Exactly as the thread title states: would the quality of your life be significantly better if you owned a car? Please include rough geographical location in your reply; I’m especially curious to hear from those who manage to live a car-free life in a place without a top-notch public transit system.
I’ll chime in first: I live in Tampa, Florida, a city known for its trolleys back in the 40’s, but now, alas, is 60th out of 60 metropolitan areas in the States for mass transit. While things would be much more convenient if I owned a car (again, Tampa), I doubt my life would be any easier after I get over the initial ‘woohoo, I have a car.’ The maintenance and upkeep alone would probably give me an ulcer, with my present state of employment. It would be nice to drive to the beach or up to my sister’s once in a while, but in the main, I’d much rather bus and bike everywhere.
I live in Chicago and while a car would be worse for my pocketbook, in terms of quality of life, my life would be so much better off. I would definately own a car if I could afford one.
I wish I didn’t have a car, but then I wouldn’t really be able to live here, because you can’t walk to the bus stop in the summer without dying. OTOH, riding the bus in this town does wonders to remind you how attractive you are.
It would be significantly worse. I typically only spend 6-7 weeks in one country before relocating, and driving across the Atlantic or from Europe to the Mid East is not very practical.
I live in Finland… everything is hundreds of miles away. And thanks to living in a small town (and being located in the geographical center of the country), a car is simply twice as fast as any other normal mode of transportation to anywhere in the country.
I do buy incidental groceries by walking to the local store… it’s only a half a mile there, but it’s a small place and just doesn’t stock everything I need. The bigger stores are 3 miles away… and beause we’re built wide, not tall, the public transport is slow. Half an hour for a bus to roll buy… 3bucks for a trip, one change in the bus station (another 3 bucks), and the same thing coming back. So, an hour (worst case scenario) and 12 bucks to buy food using public transportation.
Nah - I was a car owner from the age of 16 until the age of 42, when I moved from Napa to San Francisco.
No reason to own a car in this city where parking is $250 a month alone (now factor in a car payment and insurance).
About three months after I moved into the city I sold my car and joined both City Car Share and ZipCar which gives me access to a vehicle whenever I might need one. They charge an hourly rate (anywhere from $5.00 to $12.00 + mileage). I think my monthly transportation costs average somewhere around $100.
I haven’t owned a car since 1986. I walk and use public transport (or the occasional taxi) for all my day-to-day transport needs. Two or three times a year I’ll rent a car to travel to locations that are harder to reach by public transport.
Owning a car would bring a certain amount of personal convenience. But not nearly enough to offset the costs involved. Plus, I really dislike driving. I’ve done the maths. I’d be significantly worse off if I owned a car.
I’d be worse off without a car. I live in an area where the “nearest” bus stop is so far away, I’d need a car to get there. Or a cab, but then why bother to take the bus? On the plus side, I have an older car which has long been paid for and has been relatively well maintained. My only costs have been for gas, oil, insurance, and registration. And I drive a relatively limited amount of distance. Rarely more than about 5 miles in a single trip. If I lost my car, I don’t know what I’d do. It would be a very difficult adjustment for me.
In New Hampshire I would be stuck without a car. It is mostly rural and we have very little if any public transportation. Cabs are outrageously expensive. Everything is miles away. The train only stops in the cities leaving you stuck to find a ride home.
I’m fortunate to live in an area of town and have a work schedule where even our city’s mediocre bus system gives me the ability to use mass transit to and from work.
But I absolutely need a car. There’s simply no other way around it. To start, the nearest grocery store is 3 miles away. Our city has no subways, no light rail, and a bus system that moves from OK to 99% non-existant the further from the core you go. I would love to have reliable public transit. I would use it all the time. But even if the voters passed a referendum tomorrow it wouldn’t be up and running before 2020. Currently it would simply be impossible for me to function without a car and so I have one.
I live for two years without a car in Omaha. I had to take two buses to get to work three miles away. The buses ran once every half hour. The buses themselves are crappy, the routes are crappy, the schedules are crappy. It took me almost an hour to get to work. This city is not set up for public transportation. There are no conveniences within walking distance of anything for the most part. I had to borrow a car to put my paycheck in the bank before we got automatic deposit. I ordered pretty much everything online if I could. I took taxis home from the grocery store. Nothing was simple.
Hell yes, I’m thrilled to have a car again. I am the master of my own schedule, can live anywhere in town that I want, never have to wait for a bus that may or may not show up when it’s five below. Never have to wait for a bus when the heat index is 115. Get to work in 12 minutes. My life is significantly better with a car.
And I will say, I lived two years in Chicago and it was a completely different experience. I only needed a car two or three times there, and there are options when that is the case. Omaha is set up for a car culture. If you don’t have one, sucks to be you!
I did just fine for 15 years in San Francisco with nothing more than a Muni pass.
Now, my neighborhood has a walk score of about three. I’d need a car just to get to the closest bus stop, which is two miles away. At work, I’d just about need a car to get from my office to the bus stop on the other side of the campus, and I’d have to scurry - the last bus leaves at 4:55 PM.
I live in the outer Boston suburbs but I have to have a car for everything. There is no public transportation to speak of and I have small children that need to go places. I work 35 miles away and there is no way to get there by public transportation either. Even if I somehow had my license taken away, I would still have to drive to live.
I’m afraid it is a practical necessity. I work in an unincorporated area next to a horribly bad neighborhood. Public transit doesn’t extend out that far and would be dicey if it did.
Beyond that California’s large size and many bucolic pleasures rewards car ownership. I enjoy driving in the country, so that would be a pleasure lost without one.
We are a one car household and for nearly everything its perfect. He drives it 98% of the time. The bus gets me too and from work; we only have one parking spot at home anyway, so a second car would mean depending on street parking; we save thousands since my monthly bus pass is $45 a month; I hate driving anyway. Having my own car would not increase my quality of life in any significant way.
ETA - I forgot to note that we live in the San Fernando valley in LA.
Yes! It’s impossible with my life to not have a car. My daughter’s school is a ten minute drive but an impossible walk. I take her to therapy twice a week (20 min. away) and while Tenncare offers transportation the two times I requested it I didn’t get to my appointment on time (once not at all!). I rely on my other daughter’s old van right now but I’m wondering how much longer it will last. She bought it cheap in the first place. No a/c, windows won’t go down anymore except those tiny little vents. Every week some new fluid starts leaking. I can’t go far without it running hot, and if I turn it off after driving it five minutes I have to wait another hour to start it. I don’t know if it will pass the next inspection without pouring more money into it.
And it’s not even MINE! **
It would change my life to own my own car because I’d have peace of mind. **
Editing to add: I’m in Memphis, TN, where nothing but the gas station is in walking distance.
Yep. I just got back from bringing my mom to the nearest grocery store - eighteen miles roundtrip. I don’t imagine that there are very many people living outside of college towns in New Hampshire who both work and lack a car.
I live in a small town in GA, and the closest thing to public transportation we have is a cab that runs Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. If you want to use the cab on the weekend, you have to give them 48 hours notice, and they charge a double rate.
Luckily, everything major in this town lies between 1 and 4 miles of my house, so walking isn’t a problem. Unfortunately, all of my friends live 5+ miles away, which is a bit far to be walking, especially during the summer, so I don’t get to see them often.
The best thing about having a car of my own would be in making it easier to get a job. Most everyone around here won’t hire you if you don’t have reliable transportation, and they don’t consider walking reliable.
