One car family? - Page 2

[ellemenope]

We are a one car family. DH takes public transportation (train) to work everyday. I run the errands. We just never got around to buying that second car. Don't need eat. Never think about it. It is never an issue. in fact, if we had a second, DH would still use the train.

But, yeah, if I didn't have a car I'd go crazy. I think.

[To-Fu]

Originally Posted by sewingmommy

We are a one car family ...I am a sahm and dh works downtown and takes public transportation to and from ....

Same here, except I work part-time and simply take the bus or car when I need to. We have never had two cars in the entirety of our ten-year relationship, and we've never felt that needed to change.

I'm not sure what we would do if we lived in a place w/o public transport and my partner needed to take the car every day to get to work!

My partner would love to get rid of the car altogether, but I'm expecting my second and just not ready to take that step--especially since the car we DO have is barely 10 years old and is totally paid for.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

We are one car. DH walks to work most days & if he needs to travel for work he gets a company car. I use the car to run errands or go to my market stand during the day. In the evening, he either drops me at my part time job or I take the car. If he were to ever need it during the day, I can walk to most of my destinations.

We did it at first because we didnt' have money to replace the second car when it bit the dust. Then we were saving so much money b/c of no car payment when we did pay off the other car. But we did end up having to get something bigger when we found out about #2, so we have a car payment now, but it's super cheap.

In the future we're looking to get a small pickup or soemthing similar for plant transport.

[sunanthem]

We are a one car family, and have been for about 8 years. We had 2 cars for a few months, then got rid of the 2nd one. We just share it as we need, we use the bus if we have to, we arrange our schedules so we can take/pick up each other if we need, and we both go to college together right now, so we commute together. When I needed the car for work every night, he was home watching the kids anyway. We just talk to each other and figure out when either of us needs it seperately, and we also do alot of things together.
Saves us money. We dont need and cant afford to keep up with another car, so we dont. Works for us.
wanted to add; we walk alot too and live close to shops, schools, etc. But we used to live out in the middle of nowhere and still only had one car. It's much more fun living in a town! Especially with public transportation!
adding again; it had also helped us that we keep most of our errands, stores and fun local. We try to not even cross town most of the time. And I also try to carpool or get a ride with other moms/kids/friends. We also feel strongly about not having more then we need. It also helps to look for jobs and work that is a short commute and local.

[Om Girl]

Thank you all for sharing your reasons and experiences with being a 1 car family. From what you've all said having one parent primarily at home seems to be the common denominator for making this work.

[sunanthem]

Not for us, we both work and are full time students. No one is full time at home here.

[Laggie]

Both DP and I work full time but no kidlets yet... however we have no plans to get a second car. Right now I walk to work most days (30-40 minute walk) but if it is raining DP will drive me.

If I need the car for some reason either I will drop him off at work in the morning, or he will ride his bike (he works a bit farther away, about 30 minutes by bicycle) or take transit. We work in opposite directions so if I drive him he has to be quite early.

I gave up my car 2 years ago and it's very rarely a problem. I do have a membership in a car sharing service (car co-op) but I mainly use it only for work errands, I've used it for personal things maybe once or twice in 6 months.

I am very motivated to keep my job within 30 minutes of my house, I am not willing to commute any farther than that no matter what. I also require that groceries be available within walking distance, we're about 6-10 blocks from a few small but good grocery stores so that works well.

[insahmniak]

Originally Posted by Om Girl

Thank you all for sharing your reasons and experiences with being a 1 car family. From what you've all said having one parent primarily at home seems to be the common denominator for making this work.

Either that or have an easy commute to work. Live Where You Work or vice versa has amazing benefits. We moved last year and are now not close like we used to be and I miss it terribly. Ironically we moved so that we could get into a house with lower energy needs. But I'm absolutely sure any gain we have now with PV and solar hot water are off-set by having a commute. We're still a one-car family. I can't fathom it any other way for tons of reasons. But we see less of DP because his trek sucks time out of our day. And now our neighborhood just isn't very walkable.

[shayinme]

Originally Posted by Om Girl

Thank you all for sharing your reasons and experiences with being a 1 car family. From what you've all said having one parent primarily at home seems to be the common denominator for making this work.

Not really. I think proximity to things makes a huge difference. My dh is a telecommuter with a home office and my job is about a mile from our house. Due to my driving phobia he drops me off and picks me up or if he is not available to do that I can walk home. When we bought our house we intentionally bought in town so we would be in walking distance to things since at that point I wasn't sure if I wanted to drive. By and large it works out, my youngest starts school in the fall and her school is in walking distance.

Since we have never had 2 cars for us its not an issue, we plan errands together and generally if I am going out on a Mama outing I can hitch a ride with a friend or he will drop me off.

I think for most folks who choose to live with one car it takes a bit of planning but its doable. Yes things are not as flexible but you adapt.

Shay

[cristeen]

Why? When we realized that one car was sitting fir weeks without being used, we decided it was time.

How? DH takes public transit to work. He walks to the train station every day. If it weren't for traveling to see family, we could almost get away without a car at this point. I use it for shopping once a week, and for anything else that comes up.

[Addie]

We've been a one car family since my car died in 2003. In the meantime, we've lived in several states including a two-year stint abroad (with no car). Now we're settled in a mid-size city, with no need for a second car. DH works for a university, and one of his job perks is riding the city buses for free. We live on the bus line, about 2 miles from the university, so he takes the bus everyday. I'm a SAHM now, but previously we were both full time grad students w/ part time jobs, and the car just sat at home because we both took the bus. When he travels for work, he either gets a rental car or takes a cab to the airport, with the expenses covered by his job.

It's hard for me to imagine having two cars again. As long as we stay in our current neighborhood, we should be fine with one.

[TEAK's Mom]

We have always been a one car family, even when both of us worked full-time. The key for us has been to live close to work. Right now, dp walks one block down and four blocks over to work and the kids and I have the car.

The most challenging time for us was when I worked part time after dd1 was born. Dp took her to daycare and then parked the car somewhere. Every day, he had to call and tell me where it was so that I could get it and retrieve the baby. That was a royal pain.

[happyhats]

we've always been a one car family. I'm a sahm and I don't even have my license anymore. I'm going to get my license again this year hopefully (I ended up letting it lapse when I lived out of state and didn't have a vehicle). Even still we'll probably stay with one vehicle for quite a while longer. Once we can buy another used vehicle with cash we'll see how much more it will be to insure the second vehicle. If it's not prohibitive we'll probably then move to being a two car family since we won't get effort from our clunker. It will help us in some ways since we live in a rural area, and I'm not sure that we could maintain a one car lifestyle indefenitely unless hubby's schedule was pretty flexible. However, I don't see much value in us having two cars until my dd is school age and we are going to try to go to homeschooling groups, etc on our own.

[ameliabedelia]

We're a two car family now, however we were a 1-car family for the first 3 years of our marriage, them we had 2 cars, then we went to be being a 1-car family for practical purposes, now we are using 2-cars, but it's looking a like a long-distance move is in our future for dh to attend school, so as long as we can find housing on or near campus we will go back to being a 1-car family.

For the first year of our marriage, we both worked, but our places of employment were in the same city and relatively close to each other. We also worked basically the same hours. I would drop dh off at work, then go to my work, then pick him up and we would go home.

Once our oldest was born, I became a SAHM, but we still lived close (like 10 minutes away) from dh's work. I would drop him off every morning and pick him up every afternoon. I personally really don't mind loading the kids up and dropping him off as long as it was close...in some ways I kinda enjoyed that time together.

IMO..a 1-car family is very do-able as long as long as one lives fairly close to work/school. As a SAHM, I would not be able to handle being without a car during the day (at least not more than 1 or at most 2 days a week). It also is very helpful if one lives near public transporation or at least within walking distances or parks, libraries, shopping, etc.

[Coconut Chronicles]

We've been a one car family for 6 years. We have a home business so it works really well for us.

[sweetcheeks]

We've been a one car family since we moved to our town 5.5 years ago and I quit work to become a SAHM. At the time, we could not afford the upkeep, insurance and gas on a 2nd car and now, we just don't need a 2nd car. When we bought our house almost 5 years ago, we bought where we did because it was walking distance for DH to work (about a 15 minute walk) and it was only 4 blocks from the neighborhood elementary school our children would be attending. So we don't need a vehicle for a work commute or taking the kids to school.

I keep the van during the day. There is no way I could be a SAHM without access to a vehicle during the day. Our town isn't very big so public transit options aren't the greatest (compared to when we lived in the city) and winters here are very harsh and cold so if I didn't have a vehicle then, we'd be housebound for a few months. DH has access to a work provided vehicle so there's no reason for him to take ours and put unnecessary kms and wear and tear on it. Now having said all that, come spring and summer, the van is parked for days on end as once the snow and ice melts, we tend to walk or bike to most our activities. I like to think it helps offset all the driving we do in the winter due to the cold.

[freestylemama]

We've been a single car family for about 5 years. Right now, it works very well for us. I think the success of having one car has a lot to do with where we you live, what kind of job you do and how old/busy your kids are.

Right now, having one car works really well because we live very close to all of the places we go and we live in a bus/bike (during warm weather) friendly city. Our LO goes to daycare part time and it's a 35 minute walk, 15 minute bike ride or 7 minute drive from our house. DH can work from home or his office and his office is a 5 minute drive from daycare, 10 minutes by car from home or 15 minute bike ride. It's really easy to have one car when you have a lot of other mobility options and everything's close.

We're going to be moving soon and will probably have to get another car. I'm not at all looking forward to it, but we'll probably be in the burbs where everything's (even the trains and buses are) spread out . I have a friend who has one car and lives where there aren't good transit options and she feels totally isolated. For me, being in an urban area, it's the opposite. Not always having access to a car makes me know my neighbors and neighborhood better and keeps me in good shape.

[ollyoxenfree]

We currently have 1 vehicle, a minivan.

For a couple of years we lived car-free, depending on public transportation and on average, a monthly rental for a weekend/week. DH used public transport to get to work, the kids walked to school, and I did shopping (including groceries) mostly by walking or public transportation. We rented if we planned to do a lot of visiting or shopping or travelling/sightseeing. It was quite manageable, but I missed the convenience of a car (especially at 11 p.m. when I realized we'd used up the last of the bread and milk, and the nearest convenience store was a 45 minute walk away).

I think we limited our activities a lot though because we didn't have any car at all. The kids especially were in fewer extra-curricular activities and visited their friends much less. We were MUCH, MUCH less spontaneous. I disliked relying on other people for lifts so much, since we were unable to return the favour. I wouldn't want to go without one permanently.

We now have 1 car, and dh takes it daily to work - in a neighbouring municipality about 30 minutes highway driving away from our home. On average, one day a week, I will drive him to work, and then use the car during the day for groceries, getting the kids to extra-curricular activities, getting the dog to the vet., etc.

It's a bit of a pain for me to go out first thing in the morning, if I have to drive dh to work. I like to breakfast and shower after everyone has gone for the day, and the dog misses her long morning walk. It's a pain for dh, because he is often stuck at work, waiting for me to pick him up after I've dropped/picked up kids.

DS has his learner's license now, and once he is a fully licensed driver, there will be even more competition for the car.

DD can walk to school, although in bad weather she often takes public transportation. DS has to take public transportation to his high school, although in good weather he will skateboard. They could also bike, but honestly, the drivers in this city are pretty intolerant of cyclists (a lot of the cyclists don't follow the rules of the road either), so I don't mind that they don't want to bike.

I can't imagine being car-free or a 1-car family without a good, reliable public transportation system. I suppose it would be possible if you lived near all the amenities - schools, groceries, shopping, recreational facilities, health care and vet etc.

At some point, I can see that we will go back to being a 2-car family, but right now, we're managing fine. It is inconvenient to have only 1, but not intolerable.