Originally Posted by tfahrner
that's in the netherlands. we live in portland, car-free by choice with one 3-year old; likely to adopt a second. we are not alone. we're 40 and bike everywhere. i am so unimpressed by people who claim it is impossible to be car-free with kids because of where they live. we live where we can be car-free, and they live where they can't: two choices.
This is sort of a simplistic viewpoint. Often we have fewer (and sometimes NO) choices as we grow older. The difficulty is in my job (as a consultant) that forces me to go where my clients need me. That immediately make totally carefree an unrealistic option for me. Also not all cities are have good public transport. In the summer I bike my kids (as much as possible) to their activities. Almost every night we spend at least 40 minutes to 1 hour just out riding on the bikes or if we go to a restaurant we almost always bike there.
The biggest issue is the climate in my area is really an impediment for care free. Think of biking in -10 degree weather with several young kids on roads with motorists that barely have any car control skills. No matter how warmly you dress, that sort of cold weather is just flat out dangerous if you have any issues such as a flat tire. I bike a lot even when it is cold and the worst moment of my life in recent memory was when I got a flat when it was 0 degrees F out and I had to repair the tire with no shelter about 3 miles from home. That day sucked and I thought I would get frostbitten before I got the tire mounted back on the rim.
It is easy to live in a city like Portland, Miami, Atlanta, etc. and seriously consider a car free lifestyle with kids but in Minnesota it is not much of reality unless you live right downtown. Personally I don't live in DT area because of crime and high population density. Combine that with the smog and noise from the cars and I prefer to live a little further out. I grew up in a huge city and I don't want my kids to experience that kind of life. Who wants to live in a shoebox size of an apartment? Like it or not I am stuck where I live for a while. For me one final issue is that the school systems in most major metro areas (within the downtown areas) leave something to be desired. My kids go to great schools that are much better than the schools they would attend if I moved to a more care-free friendly area. Not to mention property taxes in those areas would go through the roof and the money I saved from NOT having a car would be sucked up by the local government in taxes.
At this point I'd say my kids and I are car-lite. I don't consider cars a necessary evil but I do try to use them efficiently.