer ~ $280
assorted stuff ~ $50
Extra Shipping ~ $130