Going car free - can we do it??

[redvlagrl]

We're working on Dave Ramsey at the moment and our biggest payment is our car which we don't use much. the only thing we really need it for is to take DD to day care 2 days a week which we could do by bike (DH does this in the summer - I have to learn to ride properly before I would feel ok with this). It's not on public transit routes and is about an hour's walk away and changing daycare isn't an option as it gives me the flexibility for my work that I need.

We can do groceries on foot/by bike. I can walk downtown. I could get a bus to the mall.

We pay $422/mth for our car payment plus $120/mth for insurance. We need to check but we are just right side up on our loan.

We would have to spend a bit on bike infrastructure to get up and running - a bike for me, a trailer and wet weather gear.

I figure that we could even rent a car once in a while for fun stuff.

We could def. do this if we didn't have kids - it's the kid stuff that makes it tough.

There is no car share program here.

Suggestions?

[choli]

It's totally doable. I've been carfree all my life We do rent a car now and again for weekends away or vacations, but it ends up WAY cheaper than owning a car and paying for parking.

We are lucky that Zipcar is in Boston, and we do utilize that sometimes, but in general we have no problems with the lack of a car.

[MariaMadly]

You mention learning to ride properly being a concern of yours. If you feel a book might help, I've heard that this http://www.cyclecraft.org/ is clear and accessible.

We're trying for car-free ourselves -- good luck to you!

[annethcz]

My biggest concern is what would you do in the winter? Riding a bike on unplowed or poorly plowed streets is hard!

If you're able to break even selling the car now, you could set aside the amount of your current car payment to buy a beater for the winter.

[sanguine_speed]

[redvlagrl]

We can walk to the grocery store. We do need to find out if we can bus to the daycare though.

Edit:
We can get 2 buses to daycare with a bit of walking. It looks like it would be a pain, but possible. We'll have to trial it.

[VisionaryMom]

We are trying to cut down our car usage as well, but we won't go car-free. It's more for the trips that we'd keep a car. Will you rent if you visit family for instance? Also, will your lack of car inconvenience others? That may not matter to you, but we have a few car-free friends who either need to bum rides for things a good bit or who can only meet on 1-2 days a week because of the bike ride to any good meeting spots.

[carfreemama]

We're doing it. As for "bumming rides" or having to coordinate meeting up, I feel a little touchy about that. The lifestyle we're choosing may not be for everyone, but it's good for the environment and for us as a family in so many ways. I'm sorry, but I refuse to worry about "inconveniencing" people who make a choice to have a car(s). There are also a million ways to give back to friends and family in exchange for rides. I understand maybe not everyone does this; but I always offer to pay for gas, buy or pack lunch, pick up a friend's kids to said destination, etc.

We live in Nova Scotia. I thought I'd be okay with using a bike trailer for dd, but I haven't been. Since we're in Halifax, it's pretty busy and I don't find the cars accommodating to bikes and trailers. What I did do is buy a really great (read expensive) weatherproof stroller. I call it my SUV. It was the best money I've spent. It wouldn't travel well on the bus, though; but for walking long distances off a bus route, it's been fantastic. Dd is 6.5 now, so past that stage; but we used it this way till she was 5. Oh, and now it hauls absolutely everything. Including a full-size convection/toaster oven. It was SO much fun having the sales guy insist on helping me "to my car" with it. He was pretty surprised when my car was my beloved Giant bicycle!

I also find dd is an excellent long-distance walker, probably because we've never had a car. She never slows me down. I know it's different with two, especially younger kids; but parents routinely comment on how dd never complains about walking and are amazed at the distances we cover. This is exactly what I wanted.

It's a bit inconvenient getting out of the city, true. The biggest limitation is actually getting my dog out of the city. No easy solution to that. But even there, I've been creative. I barter food and bread with a professional dog walker so he gets out of the city with other dogs for one afternoon per week.

Carfree has been amazing for us. Inconvenient? Absolutely. In the best possible way. Good luck!

[happysmileylady]

Keep in mind I live in the suburbs, with no public transportation available.

And I have to say that I think going TOTALLY without a car is not a good idea. If there's some sort of emergency situation, you need to be able to get where you need to right away, and waiting on bus schedules etc might not be your best option. For example, you said it takes 2 buses and a bit of walking to get to daycare. What if daycare calls and says that your little one is sick and needs to go home-you want to take the most direct route there to be able to get to your little one as quickly as possible, not have to wait for the bus or try to get a ride from a co worker.

I like the suggestion of selling the car and then buying a "beater." I put it in quotes because I wouldn't necessarily call them beaters as much as well used and cared for vehicles. That's all we buy in my house.

[carfreemama]

You can, over time, make choices about being car-free. For example, I put dd on the waiting list for a preschool in our neighbourhood years before we needed it. We bought our house on a bus route. It was more expensive, but being car-free saved us enough that we could put that money towards a bigger downpayment. It takes time, but your life can evolve in a really great way without a car. I know it's not always possible. However, with the THOUSANDS you save being car-free, you can likely afford the few times you might have to take even an expensive taxi ride to get your child when he or she is sick. When this happened to us, I took a great big comforter over to get her and I wrapped her up in it and carried her home. She said she was the luckiest girl in the world.

My point is, it CAN be done and it's incredibly rewarding if you want to try it. It builds exercise and interaction with your neighbourhood right into your day. It cuts down on impulse buys A LOT. It sets an example for other families that there ARE alternatives. And it teaches kids to be reliant on their own power, which I think they will need for the future.

As for emergencies, I've thought about that. Traffic gets jammed all the time and we are often home before people in cars, whether we are riding our bikes or walking. I know you're talking about big emergencies and it's true, we probably need a concrete plan for that. But having a car really wouldn't give me a big sense of security in that regard. Exit routes get blocked up pretty fast.

[ameliabedelia]

If you sold off your car, do you have a couple thousand you could use to buy an old, used car? 422/month is quite a bit for a car payment (I think it's around 406/USD), as is 120/month fo insurance (115 USD for only one car).


I'm not sure I would go completely car free, but it does seem like your car is costing you quite a bit of money.

If you got an older car, your insurance would likely go down, as you could drop collision and comprehensive and just keep liability.

[choli]

Originally Posted by happysmileylady

Keep in mind I live in the suburbs, with no public transportation available.

And I have to say that I think going TOTALLY without a car is not a good idea. If there's some sort of emergency situation, you need to be able to get where you need to right away, and waiting on bus schedules etc might not be your best option. For example, you said it takes 2 buses and a bit of walking to get to daycare. What if daycare calls and says that your little one is sick and needs to go home-you want to take the most direct route there to be able to get to your little one as quickly as possible, not have to wait for the bus or try to get a ride from a co worker.

That's why cabs exist.

[choli]

Originally Posted by carfreemama

I also find dd is an excellent long-distance walker, probably because we've never had a car. She never slows me down. I know it's different with two, especially younger kids; but parents routinely comment on how dd never complains about walking and are amazed at the distances we cover. This is exactly what I wanted.

Yep, my two were great long distance walkers from a very young age. I see the kids of friends who live in the suburbs whinging at the thought of walking a few blocks and I feel sorry for them. I'd hate to live somewhere that necessitated driving my kids everywhere, I don't want them to spend hours a day in a car. They walk almost everywhere, and are fit, healthy and happy to be able to go places by themselves. I am happy not to have to be a taxi driver for my teens.

[redvlagrl]

Bummer. We've decided to keep the car. It doesn't make sense for us to buy a beater as we owe under $10k on the car and it's worth about $12k.

We have both lived car free in different places (Sydney, Adelaide, Montreal, Rochester etc) and when we really, really talked about it we aren't prepared to do it again unfortunately.

I also work part time and often finish at 10pm. I don't want to be someone who has to rely on rides when I can't reciprocate (I used to be that person). In the end we decided that a car would be *much* more convenient and keeping our current car makes the most sense.

Thanks so much for everyone's help, though!

[shayinme]

Originally Posted by choli

That's why cabs exist.

I agree. I was carfree in Chicago when my son was young and in an emergency you either call a friend or grab a cab.

We aren't carfree but car lite as I call it, I am a lousy driver with an actual phobia about driving so we chose to live in a town where all the necessities of life are in walking distance. I live in a rural state and while we don't have transportation on par with either NYC or Chicago living w/o a car or in our case 1 car is doable. There are only a handful of times in a year whre its an issue.

[carfreemama]

I know you've reached a decision and that's great. I just want to say, though, again, that there are lots of ways to reciprocate drives. Cars are so expensive, almost anyone is happy to give you a lift in exchange for sharing costs. This is what I plan to do if dd joins a sports team or something that regularly meets super-early and has meets in outlying areas where public transit and walking might not be realistic. I will offer to pay for gas, exchange for babysitting, or whatever. Barter. I have never run across a situation where this wasn't welcomed. Most often, people don't even want to be compensated; but that's where I insist and that's one reason I think we've gotten along so well. Mostly, I've had people ask me not to hesitate to call if I need a ride, or if we're in an emergency or something. But you know, I've almost never had to do that. Once I did accept a ride to a really good vet I really wanted to take the dog to. I almost gave him heat stroke walking him there last summer, she was well over an hour away on foot. But mostly, we just learn to bloom where we're planted. We get to know a smaller area very intimately and I've decided that's my preference.