mihlbach

I live on Long Island in the New York suburbs, well outside of NYCs bus and subway system. I have two kids (2yrs and 6yrs) and a wife. I'm car lite actually, and never intended to really be car free, but year after year it seems that most of our car use is for recreational purposes only (basically getting off Long Island and well away from the city). I can easily get the kids to school, daycare, doctor, dentist, etc by bike or walking. Groceries and other stores are easily within reach by bike, and motorists tend to be respectful and careful when kids are in tow or riding with me. My six year old has been riding on his own for three years now and can easily do 10-15 miles on his mini BMX bike, so he sometimes does some of the longer errends with me, (even though this slows me down considerably!)

We were smart enough to buy a house two blocks from the nearest LIRR train station, which gives us easy access to NYC and other cities in the region.

So, yes, if we were wiling to give up things like going camping off of Long Island, car free would actually be doable with two kids. We only get off Long Island a few times a year, so I'll happily keep the car for those precious times and let it sit in the driveway most of the year.

Six years ago I would have thought car free would have been impossible here, but after years of trying to minimize car use, I've come to realize that with the right mindset, the added inconvenience is pretty minimal. The biggest challenge would be getting the family to places for recreational activities, which generally are impossible to reach by bike and exceedingly difficult to reach by public transport.