Life without a car

[SoonerCoug]

Since we moved to a bigger city, we don't drive much. We both walk to work (5-minute walk), and the neighborhood is totally walkable with many restaurants, stores, and an awesome movie theater.

We still own two cars, but we hardly ever drive them. We have driven a total of 1500 miles in the last 6 months, with the vast majority of these miles being a trip my wife took with her parents to some caves as well as trips to the store and to church.

I wanted to share some of my observations about how our lives have changed since we quit driving.

1) I have quit eating fast food. I used to eat fast food almost daily, and I never really worried about it because I'm missing a substantial part of my small intestine (terminal ileum) and therefore don't absorb cholesterol much. Anyway, I never really expected to quit eating fast food, but this experience has made me realize that I am very unlikely to eat fast food if I'm not driving.

2) We have both lost weight. We weren't really overweight. (She definitely wasn't overweight, but I guess I could have stood to lose 10 pounds or so.)

3) I used to listen to the radio every day (especially folks like Glenn Beck), but I don't get to do that anymore. End result is that I am much more at peace with the world when I arrive at work.

4) We have saved a ton of money on gas and other car-related expenses.

5) Russians like to refer to America as "одноэтажная Америка (one-storey America)" because it is surprising to them that our population is sprawled out in suburbs. I wouldn't trade any American building for the concrete monstrosities in which most Russians live, but I'm starting to wonder if America hasn't gone too far in the opposite direction.

People will do what they want to do, but I wonder about the costs of sprawl on our society as a whole. In any case, someday I'll undoubtedly go a little more suburban just like the rest of the bourgeoisie.

[Tim]

I spent 18 months without a car recently and it sucked.

Luckily I had a scooter.

[SoonerCoug]

I spent 18 months without a car recently and it sucked.

Luckily I had a scooter.

I think it would depend on whether you had access to everything you need within a few block radius. I like having a car when I need to drive more than several blocks, of course.

[TripletDaddy]

Since we moved to a bigger city, we don't drive much. We both walk to work (5-minute walk), and the neighborhood is totally walkable with many restaurants, stores, and an awesome movie theater.

We still own two cars, but we hardly ever drive them. We have driven a total of 1500 miles in the last 6 months, with the vast majority of these miles being a trip my wife took with her parents to some caves as well as trips to the store and to church.

I wanted to share some of my observations about how our lives have changed since we quit driving.

1) I have quit eating fast food. I used to eat fast food almost daily, and I never really worried about it because I'm missing a substantial part of my small intestine (terminal ileum) and therefore don't absorb cholesterol much. Anyway, I never really expected to quit eating fast food, but this experience has made me realize that I am very unlikely to eat fast food if I'm not driving.

2) We have both lost weight. We weren't really overweight. (She definitely wasn't overweight, but I guess I could have stood to lose 10 pounds or so.)

3) I used to listen to the radio every day (especially folks like Glenn Beck), but I don't get to do that anymore. End result is that I am much more at peace with the world when I arrive at work.

4) We have saved a ton of money on gas and other car-related expenses.

5) Russians like to refer to America as "одноэтажная Америка (one-storey America)" because it is surprising to them that our population is sprawled out in suburbs. I wouldn't trade any American building for the concrete monstrosities in which most Russians live, but I'm starting to wonder if America hasn't gone too far in the opposite direction.

People will do what they want to do, but I wonder about the costs of sprawl on our society as a whole. In any case, someday I'll undoubtedly go a little more suburban just like the rest of the bourgeoisie.

What is the connection between not having a car and eating less fast food? If anything, I would assume the opposite, as evidenced by the poor dietary habits of urban america, where fast food is convenient and trips to the grocery store are less common.

I can understand why you would lose weight and save money on car-related expenses.

The USSR thing is puzzling. A country the size of Russia is going to observe that America is sprawled out? How long does it take to ride the Trans-Siberian Express? America, like most other countries, build upwards in dense, urban areas, and goes agrarian the further out you go towards the country.

[SoonerCoug]

The USSR thing is puzzling. A country the size of Russia is going to observe that America is sprawled out? How long does it take to ride the Trans-Siberian Express? America, like most other countries, build upwards in dense, urban areas, and goes agrarian the further out you go towards the country.

The Soviet Union built extraordinarily compact cities. A Russian city's edge is frequently a sharp border between dense forest and 16-storey apartment buildings.

I'm asking a question about efficiency. What is America losing in efficiency because of urban sprawl?

[WashingtonCoug]

In Russia you really very rarely ever see a single family home. Even the small towns in the middle of nowhere have large apartment complexes. I've gotta think atleast 95% of the population lives in giant apartment complexes.

I'm surprised that you eat less fast food though too. I would think it would be harder to lug your groceries home that hike it to the nearest McDonald's.

Although knowing SoonerCoug, he may think that McDonald's is fine dining and isn't counting that in the fast food bucket.

[Solon]

The Soviet Union built extraordinarily compact cities. A Russian city's edge is frequently a sharp border between dense forest and 16-storey apartment buildings.

I'm asking a question about efficiency. What is America losing in efficiency because of urban sprawl?

After living in DC for awhile, I decided that one of the major quality-of-life factors for me would be traffic.

Life without a car, or with only infrequent need to drive, is great if you can get it. My brother lives in downtown Chicago and hasn't driven in months.

[SoonerCoug]

In Russia you really very rarely ever see a single family home. Even the small towns in the middle of nowhere have large apartment complexes. I've gotta think atleast 95% of the population lives in giant apartment complexes.

I'm surprised that you eat less fast food though too. I would think it would be harder to lug your groceries home that hike it to the nearest McDonald's.

Although knowing SoonerCoug, he may think that McDonald's is fine dining and isn't counting that in the fast food bucket.

I would go get fast food while driving to and from work. Now that I don't pass any fast food establishments, I don't buy it. There are little stores all around our place, and sometimes we drive to a larger grocery store that's a few blocks away. It's no big deal. Very convenient. Getting fast food would be less convenient than going to the store.

[TripletDaddy]

After living in DC for awhile, I decided that one of the major quality-of-life factors for me would be traffic.

Life without a car, or with only infrequent need to drive, is great if you can get it. My brother lives in downtown Chicago and hasn't driven in months.

where in DC?

[WashingtonCoug]

I really liked being able to walk wherever I needed to go during my mission. We used a lot of public transportation, but for the most part walked. I knew of about 5-6 members that had a car my entire mission. I lost about 30 lbs. on my mission by walking everywhere. I didn't even have 30 lbs. to lose.

[Mrs. Funk]

I found my time without a car while doing an internship in Paris somewhat freeing. Of course, the cheap and (usually) reliable public transportation options made it a lot easier to be car-less. Big European cities (well, big cities in general including New York) are often infinitely walkable and navigable by mass transit. It was 1/3 of a mile to the Métro. The grocery store was a couple of blocks from my apartment. My fridge was tiny, so I usually bought what I needed for a couple of days at a time. I had to take five or six flights of stairs to my apartment every day, so despite all the cheese and bread and tiramisu I ate, I still was guaranteed some activity every day.

Suburban sprawl has made it much more difficult or impractical to live without a car. The lack of viable mass transit options in most areas of the U.S. is depressing.

[SoonerCoug]

I really liked being able to walk wherever I needed to go during my mission. We used a lot of public transportation, but for the most part walked. I knew of about 5-6 members that had a car my entire mission. I lost about 30 lbs. on my mission by walking everywhere. I didn't even have 30 lbs. to lose.

Yeah, walking was especially fun when it was 30 below outside.

[CJF]

Sooner, my experience has been very similar. I've lost weight, I don't eat fastfood much and I'm happier. We take a taxi to church and usually Saturday we either take a taxi to do our grocery shopping and fun day out or we go with my FIL who drives us. I miss not having a car sometimes, but for the most part my life is less complicated without it.

That said, I can't wait to be driving in a few weeks when I return home for Thanksgiving.

[Solon]

where in DC?

Really, northern Virginia. I lived in Alexandria, but south of the beltway (I think it's now considered more Springfield or Franconia). I worked near Tysons Corner/McLean and it took me 40+ minutes to drive that 12-15 miles or so.

My wife-to-be lived on King Street in Alexandria-proper. She taught at American University in the District, and had to take a bus, two metro-lines, and then another bus to campus. It was at least 75 minutes each way, but still a lot better than shelling out $1000 a year for a parking pass on campus.

Obviously, if we had stayed, we would have figured out a way to live closer to our jobs.

PS - my car's in the shop today. Sooner is doubly right.

[il Padrino Ute]

Sooner, I appreciate that you walk instead of drive. More fuel for me and my car.