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Living without a car

rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
edited January 2013 in Strut Central
I sold my car.

It's only been about a week, but it's kinda...nice? No $$$ for parking, gas and insurance premiums; I'm not mad.

Many strutters no doubt take carless living for granted, but I'm from California: driving is part of our culture.

It feels weird, but we'll see how long I can stick it out.
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  Comments

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    I went a few years without a car. Wasn't so bad when I lived in Berkeley as I was able to take the BART to work in SF and such. Wound up renting cars for weekend trips along the coast and into the mountains. It was a lot rougher when I went without a car for a year or so in Austin, where it's routinely 100 degrees throughout the summer. But fuck it, I rode a bike everywhere back then and not only survived it, but was in great shape to boot. Would be much harder to do that nowadays though, with the increased traffic.
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    I'm definitely thinking of copping a bike. Haven't ridden one in years. Thing is, as a driver in SF you kinda grow to hate cyclists.
  • GrandfatherGrandfather 2,303 Posts
    I've been without a car for about 3.5 years now. I can borrow one if i absolutely need it (which I have).
    It fucking sucks dude. I'm buying a car again in a couple weeks and can't wait to put a pair speakers in the back and bump some shit.


    I have been commuting from El Paso TX to Las Cruces NM (about 45 miles) every work day for the last few years. I got rid of the car because I didn't need it and it was getting pricey to run it about 100 miles everyday. My commute is crazy long though. I wake up at around 430am to get a 530am bus to make it to NM by 630am and be in my office by 7am. I get home around 630pm.
  • covecove 1,566 Posts
    rootlesscosmo said:
    Thing is, as a driver in SF you kinda grow to hate cyclists.

    That's car drivers (everywhere) for ya.

    Get a bike, you'll thank yourself.
  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,784 Posts
    Grandfather said:
    My commute is crazy long though. I wake up at around 430am to get a 530am bus to make it to NM by 630am and be in my office by 7am. I get home around 630pm.

    Mmm, your commute makes me realise I take things for granted.
    I wake up around 7:50am, hit snooze a few times, and actually get up before 8:20am (on a good day). After I've had a wash, eaten some breakfast, I cycle in to work, which takes about 15-20 mins. A solid hour for lunch wandering around town or eating in a cafe. I get home around 5:15pm.

    I'm going to learn to drive this year though as I want a car for weekends/emergencies/holidays etc.
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    cove said:
    rootlesscosmo said:
    Thing is, as a driver in SF you kinda grow to hate cyclists.

    That's car drivers (everywhere) for ya.

    Get a bike, you'll thank yourself.

    Believe me it's a special case in SF. The cyclists are a bunch of entitled assholes. And most drivers are actually kinda scared of them (which can't possibly be the case in most cities).
  • covecove 1,566 Posts
    Duderonomy said:
    Grandfather said:
    My commute is crazy long though. I wake up at around 430am to get a 530am bus to make it to NM by 630am and be in my office by 7am. I get home around 630pm.

    Mmm, your commute makes me realise I take things for granted.

    hell yeah. damn, i would not be able to do that.
    14 hours a day prepping for/going to and from/doing work ?!
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Subway
  • GrandfatherGrandfather 2,303 Posts
    Shit yeah it fuckin sucks man. But coincidentally enough I just accepted a job offer back in town today. Which is why I'm going to buy a car. My commute should shrink down to about 20 -25 minutes depending on traffic!

    Can't wait to get back those 4-5 hours of my life
  • jamesjames chicago 1,863 Posts
    I've been a straight pedestrian (no car, no bike, no skate, etc.) for something like fourteen years, and on occasions when I do get behind the wheel--rental, car-share, whatever--I'm still amazed at how swiftly and totally I start to hate fucking pedestrians.
  • vintageinfantsvintageinfants 4,537 Posts
    for a while we were rocking TWO cars in the house. until last year when i finally sold mine. it was about 11 years old, in perfect condition, except for that it needed a top to bottom brake replace. i was officially upside down with the investment. i got about 10% of what i paid for it, but life has been pretty good since. i shudder whenever i think about how much i would be spending on gas, insurance and upkeep.... but you never really do SEE that money. it's like quitting smoking. that cash just goes somewhere else.

    all in all, one car per household is MORE than enough. even with teh greater toronto area's horribly antiquated transit system.


    toronto.
  • asstroasstro 1,754 Posts
    cove said:
    Duderonomy said:
    Grandfather said:
    My commute is crazy long though. I wake up at around 430am to get a 530am bus to make it to NM by 630am and be in my office by 7am. I get home around 630pm.

    Mmm, your commute makes me realise I take things for granted.

    hell yeah. damn, i would not be able to do that.
    14 hours a day prepping for/going to and from/doing work ?!

    My commute is even longer, I get up at 5:45 and walk 30 min to catch a 7:15 bus. I get to my office around 9:15-9:30. I get home around 8PM. Luckily buses have wifi these days.

    I have never had a driver's license myself, but my wife does have a car. Kind of a necessity when you have kids.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I am going to try to get my driver's license this year...at least start the process. I don't even need it, but it seems like it's time to have that life skill under my belt still. Driving scares the shit out of me. The amount of things one has to keep track of, not the least of which is not running someone over, is beyond overwhelming to me.

    As illustrated above, Toronto's subway system is anemic and there are extremely frustrating surface route days, but we're still pretty lucky; it will get you anywhere you want.
  • parallaxparallax no-style-having mf'er 1,266 Posts
    I couldn't live without a car in my city. When I was living in Toronto, especially at Yonge & Eglinton, it was pretty easy to get around taking the TTC. I was a 2 minute walk away from the subway, and there were a shit ton of restaurants, shops, cafes, bakeries, etc. just steps away from my apartment.

    VI, the TTC is actually the envy of most major metropolitan cities in North America. Although the Sheppard East line is an abomination.
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    batmon said:
    Subway

    SF's is super limited.
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    vintageinfants said:
    for a while we were rocking TWO cars in the house. until last year when i finally sold mine. it was about 11 years old, in perfect condition, except for that it needed a top to bottom brake replace. i was officially upside down with the investment. i got about 10% of what i paid for it, but life has been pretty good since. i shudder whenever i think about how much i would be spending on gas, insurance and upkeep.... but you never really do SEE that money. it's like quitting smoking. that cash just goes somewhere else.

    all in all, one car per household is MORE than enough. even with teh greater toronto area's horribly antiquated transit system.


    toronto.

    ^^^ This is kinda misleading; obviously SF has it better than Toronto, but large parts of the city (including where I live) are nowhere near our "subway" (BART + Muni train). That said, our bus system goes pretty much everywhere, but is SLOOOOOOOOWWWWWW as shit, as any SF person will tell you.
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    The biggest challenge I think will not be so much that I can't get where I want to go but that I fucking love driving.
  • parallaxparallax no-style-having mf'er 1,266 Posts
    bassie said:
    I am going to try to get my driver's license this year...at least start the process. I don't even need it, but it seems like it's time to have that life skill under my belt still. Driving scares the shit out of me. The amount of things one has to keep track of, not the least of which is not running someone over, is beyond overwhelming to me.

    As illustrated above, Toronto's subway system is anemic and there are extremely frustrating surface route days, but we're still pretty lucky; it will get you anywhere you want.

    I was a bit nervous about driving before I finally took the plunge, especially driving in downtown Toronto, or the insanity that is the 401. Get your license, Bassie, and take a leisurely drive around your neck of the woods (Keele & Lawrence) outside of rush hour just to get acclimated. The amount of attention needed to operate safely is actually less than you might think, and your fears will actually ensure that you drive safely. DJing is WAY harder than driving from a multi-tasking/attention perspective.
  • kalakala 3,361 Posts
    impossible to really dig for records in the real world w/out a whip
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    kala said:
    impossible to really dig for records in the real world w/out a whip

    I have a couple of rooms' worth of shelving that beg to differ.
  • kalakala 3,361 Posts
    speaking for myself
    i buy collections- 1 to 50 crates at a clip
    go to fleas,house calls and record shows all spread out
    i am not counting e digging
    i could not do it w/out a car
  • vintageinfantsvintageinfants 4,537 Posts
    parallax said:
    I was a 2 minute walk away from the subway, and there were a shit ton of restaurants, shops, cafes, bakeries, etc. just steps away from my apartment.

    i think that speaks more to the city, than it's transit system.

    the downtown core is average. a reasonable streetcar system, a below average bus system [ride the dufferin line and tell me it's fine], and a subway system that didn't anticipate exponential population growth.

    that is kind of the tale of the tape on the whole deal. toronto is the largest city in canada, and shares a border with mississauga, the fifth largest city in canada. yet those two system's have no crossover nor major meeting point. that leaves roughly 4 million people relying on a system that can hardly handle an eighth of that. it's no wonder that 450,000 cars pass daily between weston and the 400 [two exits beside eachother] on the 401. a stretch of highway that doesn't even LEAD into the city's core.
  • vintageinfantsvintageinfants 4,537 Posts
    apologies for the regional references.

    just trying to show that toronto is basically the LA of the north for infastructure.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    asstro said:
    walk 30 min

    Oh hells to the NO!
  • vintageinfantsvintageinfants 4,537 Posts
    batmon said:
    asstro said:
    walk 30 min

    Oh hells to the NO!

    again. i live in a city that allows liquor sales to become federally controlled but cabs remain privatized. NYCs cabs are THORO
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    My old beater Chevy stalled on me one Chicago winter, and I've been hoofing it ever since. I've taken taxis and rented cars when I've had to, but for the most part I've gotten around with no trouble. Chitown is an easy city to do that in.

    I wrote an article about it for a local online journal: http://gridchicago.com/2012/james-porter-reflects-on-his-life-as-a-cta-warrior/
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    My old beater Chevy stalled on me one Chicago winter, and I've been hoofing it ever since. I've taken taxis and rented cars when I've had to, but for the most part I've gotten around with no trouble. Chitown is an easy city to do that in.

    I wrote an article about it for a local online journal: http://gridchicago.com/2012/james-porter-reflects-on-his-life-as-a-cta-warrior/
  • asstroasstro 1,754 Posts
    batmon said:
    asstro said:
    walk 30 min

    Oh hells to the NO!

    Yeah, it's hell on my kicks. On the other hand, exercise is good for you.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    parallax said:
    I was a 2 minute walk away from the subway, and there were a shit ton of restaurants, shops, cafes, bakeries, etc. just steps away from my apartment.

    i think that speaks more to the city, than it's transit system.

    the downtown core is average. a reasonable streetcar system, a below average bus system [ride the dufferin line and tell me it's fine], and a subway system that didn't anticipate exponential population growth.

    that is kind of the tale of the tape on the whole deal. toronto is the largest city in canada, and shares a border with mississauga, the fifth largest city in canada. yet those two system's have no crossover nor major meeting point. that leaves roughly 4 million people relying on a system that can hardly handle an eighth of that. it's no wonder that 450,000 cars pass daily between weston and the 400 [two exits beside eachother] on the 401. a stretch of highway that doesn't even LEAD into the city's core.

    There are some TTC overlaps with both Sauga and Brampton transit systems. My job takes me to Brampton Courthouse and I get off a TTC stop out by Humber College and wait for Brampton Transit right there. Sauga buses run out of Kipling station. It's not ideal, but it's possible....but definitely not for the volume as you mentioned.

    lol - I think there are accidents DAILY at Weston and the 401 if the radio traffic reports are any indication.
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