One Car Family
I'm not sure that I mentioned it, but last June 2011, the manfriend sold his Jetta wagon and went carless. This was in part to pay of medical bills from the scary migraine incident and in part simply to save some dough. Plus, he's a cyclist so it was like an exciting challenge for him.
That would so not be me. I like my car and I like getting places quickly and enjoy riding my bike on occasion when it's nice out.
Well, it's now March and the manfriend has been car free for eight months! So how has it been?
Actually, it's been great - a lot better than I expected. I wanted to be sure that him going carless didn't mean I was missing a lot of workouts/runs because I was picking him up. More importantly, I didn't want the car to be a reason we had arguments and thankfully, it hasn't!
In total, I think I've picked him up a handful of times and usually because I offered and we were going somewhere together after work (to run club, dinner, etc).
Moral of the story is, having one car has worked pretty well for us so far. The manfriend works about 3 miles away from home and I work about 5.5 miles away, both are pretty direct and easy to ride to.
If we lived in a bigger, less bike friendly city and worked further away from home, one car might be a bit more difficult. At this piont, the only issue is that it's about time for my 1995 Toyota Corolla to be upgraded so we've been looking at new cars, which is both exciting and stressful.
Have you ever thought of giving up your vehicle to bike everywhere?
I've thought about it, but probably wouldn't ever do it 100% because I pack my days so full and need 2-3 outfits and pairs of shoes for all my activities. I'd need some kind of serious trailer to bring all my clothes and be able to go grocery shopping too!
That would so not be me. I like my car and I like getting places quickly and enjoy riding my bike on occasion when it's nice out.
Well, it's now March and the manfriend has been car free for eight months! So how has it been?
Actually, it's been great - a lot better than I expected. I wanted to be sure that him going carless didn't mean I was missing a lot of workouts/runs because I was picking him up. More importantly, I didn't want the car to be a reason we had arguments and thankfully, it hasn't!
In total, I think I've picked him up a handful of times and usually because I offered and we were going somewhere together after work (to run club, dinner, etc).
Moral of the story is, having one car has worked pretty well for us so far. The manfriend works about 3 miles away from home and I work about 5.5 miles away, both are pretty direct and easy to ride to.
If we lived in a bigger, less bike friendly city and worked further away from home, one car might be a bit more difficult. At this piont, the only issue is that it's about time for my 1995 Toyota Corolla to be upgraded so we've been looking at new cars, which is both exciting and stressful.
Have you ever thought of giving up your vehicle to bike everywhere?
I've thought about it, but probably wouldn't ever do it 100% because I pack my days so full and need 2-3 outfits and pairs of shoes for all my activities. I'd need some kind of serious trailer to bring all my clothes and be able to go grocery shopping too!
Comments
I totally wish I could go car-less. Unfortunately, I live 20 miles away from work (it's pretty horrible) so a car is a must.
I try to ditch it on the weekends since I spend so much time in it during the week!
In San Francisco they have the Zip Car, where you have cars all over the city that you can use whenever you want. I think they cost about 20 dollars for 4 hours and 50 dollars for a whole day...so if you only need a car once in a while, it works out great!
We have been a one-car family for years. Since 2002! It doesn't even occur to me to get another car- that would seem excessive. We've organized our lives around the one car and it works great. Most days Zach bikes to work and I ride the bus- neither of us use it that much! Plus, a second car would be a huge expense!
I would, however, love to replace our car with something newer/bigger since we have a baby coming!
Glad it's worked out so well for you guys! Hope you're having a FABULOUS vacay!