acorn54

does anybody on this forum live car free out of economic neccessity?
personally i can't afford a car and so to alot of my co-workers at the local supermarket where i work.
we only make around 10 dollars an hour and find it impossible to afford a car on those kind of wages.
i was wondering if others here live car free because they don't make enough for a car of is it just that you find it neat to live car free?

swbluto

Not strictly. I could personally afford a car but having done so in the past, I know how expensive they are and how they can have sudden financial "gotchas!"(accidents, break-downs, tires, etc.)and the benefit they provide over the alternatives just doesn't seem to be worth it. I thought it'd be an adventure and less of a headache to go car free and indeed it has.

As far as the alternatives, I have an electric bike, electric scooter and the bus to get around.

Also, without a car, I actually have spending money.

Cosmoline

Economics is a major reason I've stuck to being CF. Autos are a monumental expense when you factor in repairs, gas, insurance, parking, etc.

linux_author

never owned a car until i was 26 - now i wish i didn't have or need one...

but trying to outrun a hurricane on a bicycle would be somewhat foolish...

folder fanatic

I have lived all my adult life without a car (although I used to rent one once in a while and still have a driver's license for my state). I own 3 folding bikes at present and use public transit whenever I don't/can't use the bikes. I write about this alternative to a too expensive lifestyle (car ownership) on my World Of Folding Bicycles series (see below) and here on these forums. Don't miss my latest thread on another Do It Yourself Website spotlight right here on this Bike Forum.

Chris L

My carfree lifestyle had it's genesis in the early 90's recession which, in this country at least, made the current "crisis" look like a boom by comparison. I've stuck with it for practicality since then, and now it's such an integral part of my life that I just can't comprehend ever changing it.

Dahon.Steve

When I worked in a supermarket back in the mid 1980's the minimum wage was $3.35 an hour! There was no way I could afford a car back then since I was paying for college in cash! It's incredible how even at $10.00 dollars an hour, people still can't afford motor transport because the cost of vehicles have more than doubled since the 1980s including insurance.

Yet, there were my friends who did go out and buy cars and ended up dropping out of college when they ran out of money. Today, you'll see people making minimum wage at Berger King driving cars which goes to show you how people will sacrifice just to own wheels.

Times don't change as even the poor are driving themselves broke. People 50 years from now will be making $40.00 dollars an hour for minimum wage and they will still be just as broke as I would have been at $3.35 an hour back in the 80s. The low wage earner will never make enough to support motor transport and have enough left over to live comfortably.

mike

What you need is a mate with a car. That solves a lot of problems. I know a lot of people like that. I know one guy who has been doing that for five years now - changing girlfriends at least twice. He drives around in the cars like he owns them.

This guy has gorgeous girlfriends WITH cars and plenty of cash. I should add that he does date a lot of strippers. So, guys, you really CAN have it all and live car-free!

cooker

I'm car-light by choice. My wife has a car and I often drive it, so I can't claim to be a purist, but I bike or take public transit to work every day. We can certainly afford another car.

One of the paradoxes of car free living is that it is easiest to do in the middle of a city, where rents and home purchase costs are high. How do you and your co-workers deal with that?

cooker

Not necessarily....some of those traffic jams out of hurricane areas move slower than a bike. The problem would be how much baggage you needed to carry.

LesterOfPuppets

Gotta have an enduro for catastrophe escape, unless you can afford a helicopter.

cerewa

In the USA, $10 an hour is enough to own a car only if
--your car is old and you do most repairs yourself
--you spend far less than most people, on stuff like food and housing... e.g. getting free rent from a parent, owning a low cost home with no mortgage payment

PotatoSlayer

I've spent the last few days arguing with a bunch of drivers because the BMV added a late fee if you don't register your plates within 7 days of expiration they add a $20 fee. you can register up to 90 days in advance. They're complaining about it and I said 'Just another reason to give up driving' and they're going ballistic on me...then they say I'm talking down to them.. idiots.

Anyways, I've been getting out of debt after being buried in it for so long and I knew I would not be able to afford another car nor did I feel like dealing with a car payment so I started working toward becoming car free. It has been a struggle but I am determined to do this.

I sold my car for $600 and replaced it with a better car for $100 which should get me through the next year and then I should be in good enough shape to do a 40 mile round trip commute.

scattered73

Post Hurricane Ike a bike was great no need to try and find and wait all day in gas lines.

xtrajack

+1 What he said, except for the hurricane part.
I didn't have a car or a license until I was 28, I would like to go car free. I guess I will have to be happy just being car-lite.

acorn54

we live in the suburbs where the rents are less than the new york city rents
i have no trouble using a bike for my transport needs around here. it is so built up that everything you would need is within five miles.
i have a fuji del rey 12 speed from 1982 that i use. one of my friends gave it to me. so that cut out the cost of buying a bike.
i eat a diet of oatmeal and tuna fish when it is on sale i stock up. my food bill is about 3 dollars a day. and 2 days a week i buy a veggy wrap for the vegetables in my diet. so my food cost is at a minimum.
i take vitamin supplements as insurance that i am getting the nutrients i need for good health. i don't get sick so i guess it is working.
as for clothes i can go to the thrift shop in town.
the only major expenses are health costs and cigarettes. but i roll my own cigarettes so that cuts costs considerable.
i contribute to a roth ira for my retirement every month.
personally i don't know how the kids in my neighborhood can afford the fancy cars, even the high school kids drive new model cars-go figure.

cooker

^^I was really impressed right up to the cigarettes part. I hope you quit soon - it's the toughtest habit to break. Best wishes.

dynodonn 

This recession, or the others I've experienced, has had no impact on my ability to own or operate a motor vehicle, it's that I've always liked riding a bicycle more. Plus I've always disliked supporting certain oil producing nations' "over the top" opulent life styles or lining insurance companies' wallets with overinflated premiums.

Ekdog

You should consider varying your diet. Cutting out the vitamins pills (more and more studies are tending to indicate they're not as good for us as the vitamin industry would want us to believe) would allow you to consume some fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes.

I'd also be wary of eating too much tuna as it contains a lot of mercury and other heavy metals. You might want to try some other types of fish.

travelmama

+1 I was thinking the same but I am no one to comment on ones bad habit as I have one too...CANDY

I have two vehicles, a scooter and nine bikes. One vehicle is multi-purpose and the other is just rotting in the garage. All motor vehicles are insured, I can afford to drive both cars but choose not to because I my life does not depend on them. I am self-employed so I keep my work within cycling or scooting distance from my house. One the way home from work, I stock up at the market or whatever stores I need supplies from.
Sure, I am saving money on gas but the recession has no impact on how I get around. It takes me about 20 minutes longer by bike to get to my furthest site than being on the scooter.