Life Without a Car

Any device that plays music might help...

Get in shape, because the sudden influx of walking suuuuuuuuuucks. I'm currently suffering through life in Vancouver without a car. On my way back home from Kelowna visiting family I hit a nasty patch of black ice and met median. Fucked up the engine mounts, big ass dent in the rear, just way too much repair costs in it so I scrapped it in Merritt. I'm working on a classic car on the side but I'm still building the small block so it's off the table... Luckily I've got a 2001 Taurus I can pick up fairly cheaply.

There's a sky train station a couple of blocks from my place so I have access to GM place, all of downtown fairly easily, it just sucks to have to walk to the basic places, and social life outside of downtown stuff is cut off. After Vancouver Film School I swore I would never take the bus again.

Know how it's so easy to pick tourists (or transplants) out in NYC? They walk like they've forgotten how to do it.

For the bus/rail: mp3 player.

Also: a bike.

As least you live in Austin, Greg. Pity on your soul if you were in Houston. I wish I could offer more advice, but when in Toronto there's so many modes of transport any advice I could give would be wasted. Buy a good man bag, and some comfortable shoes though.

The shoes are important, for walking more comfortably and even possibly faster.

I've never had a car or a license and I get around Vancouver just fine. Having no car just means you have to slow down and get more exercise, plus it's good for the environment. Works for me.

I've been leeching off my car-owner friend for a little over a year now. We go to the same classes, work at the same job and generally go to the same places.

Now he's leaving for France, and it's back to walking everywhere for me. When it comes to walking, get an Ipod, but also call old friends who you would never have the time to talk to before. Ask them what they've been doing, tell them to regal you with stories of their latest escapades, and discuss wtf was up with that last episode of Lost, etc. Let them know beforehand your just shamelessly using them to pass the time and that when you reach your destination you will have to hang up on them.

I never learned how to drive and i live in a big metropolis. Get an MP3 player and comfortable shoes. I walk everywhere.

Thank goodness you live in an area that apparently has public transportation. Most of the towns I've lived in here in the west have had either no public transportation or such poor systems that it might as well be non-existent.

That said, my time in France was time spent in public transportation, and if you can do so without appearing to be a creeper - conversations had in the buses and metros provided me with endless entertainment and allowed me to meet some of the most fascinating people.

I've never had a car or a license. The Bay Area isn't entirely pedestrian-friendly but I do alright between BART, the bus, and good old-fashioned shoes.

Interesting to see all the support for headphones. I tend to turn things over in my head while I walk, and blocking out surrounding noises probably wouldn't be good for me.

Well, with the headphones I either leave one side loose with the volume at a mid-level where I can still hear what's going on around me, or only wear one in.

Also, some people just take headphones (no music anything attached to it) in the hopes that it will ward off random passer-bys.

I never got a license or owned a car so I get around by either walking or public transportation. To pass the time I always have with me a messenger bag with my MP3 player, a book or a magazine and my DS. I've even come to find that my commute of about two hours a day serves as a nice wind down time after work so I get back home fresh.

I'm telling ya, man...just get a bike. I know a chick that knows a chick.

And so do you!

Greg: you should be able to find a beater out there for under $500 pretty easily. See what you can scrape together and buy a 20 year old Oldsmobile.

I only say that because I'd be totally naked without a car.

I just hope you live down south, if you live up north in Austin and are relying on the bus...you're screwed.

I was coming here to post this. Really, if you live outside the downtown/south congress area, getting around Austin using public transportation is going to be a pain in the ass. I don't have to tell Greg this, but Austin is becoming a city of sprawl like everywhere else. We have a bus system, which I used extensively in college, but it kind of sucks, and if you need to cross town it will take at least double the time it would in a car. And light rail isn't going to have enough stops, so you'll still need to get on a bus after you get off the rail.

Also, for those suggesting walking and biking, I agree in principle. But you have to understand that we have humid, 90 degree-plus days for about 9 months of the year, and May through early October sees long stretches of 100 degree days. It is fucking brutal. If you don't mind carrying a couple of extra sticks of deodorant and a towel in your man purse, so that you can towel off and de-stink yourself at your destination, and you don't mind risking getting splattered by an SUV*, then walking and biking everywhere may be an option. Many people seem to do it, and my hat is off to them.

We need REAL public transportation reform, not just in Austin, but around the country. Of course, if the Econopocalypse folks like Dmitry Orlov and Kunstler are right, we're all going to be biking and riding horses again soon anyway...

*Also, for a city with a progressive rep, Austin has a real divide between its car culture and its bike culture. Drivers here have little patience for cyclists, and we seem to have a fairly steady stream of cyclist fatalities. Bike lanes are sporadic and frequently ignored or full of parked cars. When the cyclists protest by having a "critical mass" ride, people bitch and moan. It never fucking ends.

It's the same out here, honestly. There's just a general hatred for cyclists that most drivers can't seem to get past. I nearly got into a fistfight with a co-worker once because of his borderline psychotic hate of cyclists - I had ridden my bike to work that morning and apparently he was just looking for a reason to rage hard. It's bizarre.

What did I do in the end? Rode my bike to and from work for the rest of the time I worked at that fucking place. Suck my dick, Eddie.

The best thing about moving from the suburbs of Jersey to Manhattan is that I don't have to deal with a car anymore. Gas money, tickets, insurance. All gone. Now, it's all by foot or subway.

Damn foreigners and their easy access to mass transit. Damn your excellent city planning!

There's nothing wrong with just walking, by the way. You don't have to walk and do something else to "pass the time."

Yeah, I cannot fathom not having a vehicle. Or being an adult and not knowing how to drive one, for that matter.

But then, where I live it's a necessity. Unless you like trudging through the mud.

You don't saddle gators? Glad I never bothered crossing the Sabine.

I know a guy that created a rope harness he attatched to a gator, with the intent that the gator would pull a wagon.

It was a failure.

One thing I learned growing up fairly close to Louisiana: Alligators are idiots.

It's true. Everytime I see a story about someone being attacked by a gator, I figure that must be a really stupid person. Gators are dumb, timid, and lazy. Yes they're strong, have insanely poweful jaws, and sharp teeth and claws, but you could sit there and bean them in the head with rocks for ten minutes before they decide to leave.

My wife and I share a car (which sucks to begin with). Much time and gas is spent trading off the car if my wife needs to get anywhere during the day. I couldn't imagine having NO car. I live in the suburbs and work on the opposite side of Orlando, outside the city. I'd have to move if I was without a car (and my daughter would have to go to a lesser school). Fortunately, my daughter's school is only a mile away (15 minute walk) from where we live now and it's the highest rated around. You guys without kids probably don't have to think about those kinds of things. If I was single and kidless, I'd live within walking distance from work to avoid the gas costs and mooch off of friends for other times. As it stands now, a bike ride would take too long, would suck during the HOT months and really suck during the rainy months. I have considered a scooter, but I'm too manly for that. CIAO!

I absolutely can't stand car cultures. The need to drive everywhere is mind boggling to me when walking, biking, and public transportation are all viable options (granted I know there are parts of this country where they are not).

My brother, who is a fit person, drives to his corner store when it would take less than five minutes to walk there. His response when I called him out on it was that was just what people do where he lives. He just bought a luxury car that has more amenities than my apartment, so he's definitely not gonna change his habits anytime soon.

I live in the suburbs of Jersey about 25 minutes outside of NYC and I do not have a car. I take the bus to work (as said, 25 minutes, depending on traffic and is a 10 minutes walk) and I can buy everything I need to here. Sure, it's sometimes annoying when I need to get to someone's house for like a party or something but I've found that a) having a room-mate with a car helps and b) people are generally helpful when it comes to these things. People ask how I can stand being essentially landlocked here and I say, well, I have a ton of books to read and movies to watch.

It certainly helps if you're not easy to bore, as you might spend a lot of nights at your place.

At least in the state of Texas, the car is pretty much your only real option. I would say that Dallas has the most robust public transport system in the state and it's definitely effective as far as making the decision to go with or without the car. But Dallas is the exception here.

Yeah, I'd survive just fine on my own near a larger city, but having to wait to take your sick kid on a bus or train and then walk a mile to the Doctor's (or your dog to the vet) isn't feasible at all.

If I only had the money...

I saw nothing in that video that struck me as not-doable-right-now. I want that thing ASAP.

Who would need a house? I'd totally take that cross-country!

And ya wonder where the sterotype of southerners being idiots comes from?

It's not the guy's fault that the stinkin' gator couldn't do his job.

Sheeeesh.

Well, that's not my problem.

Slightly related picture:

If you're off of Jollyville you might be able to use the park & ride between it and 183. I'm not sure, but commutes might be a bit more bearable by using that.

Also, if you consider buying a scooters, go to Scooter Revolution. I've heard great things about them. I also wonder if you ever come into the library I work at....creepy.

I like how ADOT thinks.

You don't have to get a new car or a fancy SUV with all the options. Just get something that runs for a grand or less. Then get liability insurance on it. If you wreck it, sell if for salvage and get another one.

Or you could get a moped and a fancy helmet.

If it would have worked it would have revolutionized the way the world works.

But for the disposition of a single gator we may have had a new Da Vinci, Edison, Einstein, or Ron Popeil.

My car blowing up was one of the best things to happen to me. My route to work was mostly uphill for 2 miles, and I either walked or rode my bike everyday. I ended up losing 50 pounds in 3 months. I make sure i have my Zune charged and ready though. Walking or riding long distances without music or something to listen to is torture.

I wrapped my car around a van twelve months ago and had to live without one for two weeks. It was a nightmare. Just getting to my doctor (a journey that would take me - there and back - no more than an hour) took four bus journeys and an hour of walking.

As per usual my insurance company fleeced me out of a fortune and I ended up with barely enough to buy a wreck as replacement.

The lesson of this story: ALWAYS take the optional extras when insuring your car.

Or atleast enough to cover a rental.

Funny how some in the "I Hate Winter" thread rant about "why don't you people move?"....

...basically, the short answer is you can always put more clothing on when it's cold; you can only take so much off in 100 degree, 90% humidity weather.

Well, as a person who is fully on board with the cycling lifestyle (I wish I was more able to really get into it, but as in many cases...kids), I've heard from OTHER cyclists about the country that Critical Mass rides often attract some of the worst douchebags on two wheels.*


* - aside from Harley Davidson enthusiasts