accepting risks of car-free life
I just had a frustrating experience that I want to share. I live about 30 miles outside of Chicago and I had planned on visiting a friend in the city tonight. I'm 20 years old, attending university and home for the holidays. I have never owned a car and probably never will, so I try to avoid using my parents' cars as much as I can. My plan was to take the train into the city and bike the rest of the way, but when my parents found that out they were very upset and insisted on driving to bring me home right away. My mother, who rides 8 miles to work most days and is vehemently anti-car and anti-sprawl, told me that what I was trying to do was childish, irresponsible and wrong. I had a long argument with her and my dad, and they insisted that biking at night is a wrong choice and that I am a disrespectful child for choosing that. My stance is that biking at night is my choice and it is very important.
What do you think, about the parent-child dynamic but also more importantly about the risks of living car-free?