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HOW do you survive without a car?

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Living Car Free Do you live car free or car light? Do you prefer to use alternative transportation (bicycles, walking, other human-powered or public transportation) for everyday activities whenever possible? Discuss your lifestyle here.

HOW do you survive without a car?

Old 05-22-16, 12:06 PM
  #126  
loky1179
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Originally Posted by Walter S
I guess that means that if you own a vega you can still consider yourself car free
Yeah, I bet if everyone had bought a Vega as their first car, this sub-forum would be a lot more popular!!
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Old 05-22-16, 12:36 PM
  #127  
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don't know the history on the vega, but I meant in terms of size of the car , and also weight of the car. Instead they made huge SUV which were basically full size pick up truck platforms but when u can charge 40k for a fancy pick up truck then I guess it is all about profit, . as far as surviving with out a car at this point in history is "almost" impossible our economy would be crippled. Even if u are car free totally your job may some how tie in to the car economy. On a different note, have u heard not only Volkswagen,, but also Fiat and Chrysler have been cheating on emissions test , fooling the computer to run the engine a different way when the test plug gets plugged in, ??
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Old 05-27-16, 08:09 PM
  #128  
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Originally Posted by rossiny
The Chevy Vega,,, when GM was making a car that would have been going in the right direction, instead of the SUV/ Truck direction. 10 miles per gallon.
Read the history of the Chevy Vega..dumped into Deloreans lap whilst he was at GM...not a very good car at all....
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Old 05-28-16, 07:59 AM
  #129  
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Originally Posted by heywood
Read the history of the Chevy Vega..dumped into Deloreans lap whilst he was at GM...not a very good car at all....
I had a '76 Chevy Monza which shared the Vega's chassis. Mine had a 350ci V8 under the hood. I liked the car, but it was not fuel efficient. Well, maybe it was more fuel efficient than a heavier car with the same engine...
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Old 05-29-16, 05:25 AM
  #130  
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Okay, knock it off with the car talk. I don't know the WHO, the WHY, or the WHEN it was even broached in a thread entitled "HOW do you survive without a car?" in the first place.
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Old 05-29-16, 08:22 AM
  #131  
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Originally Posted by no1mad
Okay, knock it off with the car talk. I don't know the WHO, the WHY, or the WHEN it was even broached in a thread entitled "HOW do you survive without a car?" in the first place.
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Old 06-01-16, 10:07 PM
  #132  
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Have to face the addiction first
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Old 06-02-16, 01:28 PM
  #133  
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Originally Posted by rossiny
Have to face the addiction first
You don't have to go cold-turkey.
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Old 06-10-16, 06:36 PM
  #134  
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It wasn't too hard when I lived in a city with good public transportation. I couldn't go car-free where I live now, which is unfortunate because I was much healthier when I didn't own a car. Eventually I'd like to move again, perhaps to Portland or Chicago or some city with a good public transportation infrastructure.
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Old 06-10-16, 08:48 PM
  #135  
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Old 06-16-16, 04:01 PM
  #136  
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Riding my bicycle keeps my errands around town interesting and fun. Life itself is more sustaining LCF. Surviving becomes thriving. There's really nothing to it. A better question is how the car drivers survive.
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Old 06-16-16, 07:17 PM
  #137  
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Originally Posted by RichSPK
I can ride the 9 miles to work, but working 6 days a week, it's tough to keep up with bike maintenance. I usually ride to work twice a week. The rest of the time, I use a monthly bus pass to take the bus to work (buses around here also have bike racks, BTW), then get a ride home from a co-worker (the bus stops running before I get off work). I use rear racks and panniers on my bikes which are usually adequate for groceries. I usually walk to the supermarket, though, because I'm afraid my bike will get stolen. I have a Burley trailer for loads up to 100lbs. 4 30lb buckets of cat litter and a 25lb bag of cat food lead me to ask a friend for a ride to Petco and BJs roughly once a month. I could break that up into a couple trips and use the trailer, but time is in short supply.
I don't know if one of your bikes is a folding bike but one thing you can try if you are afraid of having a bike stolen(and I share that attitude) is buy a cheap folder just for grocery runs.I have a Brompton and have never been refused entry to shop with the bike,but the cost may not be what you would want to spend.However you can find low priced one that might suit you and you don't have to worry about them kicking you out of the store if you fold it up and stick it inside the supermarket's shopping cart. (or underneath it).
Other than a folder you can try and find a piece of junk that doesn't cost more than a couple of bucks at a
yard sale and use that,if it gets stolen you haven't lost much.
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Old 06-17-16, 07:53 AM
  #138  
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I at 68, rarely leave town.
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Old 06-17-16, 08:03 AM
  #139  
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Originally Posted by sdwphoto
I don't know if one of your bikes is a folding bike but one thing you can try if you are afraid of having a bike stolen(and I share that attitude) is buy a cheap folder just for grocery runs.I have a Brompton and have never been refused entry to shop with the bike,but the cost may not be what you would want to spend.However you can find low priced one that might suit you and you don't have to worry about them kicking you out of the store if you fold it up and stick it inside the supermarket's shopping cart. (or underneath it).
Other than a folder you can try and find a piece of junk that doesn't cost more than a couple of bucks at a
yard sale and use that,if it gets stolen you haven't lost much.
Actually, two weeks ago, I was riding home from work. It was around 11:30PM and I realized I had nothing at home for breakfast, so I stopped at the local supermarket. I was trying to find a safe place to lock my bike when one of the cashiers invited me to leave it inside, right up front by the registers, where she could keep an eye on it while I shopped. That's a way to get customers to come back!

Also, no matter how cheap and worthless the bike I ride, I'm going to worry about it getting stolen, leaving me stranded.
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Old 06-18-16, 01:00 AM
  #140  
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Originally Posted by RichSPK
Actually, two weeks ago, I was riding home from work. It was around 11:30PM and I realized I had nothing at home for breakfast, so I stopped at the local supermarket. I was trying to find a safe place to lock my bike when one of the cashiers invited me to leave it inside, right up front by the registers, where she could keep an eye on it while I shopped. That's a way to get customers to come back!

Also, no matter how cheap and worthless the bike I ride, I'm going to worry about it getting stolen, leaving me stranded.
People around here do that a lot, even in the daytime. Personally, I would still lock the bike, since the cashier might get distracted. Or at least I would lock one tire to the frame so the bike couldn't be ridden away or ever pushed away.

Every time I see an unlocked bike leaning against the wall in a store, I think how easy it would be to get on and ride away. You could be a mile away before the owner noticed the bike was missing, and 10 miles away before the police showed up to take a report.

But still, there's a lot of information here and elsewhere on the internet about effectively locking bikes. After a little while, it becomes second nature and actually takes less time than parking a car!
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Old 12-16-20, 03:27 AM
  #141  
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Car talk

Originally Posted by no1mad
Okay, knock it off with the car talk. I don't know the WHO, the WHY, or the WHEN it was even broached in a thread entitled "HOW do you survive without a car?" in the first place.
Being car free has everything to do with the car. This thread is very interesting because its not just about " car free". Car have become a " car culture" . Like cults once you enter them you can only associate with others inside the cult and are told you need them and only stay inside that cult. Cars are the same , once you buy one , your in the cult, getting out is very hard. We are in a car matrix and can't get out. Everything is connected with cars , our cities design , our road designs, our day to day life, our livihood , our right of passage at 16 ( in USA), . I personally think we are destroying ourselves with cars. An economy based on mass producing units that must be produced in millions of units per year , that produce pollution into the air we breath is just pure insanity. Also what is equally insane is the fact that the economy DEPENDS on the salesof said product to keep the economy going or in fact it will crash us into a depression. Don't believe me ?? 2008 crash , quote : the too big to fail, GM, Chrysler got billions on a bail out . The minute they stop production is the minute that billions are out of work, and the fall out of those jobs being lost will also effect millions of other industries. I have on old truck for work and work locally . It needed a brake job and I road to work on bike because my tool set up was on the job I so happened to be working on.
When I retire I will definitely look at Europe in areas where they have foot traffic and bike. I am a pessimist and dont feel humans can look at this massive problem in a system that we were born into and wake up (collectively) from it and say we need to stop polluting and our system is entirely based on polluting and destroying the earth. I can only limit my foot print.
The song comes to mind🎶🎶 "despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage "🎶🎶

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Old 12-18-20, 12:06 PM
  #142  
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Originally Posted by no1mad
Okay, knock it off with the car talk. I don't know the WHO, the WHY, or the WHEN it was even broached in a thread entitled "HOW do you survive without a car?" in the first place.
I'm sorry if this offends your delicate sensibilities, but some of us around here also happen to be automobile enthusiasts, and we're absolutely not ashamed.
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Old 12-24-20, 10:15 AM
  #143  
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When I gave up my car in 2015 I opted for a motorscooter and I read this book: How to Live Well Without Owning A Car by Chris Balish. https://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Well.../dp/1580087574 Thinking back now I see more progress through internet shopping/grocery delivery, and the advent of the ebike. It's is easier now due to technology changes to live well without owning a car. I'm currently contemplating what to do when I can no longer ride my scooter. I'm looking at getting an eCargo Bike. Now I'm trying to determine how ECargo bikes do in the snow. In light of COVID, I think living with a car is a luxury. I prefer to invest my money saved from not owning a car and build wealth. Lately, I've been reading Copenhagenize and watched Motherload film on Cargo bikes.

When people question my reliability about getting to work, I tell them look at my record. I'm more reliable getting to work than people getting to work than car drivers. I point to Uber/Lyft, renting a car, and public transportation.
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Old 12-25-20, 04:00 AM
  #144  
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Old 01-02-21, 04:53 PM
  #145  
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I was probably 20 on this day. I arrived early for my job at a store when I realized I forgot to change my shirt. I started riding home but my rear wheel jammed with a loose axle nut. I walked back to the store and bought a wrench. The ride home was much slower than the ride to the store, with a slamming and very cold headwind. I stopped at various businesses to go in and warm my hands. At the end of the three mile ride I called to say I would not be at work that day, two hours late in a four hour shift. Later I upgraded my gloves to leather mittens.
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Old 01-07-21, 07:37 PM
  #146  
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I don't even think about the how anymore...I just do. This evening for example... Took this

to the store (only about a mile) got about 50 lbs of stuff. Lots of looks while loading it...mostly in disbelief. But whatever. Disbelief turns to smiles when they see me capably navigating out the parking lot. Bicycles are able of amazing things...truly.
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Old 01-27-21, 01:53 PM
  #147  
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Originally Posted by Roody
Please take the title of this thread literally. Tell us HOW you do it. How have you have adjusted your habits or developed new skills in order to be carfree, or at least less dependent on cars?

If you read this forum, I assume you have an interest in being less car-dependent. Pass along some of what you've learned to help others who share your interest in being carfree or less car-dependent,

(Obviously you don't have to be carfree to participate--just less dependent on cars than you once were.)
I moved to the Netherlands and coincidentally the NL will not accept my native driver's licence. By far the biggest change has been how I shop - smaller batches of groceries and always gotta have data and battery life to check what transit/ bike routes I could take
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