jade408

I am on a path to becoming car-free. I have a car, but I do not need it to commute to work (anymore). I generally bike to places that are in a 3-5 mile radius if the route isn't too sketchy. I haven't figured out how to ride in the rain yet, so I have been driving more due to weather.

But this thread isn't about me. It is about a friend.

When I chose my apartment, I made my choice from a sense of, what would happen if I didn't have a car, can I get to places I need? And while my place isn't perfectly located for max transit, I am pretty well served. There is an infrequent yet convenient bus that covers tons of my destinations that stops across the street. I use it to get to the train during the week, or come home from downtown during the week. (The weekend frequency is terrible.)

Another bus nearby, the next block, is a core bus route for the city. This takes me to a different train station, and a handful of destinations I care about. But it does connect to a very useful bus. The useful bus is about a 3-4 block walk, and essentially goes everywhere else I ever go nearby. I'll walk or transfer based on where I originate and my mood.

It is also a core route and has the most frequency in my network. I also live within a 10 minute walk of my commercial district which has groceries and restaurants. And in the past few weeks another grocery store opened up about 1/2 mile away with a drug store. My favorite buses above take me to most of the nearby commercial districts, and this covers most places I want to go for play or errands.

When I moved in I had a driving commute with no reasonable transit options. Later on I took transit to work. And then over the years have gone back and forth based on the jobs I have had. Though now not driving to work is on the priority list for any new job.

I sometimes go weeks without driving, and mostly drive when I need to go somewhere far, like the outlets or my parents Or a nearby city not served by efficient transit to meet friends. This summer I hardly drove and my car battery was died.

So on to my friend. She also lives in my city, about 2 miles away from me. But she lives in a part not super close to transit. The train is a mile away. She also needs to take the train to work, so she walks. The useful buses are about 1/2 mile away for my friend, and there are no nearby connecting buses for her. And there are no bus lines that go to grocery stores without a 1/2 mile walk and a transfer during the ride. Or a really long walk. Not great if you have a heavy load. Additionally the walk to the train stations for her isn't great at night. There is one bus that runs frequently and is within 1-2 blocks, but it doesn't really go anywhere useful to her, and it is very slow to get to anything useful.

She tried going car free for a month, after she changed jobs and lost access to a company car. She hated it, felt depressed and like she couldn't access anything. She took uber, but most of the time she felt isolated and like she lost her independence. She is just getting started biking around town more, but her bike isn't equipped for it, she doesn't have lights and feel comfortable riding at night alone.

And it got me thinking how much you really have to be very strategic about choosing a place to live. She feels like her place is close and accessible. But it is only accessible with a car. Unless you are willing to commit to long walks to get everywhere. Although the neighborhood is "close" it isn't well connected.

So for those of you who are car free or car light. Did you start that way when you moved into your place. Or did you move when you made the decision or something else.

Roody

Too bad your friend doesn't ride a bike!

B. Carfree

When I moved to the city I currently reside in, we (my little family) rented a small apartment that was next door to the chess club my child wanted to spend a great deal of time at. We then began scouring the city for a house to buy. We checked out every corner of the city with an eye to how we would enjoy our very car-light life there. Most of the city came up lacking. There were very few places where we could live and still effectively and safely get to where we wanted to be.

As luck would have it, a house in the perfect location became available. The only problem is that it was quite literally falling down. I proceeded to make extensive use of my library card and rebuilt most of the house, including all of the plumbing and electrical. If I was a car-person, I really wouldn't have bothered with all this. However, for us it was worth the effort.

Yes, giving up a tool that is in common use, and abuse, does require a bit more planning and can involve what appears to others to be sacrifice. Sometimes people just can't find a way to make it work for them at that time. That's a by-product of our built environment being rather completely designed around cars. It's no use worrying about it. Those people who find liberation from car-dependence rewarding will find a way and the others will either find excuses or not even notice.

timsataurus

I just moved to Tucson, AZ in September. I've not owned a car since 2012, I think. When getting my current apartment the primary factor was finding a landlord who would rent to me with unemployment income. I live with a grocery store about 1/2 mile away and many other options in the 2/3 mile range. For me at least, I learn the transportation options available and make a choice on what I need to do. While I have a bus stop a few blocks away, I do most trips by bike. I also do trips on the bus, and even connect the bike and bus for further options.

For instance, I start a job on Monday which is across town from where I live. Using Google I made a route which was 12 miles. Riding out there I was able to make a few choices, and now have it down to 10 miles. Whereas I can not get there using the two buses since there is a three minute difference were they connect. On the other hand I can ride 2.5 miles to make the connection and take my bike with the bus and get off within a 1.5 miles. The current plan is to use the bus as needed to until I build my stamina for the 100 mile week.

While I understand that life can be easier with all the ducks in a row. I also know that through identifying the options we can create unique connections. For your friend can she make little steps using the options available? Sounds like she has bus, walking, bike, and a car. Which means she could drive to a park and ride. Ride her bike and put it on the bus. She also could walk when she wants to. I'm not a big supporter of making a bunch of choices all at once, but rather making consistent choices to get where I want to be.

Also sounds like you have a nice city bike. Will she discuss making here bike more appealing with you? Lights are really cheap these days, and Amazon has sets for under ten bucks. Nashbar is also another option. What kinda of bike does she have? Since that could be a factor in the decision making. I just think it really comes down to making trade offs with available options based on what outcomes she wants.

I know that people thought it was odd that I was walking with an ironing board today. Since I had to get one for work shirts. I bought it while shopping, went to grab a burger at an Applebees, and than took the bus home. The iron, and clothing items I bought fit in my timbuk2 shoulder bag. The last thing I thought about was if anyone thought it was strange.

Just my opinion.

Machka 

Check out this thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...lace-live.html


And in answer to your questions ...

I've been car light most of my life. It was never anything that required a major decision, it was just what I did.

However, when I went car free for about 6 years, I happened to be living in a conveniently located apartment and I was car light, of course, so it was no big deal for me to just keep leading my life the way I had been leading it and not get another car after my ex-husband's and mine had been totalled in an accident.

tandempower

Ponchos work pretty well. You can unsnap them and drape the front part over your handlebars and sit on the back flap to keep it from blowing behind you like a cape, though it still protects you from rain when it does and, who knows, maybe people see you as a superhero Sitting on the back flap has the bonus effect of protecting your butt from the seat if it's wet. I also tend to keep a plastic shopping bag tied over my seat and take it on and off depending on what gives me the driest sitting experience.

Keeping shoes and pant-legs dry under a poncho can be a problem in heavy rain, though. You can get rain suits with pants if you don't mind taking the pants on and off over your pants. With skirts, idk bc I don't wear them, though I would guess a poncho suffices for those. There are overshoes for motorcycle riders available online but I've been thinking of getting some rubber boots and cutting off the soles to use as gaiters in the rain. It would be hard for me to waste the boots by cutting them in this way, though, so maybe I'll get lucky and come across a used pair at a second-hand store.

You can get a battery on/off switch at an auto parts store for very cheap (@$5). They are easy to install and if you're afraid of potential sparks when dis/connecting the battery cable, someone at the store will probably be happy to help you install it.

Lights are cheap. A luggage rack and crate are essential. I get most groceries and anything else I need to fit in the crate on the back of my bike. I sometimes carry bags on the handlebars too, but those are typically light items and the only trouble is keeping the bags high enough that they don't swing and bump into the spokes, which can tear the bags. Once you mount the luggage rack, you can bungee the crate to it. The crates I've bought at big box discount stores have large holes in them that bungee cords easily pass through.

Artkansas 

Since I was car-free when I first left my father's house, car-free living has figured into every place I lived except two, those were when I was married. Usually, the big factor I considered was whether my abode was within cycling distance of work.

I-Like-To-Bike

That your marriage status affected your choice of residence location is hardly surprising except perhaps to those who are single and/or have no need/desire to consider transportation needs for anyone else but his/her self.

Roody

I have found it's not always easy to know if a location is good for LCF until after you have lived there a while. One neighborhood, which contains a lot of carfree people, was not so great IMO because of lack of good shopping and recreational conveniences. although I loved many things about that area, I didn't find it so great for prolonged LCF. OTOH, another neighborhood was in the shadow of one of the biggest automotive plants in the world, and almost everybody there owned a car. It was also farther from work than I was used to. I had serious reservations about moving there, and figured I would only stay a short time. But I found this neighborhood to be extremely convenient for LCF after I had been living there for a while.

So what do people feel are most important considerations for them when they're deciding where to live?

Machka 

Check out this thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...lace-live.html

B. Carfree

For me it's simple. How many really, truly crappy roads do I have to ride on regularly as I go about my life? If it's a small number, then it's a good fit. If I have to swim with hungry sharks every time I go out the door, it's not going to work for me. Lousy crossings count in here too. If I have to cross a multi-lane each direction high-speed high-volume road regularly, I'm going to look to live on the other side of that road.

Secondary for me is my access to quality joy-riding. I have chosen to do a LOT of night riding because there just aren't good ways in and out of my city during the day by bike. I'm good with that as long as while I'm in the city I can get to where I want to go most times of the day. (This would be a non-starter if there weren't fabulous places to ride once I break out of that donut of crap that surrounds the city limit. If there were no good training rides available, I'd move elsewhere.)

Roody

That's the second time you've pushed that stale old thread here. I'd rather hear some fresh ideas from current users than rehash old views from simpler times. I think it's likely that there's no correct answer to the question of where carfree people should live. Different people have different priorities, and some who are newer to LCF might just be figuring out what's important to them.

What do you find to be the most important considerations? How have your priorities changed over the years of being carfree/carlight?

Roody

This is the main cause of my dissatisfaction with my current location. There is shopping and recreation not too far away---but the only access is along a seven lane street/road with heavy car traffic, no bike lanes, and no sidewalks.

I'm with you on this one also. One thing I loved about my old neighborhood (two houses ago) was the proximity to the bike trail system and some beautiful parks, lakes, forests, etc. Whenever there was an hour available for a fun ride, there were a few worthwhile places to go. Even my commute across the city could be turned into a beautiful ride on trails if I just left a half-hour early.