Living without a car

[rootlesscosmo]

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.

 

[HarveyCanal]

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.

 

[rootlesscosmo]

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.

 

[Grandfather]

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.

 

[cove]

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.

 

[Duderonomy]

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.

 

[rootlesscosmo]

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).

 

[cove]

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 ?!

 

[batmon]

Subway

 

[Grandfather]

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

 

[james]

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.

 

[vintageinfants]

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.

 

[asstro]

cove saiduderonomy 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.

 

[bassie]

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.

 

[parallax]

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.

 

[HarveyCanal]

 

[rootlesscosmo]

batmon said:Subway




SF's is super limited.

 

[rootlesscosmo]

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.

 

[rootlesscosmo]

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.

 

[parallax]

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.