View Poll Results: How long have you been car light or car free?
Car light less than 1 year
172
15.87%
Car free less than 1 year
99
9.13%
Car light less than 5 years
140
12.92%
Car free less than 5 years
122
11.25%
Car light more than 5 years
98
9.04%
Car free more than 5 years
233
21.49%
Contemplating a car light or car free change
193
17.80%
Not interested in becoming car light or car free
27
2.49%
Voters: 1084. You may not vote on this poll
Living Car Free/Car Lite Introductions
09-21-15, 01:15 PM
#701
Junior Member
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Location: Boston
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I've been car free or car light on and off for years, but there's always things that make it difficult--like places you can't get to, lack of bike parking etc.
However, my city, Boston, has a biking revolution--there are new lanes everywhere, paths being built, more bike parking, more fellow cyclists. It's awesome and my latest foray into car-lightism (since the beginning of the summer) has been going more smoothly than ever before. I think I'm hooked now!
However, my city, Boston, has a biking revolution--there are new lanes everywhere, paths being built, more bike parking, more fellow cyclists. It's awesome and my latest foray into car-lightism (since the beginning of the summer) has been going more smoothly than ever before. I think I'm hooked now!
09-21-15, 01:45 PM
#702
Sophomoric Member
I've been car free or car light on and off for years, but there's always things that make it difficult--like places you can't get to, lack of bike parking etc.
However, my city, Boston, has a biking revolution--there are new lanes everywhere, paths being built, more bike parking, more fellow cyclists. It's awesome and my latest foray into car-lightism (since the beginning of the summer) has been going more smoothly than ever before. I think I'm hooked now!
However, my city, Boston, has a biking revolution--there are new lanes everywhere, paths being built, more bike parking, more fellow cyclists. It's awesome and my latest foray into car-lightism (since the beginning of the summer) has been going more smoothly than ever before. I think I'm hooked now!
I've known Boston only as a tourist, but the central city was always well suited for cycling and especially walking, as far as I could tell. I also remember the ring of expressways and suburbs which were much less well set up for bikes and walking.
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"Think Outside the Cage"
09-21-15, 02:05 PM
#703
Junior Member
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Location: Boston
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@Roody, the thing is, nobody lives in the center. Almost nobody at least. Most of us live far afield of it, in part of Greater Boston. So navigating Boston is mostly about going between Cambridge and Brookline or Dorchester and the center etc. I tried it in the mid 1990s and ended up buying a car when I got discouraged. Now, I have a car and it's mostly rusting in the driveway....it's that much better here now! I also have more skills, and online mapping software helps me navigate unfamiliar areas.
09-21-15, 02:24 PM
#704
Sophomoric Member
@Roody, the thing is, nobody lives in the center. Almost nobody at least. Most of us live far afield of it, in part of Greater Boston. So navigating Boston is mostly about going between Cambridge and Brookline or Dorchester and the center etc. I tried it in the mid 1990s and ended up buying a car when I got discouraged. Now, I have a car and it's mostly rusting in the driveway....it's that much better here now! I also have more skills, and online mapping software helps me navigate unfamiliar areas.
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10-05-15, 02:03 PM
#705
Member
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Location: Baltimore, MD
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I just spent about a week, on and off, reading through this whole thread. Super interesting discussion, with the exception of the sexist bullcrap earlier on.
We just made the decision to sell my car, and share one car as a family (family being DH, the dog, and me). I am a bit apprehensive as we live in the suburbs and public transit is terrible out here, but I work from home 2 days a week and bike the other 3 days. Carpooling with DH is a backup. Occasionally I need to do local travel for work, but we've thought through how to make it work. I'm excited to set a good example for those around us, and be trailblazers. The amount of cars on our street is a joke - more cars than drivers, for sure.
We also try hard to live simply, in general. We bought a modest 3-bedroom house a couple of years ago when we thought we'd have kids, but since then have changed our minds (at least for now). It's way more space than the two of us need, but I do love the house, and it's allowed us to collect a pretty solid stable of bikes. Other than bikes, tools, and furniture, we have less stuff than we did when we lived in a 1-bedroom apartment. I've been ruthlessly purging & donating all the crap we accumulated over the years, and it feels great. I can fit all of my clothes in one small (1950s) closet and one bureau, which is more than most can say, and this is living in a 4-season climate where I require outdoor/specialized clothes for biking & hiking. I use very minimal makeup and even fewer toiletries. I do have a good amount of kitchen stuff, but I actually use it all for cooking & entertaining. Anything that doesn't get frequent use is donated, sold or tossed.
My husband is a creative type and a bit of a packrat so he hangs on to much more stuff than I do. Luckily I love him enough to put up with it. If it were up to me alone, I'd get rid of just about everything we own - I'm a firm believer in the idea that your stuff really owns you.
We are thinking about our next moves - should we stay in this house longterm and invest in solar panels? Or should we downsize in 5 years to a townhome? Do we want to keep owning or go back to renting? Do we even want to stay in this area or try living elsewhere? Maintaining a car lite lifestyle will be at the forefront of all our decisions, from now on. We both feel so free and we love it. (Not having kids has a whole lot to do with that, too!)
We just made the decision to sell my car, and share one car as a family (family being DH, the dog, and me). I am a bit apprehensive as we live in the suburbs and public transit is terrible out here, but I work from home 2 days a week and bike the other 3 days. Carpooling with DH is a backup. Occasionally I need to do local travel for work, but we've thought through how to make it work. I'm excited to set a good example for those around us, and be trailblazers. The amount of cars on our street is a joke - more cars than drivers, for sure.
We also try hard to live simply, in general. We bought a modest 3-bedroom house a couple of years ago when we thought we'd have kids, but since then have changed our minds (at least for now). It's way more space than the two of us need, but I do love the house, and it's allowed us to collect a pretty solid stable of bikes. Other than bikes, tools, and furniture, we have less stuff than we did when we lived in a 1-bedroom apartment. I've been ruthlessly purging & donating all the crap we accumulated over the years, and it feels great. I can fit all of my clothes in one small (1950s) closet and one bureau, which is more than most can say, and this is living in a 4-season climate where I require outdoor/specialized clothes for biking & hiking. I use very minimal makeup and even fewer toiletries. I do have a good amount of kitchen stuff, but I actually use it all for cooking & entertaining. Anything that doesn't get frequent use is donated, sold or tossed.
My husband is a creative type and a bit of a packrat so he hangs on to much more stuff than I do. Luckily I love him enough to put up with it. If it were up to me alone, I'd get rid of just about everything we own - I'm a firm believer in the idea that your stuff really owns you.
We are thinking about our next moves - should we stay in this house longterm and invest in solar panels? Or should we downsize in 5 years to a townhome? Do we want to keep owning or go back to renting? Do we even want to stay in this area or try living elsewhere? Maintaining a car lite lifestyle will be at the forefront of all our decisions, from now on. We both feel so free and we love it. (Not having kids has a whole lot to do with that, too!)
10-05-15, 02:15 PM
#706
Sophomoric Member
I just spent about a week, on and off, reading through this whole thread. Super interesting discussion, with the exception of the sexist bullcrap earlier on.
We just made the decision to sell my car, and share one car as a family (family being DH, the dog, and me). I am a bit apprehensive as we live in the suburbs and public transit is terrible out here, but I work from home 2 days a week and bike the other 3 days. Carpooling with DH is a backup. Occasionally I need to do local travel for work, but we've thought through how to make it work. I'm excited to set a good example for those around us, and be trailblazers. The amount of cars on our street is a joke - more cars than drivers, for sure.
We also try hard to live simply, in general. We bought a modest 3-bedroom house a couple of years ago when we thought we'd have kids, but since then have changed our minds (at least for now). It's way more space than the two of us need, but I do love the house, and it's allowed us to collect a pretty solid stable of bikes. Other than bikes, tools, and furniture, we have less stuff than we did when we lived in a 1-bedroom apartment. I've been ruthlessly purging & donating all the crap we accumulated over the years, and it feels great. I can fit all of my clothes in one small (1950s) closet and one bureau, which is more than most can say, and this is living in a 4-season climate where I require outdoor/specialized clothes for biking & hiking. I use very minimal makeup and even fewer toiletries. I do have a good amount of kitchen stuff, but I actually use it all for cooking & entertaining. Anything that doesn't get frequent use is donated, sold or tossed.
My husband is a creative type and a bit of a packrat so he hangs on to much more stuff than I do. Luckily I love him enough to put up with it. If it were up to me alone, I'd get rid of just about everything we own - I'm a firm believer in the idea that your stuff really owns you.
We are thinking about our next moves - should we stay in this house longterm and invest in solar panels? Or should we downsize in 5 years to a townhome? Do we want to keep owning or go back to renting? Do we even want to stay in this area or try living elsewhere? Maintaining a car lite lifestyle will be at the forefront of all our decisions, from now on. We both feel so free and we love it. (Not having kids has a whole lot to do with that, too!)
We just made the decision to sell my car, and share one car as a family (family being DH, the dog, and me). I am a bit apprehensive as we live in the suburbs and public transit is terrible out here, but I work from home 2 days a week and bike the other 3 days. Carpooling with DH is a backup. Occasionally I need to do local travel for work, but we've thought through how to make it work. I'm excited to set a good example for those around us, and be trailblazers. The amount of cars on our street is a joke - more cars than drivers, for sure.
We also try hard to live simply, in general. We bought a modest 3-bedroom house a couple of years ago when we thought we'd have kids, but since then have changed our minds (at least for now). It's way more space than the two of us need, but I do love the house, and it's allowed us to collect a pretty solid stable of bikes. Other than bikes, tools, and furniture, we have less stuff than we did when we lived in a 1-bedroom apartment. I've been ruthlessly purging & donating all the crap we accumulated over the years, and it feels great. I can fit all of my clothes in one small (1950s) closet and one bureau, which is more than most can say, and this is living in a 4-season climate where I require outdoor/specialized clothes for biking & hiking. I use very minimal makeup and even fewer toiletries. I do have a good amount of kitchen stuff, but I actually use it all for cooking & entertaining. Anything that doesn't get frequent use is donated, sold or tossed.
My husband is a creative type and a bit of a packrat so he hangs on to much more stuff than I do. Luckily I love him enough to put up with it. If it were up to me alone, I'd get rid of just about everything we own - I'm a firm believer in the idea that your stuff really owns you.
We are thinking about our next moves - should we stay in this house longterm and invest in solar panels? Or should we downsize in 5 years to a townhome? Do we want to keep owning or go back to renting? Do we even want to stay in this area or try living elsewhere? Maintaining a car lite lifestyle will be at the forefront of all our decisions, from now on. We both feel so free and we love it. (Not having kids has a whole lot to do with that, too!)
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"Think Outside the Cage"
12-16-15, 05:20 PM
#707
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: SE Wisconsin
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I've been car-free about two months now. It's really odd because for the last seven years I've been really into import cars, building a couple from the ground up and always working/driving them. I used to spend on average 3-4 hours a day in my garage, moved up to Seattle a little over a year ago, but still had cars, and now I don't even have a car.
It's actually really, really nice, and I plan to keep it up. Though at times I really do miss spirited driving in my fast cars.
It's actually really, really nice, and I plan to keep it up. Though at times I really do miss spirited driving in my fast cars.
02-18-16, 03:24 PM
#708
Full Member
I suppose I can't consider myself car-lite, much less car free. I work at a Ford Dealership as a tech, so I drive. a lot. But, aside from work, I use my bikes to get around for the most part. I own a truck, but it only really gets used on big grocery days and to go get things like kitty litter (30lb bag doesn't quite fit in the baskets of my cruiser, which has the highest cargo capacity) and to take my wife to her many appointments. Gas prices up here suck, so my commuter and cruiser often get many more miles.
02-20-16, 01:06 AM
#709
Sophomoric Member
I suppose I can't consider myself car-lite, much less car free. I work at a Ford Dealership as a tech, so I drive. a lot. But, aside from work, I use my bikes to get around for the most part. I own a truck, but it only really gets used on big grocery days and to go get things like kitty litter (30lb bag doesn't quite fit in the baskets of my cruiser, which has the highest cargo capacity) and to take my wife to her many appointments. Gas prices up here suck, so my commuter and cruiser often get many more miles.
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"Think Outside the Cage"
02-20-16, 02:06 AM
#710
Full Member
Haha yes they do. The commuter has the brightest light of all my bikes (may get a new one with my next bike purchase. Getting me a touring bike. When I move back to Arizona I'm neither flying or driving. I'm riding south)
03-08-16, 06:41 PM
#711
Newbie
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Haha yes they do. The commuter has the brightest light of all my Airwheel Q5 bikes (may get a new one with my next bike purchase. Getting me a touring bike. When I move back to Arizona I'm neither flying or driving. I'm riding south)
Last edited by johnnywheels; 04-16-16 at 04:21 PM.
03-31-16, 02:18 PM
#713
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
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I gotta say car light. Car free would be nice, but sometimes I just gotta move loads too big
for my bike trailer.There's no getting around it. I can do most of my errands on the bike,
groceries,post office, hardware store. Im kinda on an island between 2 busy hwys. For the
better part of the day it's a bit terrifying trying to cross one of them & the fumes are
noxious. One the plus side we have a really good public transit system, cheap too. With
a couple transfers I can travel 180 mi. with my bike in a rack, my gear in bus to the
Pacific beaches for $5.50 on my senior pass. This allows me to bypass heavy traffic &
go safely to the place I want to tour. It's really quite liberating; I needn't hassle
driving & can enjoy the scenery.
for my bike trailer.There's no getting around it. I can do most of my errands on the bike,
groceries,post office, hardware store. Im kinda on an island between 2 busy hwys. For the
better part of the day it's a bit terrifying trying to cross one of them & the fumes are
noxious. One the plus side we have a really good public transit system, cheap too. With
a couple transfers I can travel 180 mi. with my bike in a rack, my gear in bus to the
Pacific beaches for $5.50 on my senior pass. This allows me to bypass heavy traffic &
go safely to the place I want to tour. It's really quite liberating; I needn't hassle
driving & can enjoy the scenery.
05-17-16, 08:33 PM
#715
Newbie
Hi, I'm Calvin. I counted myself as "car light less than five years" on the poll because I live in rural Ohio and need someone's car to get to adjoining counties. I can't do 50-mile days as easily as I once did, especially with cargo. At present, I have no transportation to the nearest big city, and I'm working on moving back there.
My family was car-free, not by choice, when I was young, so I guess it's my default setting. This time around goes back to when my last car gave up, around 2 1/2 years ago. I use the bike by itself, with one or two kitty-litter-bucket panniers, and/or with either of two trailers. In snowy/icy weather or on bad health days (I'm disabled), I walk or use the local "shuttle" (not very good), but no car is immediately available. I have to set it up ahead of time, pay for fuel, and hope for the best.
My family was car-free, not by choice, when I was young, so I guess it's my default setting. This time around goes back to when my last car gave up, around 2 1/2 years ago. I use the bike by itself, with one or two kitty-litter-bucket panniers, and/or with either of two trailers. In snowy/icy weather or on bad health days (I'm disabled), I walk or use the local "shuttle" (not very good), but no car is immediately available. I have to set it up ahead of time, pay for fuel, and hope for the best.
05-17-16, 10:18 PM
#716
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Seville, Spain
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It sounds like moving to the city (Columbus?) is key for you. Good luck with that, and welcome to the forum.
06-02-16, 03:42 PM
#717
Newbie
It is indeed Columbus. I lived there for over a decade, and the last 9 months or so were another "car free" period. It's much easier with local transit.
06-02-16, 05:19 PM
#718
Senior Member
I'm not anti-car -- I just think of cars mostly in terms of recreation and sport. Bicycles, on the other hand, are practical, primary, transportation. I've flet this way for about 40 years.
07-26-16, 05:53 PM
#719
Steel City, Steel Bike
Hi all! I'm a grad student living in Pittsburgh, I've been going car light for a while, but trying to further reduce or eliminate driving now that I'm in a better area for it. Last year I foolishly tried to live in a suburb north of the city because bus commuting was theoretically possible... but in reality it was nearly 90 minutes some days with traffic, and I'd arrive home late in the evening, tired and stressed out. I still tried to use my car as little as possible, but all that time on the bus was just too much. Now I'm living much closer to work/school, and close to grocery stores as well. Bike is becoming my main form of transportation with bus as backup, and I love it. This year I'm trying to expand my riding further into the low temp range. No immediate plans to ride when there's actually a lot of snow and ice on the road, but all I think I need to handle down to 35 F days is some better gloves, so that's my plan for this year.
07-26-16, 10:27 PM
#720
Sophomoric Member
Hi all! I'm a grad student living in Pittsburgh, I've been going car light for a while, but trying to further reduce or eliminate driving now that I'm in a better area for it. Last year I foolishly tried to live in a suburb north of the city because bus commuting was theoretically possible... but in reality it was nearly 90 minutes some days with traffic, and I'd arrive home late in the evening, tired and stressed out. I still tried to use my car as little as possible, but all that time on the bus was just too much. Now I'm living much closer to work/school, and close to grocery stores as well. Bike is becoming my main form of transportation with bus as backup, and I love it. This year I'm trying to expand my riding further into the low temp range. No immediate plans to ride when there's actually a lot of snow and ice on the road, but all I think I need to handle down to 35 F days is some better gloves, so that's my plan for this year.
07-27-16, 06:36 AM
#721
Steel City, Steel Bike
Oh no, I wasn't planning to buy a car. I have a car but when it dies I'm planning not to replace it (the car is not long for this world, lol.) I can rely on the bus for commuting and most places I need to go. I find it easier to just pull up the hood of my big puffy coat and keep my head down at the bus stop to keep my face warm, but while riding I need to look where I'm going! I'll look for tips on here and I just learned there is a winter riding subforum as well.
07-27-16, 06:40 AM
#722
Steel City, Steel Bike
07-27-16, 11:30 AM
#723
Newbie
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Sand Coulee, MT
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Getting divorced. Wife is using our car currently. Planning to be car free in the next few years until I've saved up enough for a van to live out of (a stronger one that can tow my eventual tiny home). Only challenge is the Montana's winter. I'm hoping I can tolerate the ten miles ride to work and another ten miles back in the weather. At least I have a lot of co-workers who have a truck and live out near where I lives now, heh.
07-27-16, 11:53 AM
#724
Senior Member
Sorry about the divorce. 10 miles each way doesn't sound too bad, but I hope you don't live in the places it drops to minus 60.
07-27-16, 12:59 PM
#725
Newbie
Join Date: Jul 2016
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Well, I have backup plan for that with my roommate (since one of them works at the same place I do and we have agreed that I could take one of their car (or ride along with them) if I ask them for cases like that). It does gets pretty cold here in Montana so I'm watching out for that. I only hope that we can get the road plowed to where the apartment is though. I'll be shopping for a full face bike helmet for the winter just to help with my vision (issues with the lipid layer on my eye making my eye particularly sensitive to tearing up in the cold wind).