# If you are car-free, where do you live?



## LaurenS

We have been car-free for almost 7 years. We have a 5 year old and an almost 1 year old. We currently live in a small town with little to no public transportation. The weather here is rough and with the two kids, it's too hard on me. We are looking to move, and I am just curious where all the car-free families live. I know that in many major cities, it's pretty normal to be car-free. But I am wondering if I don't know about some not so big cities where it's not so difficult to be car-free.

Thanks

Lauren


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## Draupadi

I live in NYC and our family is completely car-free. I don't even know how to drive.







We take public transportation everywhere, but occasionally borrow or rent cars when we travel out of state. I'm fine with it. We don't need a car at all.


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## SeaDoula

I live in seattle, wa. I had a car, but after having dd couldn't afford to pay for it (It was a 2007) and SAH...so we have been car free for 3mo... Honestly it isn't the easiest thing in the world, especially lately as it has snowed like crazy over here! BUT, I am way more in shape, it is an excuse to go for walks with my DD, and my DD loves the bus. I am getting to know the city a lot better.

Unfortunately I will be buying a car in the near future because I am a Doula and plan to attend births after my daughter is 1yr old.

Goodluck!


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## MamaKickyPants

We live in Toronto, Ontario, and while we do have a car (my DH cannot take transit to work - he works at the air-traffic-control centre at the airport and there's no transit to the middle of the airfield!) I don't drive and can get anywhere I want in the city, and find it very easy to get around. If you live near a subway station, it's best, and you can get anywhere you need with one subway ride plus a bus ride. This is a great city!! We love it.


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## merpk

For the several decades that I was a Manhattanite, I was car-free.









Great public transportation there.

But then again, who can afford the rent, so there's a trade-off, you know:?


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## kaleidoscopeeyes

San Francisco...car-free for a year now. The rent is crazy, but I think the amount I'd save by moving down the peninsula some (or across the bay) would all be blown on paying for a car (and gas and insurance and maintenance...) If I still had the car I'd be a little angrier about the cost of rent here lol


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## bente

I live in Oslo, Norway and we are car free







:


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## Lemon Juice

I used to live in Portland, OR and it is very easy to be car free there. We were not but close friends of ours are. She has 3 kids and nanny's after school for 2 other children and manages quite well w/out a car. You can spy her all over the neighborhood w/ her Burley and older son on his bike too. Plus Portland is not a huge crazy major city...it's mellow and laid back and the public transp. is awesome!









eta, we were car free before kids in Seattle and loved it!


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## ldsmom

We lived in Spanish Fork, Utah, a small town about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. We had a van that I used rarely - my husband put more miles on his bike the last two years in a row than we did on our van. The public transit system was awful, but our house was in a location that was walkable to most things. I think it just depends on where you're willing to have a house - I am guessing that in many small towns, you can be close to a library, park, and grocery store. Some people may need more options than that, but it worked for me.

We recently moved to Kentucky and are struggling to find affordable housing that will enable us to live a simple, walkable, yet sustainable (big garden, chickens) lifestyle. We think we will have to compromise somewhere, we just don't know on what aspect yet. Any suggestions?


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## sugareemoma

I am car free and live near Seattle WA. I commute on the bus with my DD for an hour twice a day. I used to live in the Bay area and miss BART and MUNI, the public transit there was much more reliable than it is here. It is still easy to get around, I just have to wait.







:


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## monkeyscience

I'm car-free in Houston, and I wouldn't recommend it. (Nor is it the small city you're looking for!) Public transportation is fairly terrible (though at least it exists!), and the city is HUGE.

I was car-free in Chicago as a college student, and that was much, much more manageable. Regardless of what Chicagoans say, the public transit there is pretty decent. Definitely not the best in the world, but it covers a HUGE part of the city, and many of the buses/trains run frequently. It's also much more common not to have a car in Chicago than it is in Houston - people in Houston look at you like you have three heads if you say you don't have a car. But, again, Chicago is not at ALL a small city!


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## Ms Apricot

Car free in Sydney, Australia. Generally we like it (we're spending our money on rent, school fees and travel), but there are days when it's an inconvenience...


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## sunny*pa*mom

We live in State College, Pennsylvania. It's a small city. We still have one car but could easily be car-free. DH doesn't drive, he takes the bus to work in the winter and rides his bike in the summer (and takes the kids to preschool on the bus/bike). We can walk to the grocery store, lots of parks, the school, the public pool. We like it.


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## dislocator3972

We're not quite car free but we easily could be here in Denver. We really only have a car for road trips, and since we take usually one a month renting just gets pricey. When I moved here I had no car (my DH did the same thing) and neither of us had any problems. The winters are brief and mild, and Denver is really a pretty small town. The suburbs are huge, but the city itself is affordable and small and has lots of easy public transportation. And bike trails! I read somewhere that Denver has more bike trails per capita than any other American city. I don't know if it's true, but I don't really doubt it. Bikes everywhere, parks everywhere, great walkable city and lots of amazing things to do and see. If a university here had the program DH wants, we'd probably never leave.

Good luck on your search!


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## geomom

We've been car free in small town MN (no kids), Portland, OR (no kids), Salt Lake City (1 kid), and Madison, WI (2 kids). They were all reasonably places to be car free. Portland was probably the easiest though.


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## lilya'smum

We're not car free exactly, we have small car for roadtrips, but we never use it in the city. We live in London. I really like walking around here, and the public transportation is not so bad. I enjoy taking the bus


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## HarperRose

Come join us on our City Dwellers/Walkers tribe thread!

I live in San Antonio, TX and we have 1 car (dh needs it for work, commutes often) and are buying a 2nd one. There is not enough stuff very close by that we can walk to for home schooling stuff and our Barnes & Noble is moving in a couple weeks to much further away.

Unfortunately, in San Antonio, you need a car. Also, our sidewalks end. If there is a sidewalk. We've walked the mile to the grocery and had to walk on grass beside the street because there is no sidewalk.







:


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## Comtessa

My DH and I are car-lite in Cleveland, OH. He has one to get to work, but I made him promise not to make me get a car ever.









I'd say Cleveland counts as a mid-size city - not big, not small. We're lucky to have some nice, extremely affordable, quiet urban neighborhoods. We love ours, and everything is pretty walkable. We're less than a mile from almost all the services we need (grocery store, chiropractor, library, post office, restaurants), and we have a corner store run by a lovely fellow named Fred that meets our immediate needs too. Public transportation in the city is more or less adequate, if you have plenty of patience and a sense of humor. I bike everywhere I can (well, not since I got so hugely pregnant... my balance is way too shaky for that right now), and I'm looking forward to getting a bike trailer to travel around with baby. I've been car-free for four years now, most of my family & friends think it's crazy, but they're used to it by now.

Most people in Cleveland own cars, so it's a challenge sometimes, but I'm accustomed to the lifestyle I live and I wouldn't get a car for _anything_. So if you're looking for a small(ish) city, and if you don't mind fairly harsh winters, Cleveland's a great place to live car-free!


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## Chouette

We're car-free in San Diego, a big city that LOVES their cars. We have a 26 month old, and it works for us. Our public transportation is mediocre but at least we don't have to deal with rough winter weather!


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## shayinme

Quote:


Originally Posted by *monkeyscience* 
I was car-free in Chicago as a college student, and that was much, much more manageable. Regardless of what Chicagoans say, the public transit there is pretty decent. Definitely not the best in the world, but it covers a HUGE part of the city, and many of the buses/trains run frequently. It's also much more common not to have a car in Chicago than it is in Houston - people in Houston look at you like you have three heads if you say you don't have a car. But, again, Chicago is not at ALL a small city!

As a former life-long Chicagoan, I totally agree with you. I lived in Chicago 29 years and never drove, the public transit is good. Folks knock it but now that I live in New England I totally miss it. You are right, not having a car is unless you are in the burbs or far outskirts of the city is not seen as strange, some area like northside lakefront are not car friendly at all.

As to the OP, I live in southern Maine and we only have 1 car and while we have lived this way for 7 years now that my 3 yo is getting older its becoming a hassle. There are buses but not convenient and downright costly, a rt to the city which is only a 20 min drive is now $10.







:

Shay


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## ancoda

I went to high school in Elma, Wa. It is a town of about 3000 people and lots of families were car free there.
We now live just east of Portland, oregon, and has already been mentioned it is very easy to be car free around here.


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## east carolina

We're car-free in Prague, Czech Republic. It's really easy. But major European cities tend to have really great public transport. We have 1 kid and honestly, our life with a car would be a hassle (outrageous price of gas, insurance, getting your car broken into in the inner city which is where we live, fighting for parking...).


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## 1hautemama

I'm from New Orleans and when I lived there I rarely used my car. Since I lived Uptown I used the streetcars to get to and from work or school. NOLA is also a walking friendly city and not crazy huge like Houston (where I went to college). A trip to Whole Foods or the neighborhood grocer is an easy bike ride if you don't plan to do some mega shopping. We live in S. Florida now and the town is small but everything is pretty spread out so a car is necessary. Also, the winters in The Big Easy are mild compared to up north, the culture is awsome, great music, nice parks for the kids, you would love it! Can you tell I love my NOLA? Ah, how I miss home...


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## kisskisskiddo

i live in portland, OR and am about to be car free... does that count. i have not ridden the bus here yet, but am planning on it once i get an umbrella stroller for ds. i hope it is as easy as my fellow portlanders say it is!!!


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## luv_my_babes

...


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## paakbaak

car free and live in MEXICO CITY!!! yes, used to live in spain, 7years on bike. now i can´t get on a bike with my son in this city...but walk and learning to looove the metrobus...nothing else to do about it!


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## Halfasianmomma

We've always been car free, and used to live in Toronto, Ontario, now living in Montreal, Québec. Both cities have pretty good public transit, but Montreal's transit system sucks for accessibility for strollers (and wheelchairs!). Also, perhaps because it's a smaller city, Montreal's transit system is smaller (and a tad less reliable) than Toronto's.

I generally don't miss having a car except for things like large grocery shopping trips and trips to the outskirts of the city. We're thinking of signing up for a communal automobile program in a few years, where you pay a yearly fee and get to "borrow" a car from the program, for a few hours or a few days. Aside from that, street parking here is SOOOOO complicated with all the signs pointing this way and that, poorly explaining at which time and which period of the year it's permitted to park. Ugh. No thank you.


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## Kyrawesome

I'm no longer car-free but when I was I lived in : Asheville, Boone, and charlotte NC


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## klk197

I've lived in Philadelphia without a car for 8 years, and for 5 years in State College PA before that. While the populations are worlds apart, I find some of the same 'small town' pleasures in the big city that I enjoyed in State College. Its impossible to go to the grocery store without running into friends or at least familiar faces. Each neighborhood here has its own attitude and potential for an intimate feel--and these can't be experienced any way but on foot.


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## UrbanEarthMom

Car-free in Downtown Boston. We walk, take the T, and use www.zipcar.com for suburban, out of town excursions. Lovin' it!


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## aikigypsy

I used zipcar when I lived in Boston (Cambridge), too. I didn't have kids then, but was pregnant, and I think we could have managed that way for a long time, with a baby. We now live in Galway, Ireland. It's a small town, but we live right in the middle of it, so being car-free here is easy. We can borrow a car or rent if we want to get out of town, into the country, but we rarely do because it's such a hassle. I've alsso

We're about to move back to the US, to a place 8 miles from the nearest grocery store, so we'll need to get a car again, which I'm not looking forward to. Europe, even Ireland, is set up much better for people without cars, in general.


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## Deer Hunter

Move to Charles county Maryland. It is still sort or rural and layed back, but there is public transport. I'm car free not by choice but because I'm blind, and i do fine here.


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## gothmom

Donated our car to NPR last month- haven't driven in over 3 mos. Totally car-free w/ a 14 y/o & a 6 y/o in downtown Portland, OR! Loving it!


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## kaleidoscopeeyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *UrbanEarthMom* 
Car-free in Downtown Boston. We walk, take the T, and use www.zipcar.com for suburban, out of town excursions. Lovin' it!

I use Zipcar too. It's a great!


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## mermaidmama

Is there a tribe for moms who don't drive......or don't have acess to a car?
I don't drive and am interested in how others in the same boat stay sane and keep the kids entertained.


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## Amatullah0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mermaidmama* 
Is there a tribe for moms who don't drive......or don't have acess to a car?
I don't drive and am interested in how others in the same boat stay sane and keep the kids entertained.

I do drive, but we only have one car and no public transportation









I DO go insane. I spend the day crawl-racing my ds around the house and playing peek-a-boo, or trying to cook with a baby on my leg









at his age, he doesnt get too bored around the house, he's still discovering it, but I imagine that when he's older(and its no longer winter) we will do a lot more walking (3hrs to the library, 10-20 min to the park)

oooh! that reminds me, SPRING is almost here! 17 more days to go! (too bad theres still snow on the ground







)


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## mama_ani

I fit in here!

No car, no licence for me!
I hope to someday but it seems to be one of those things that never happen.


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## babygirlsmama

Hey! Me too! We used to live in D.C. and having only one car made perfect sense (we barely needed that one!). Now we are in a more rural area (hopefully not for long) and I totally can relate. It is a big challenge to feel sane. I try to get out for walks, but hate the cold weather. Besides there is nowhere interesting to go....other than pacing in circles in our neighborhood. I really miss the urban environment when I could hop on a metro train, bus or taxi all the time and go anywhere.

The good thing is my husband comes home fairly early (usually around 3-4) each day, so I'm not too stir crazy. But still....

It really gets me thinking about how car-dependent most of society is. Having been not so for a long time, it is a big adjustment to me to live in an area where virtually everyone drives to and fro in their cars.

And then there is the baby angle. My LO hates her car seat! On the rare occasions that we go to D.C. and can metro/bus around easily, I just love it, and so does she. I swear I get more done in a few hours than all day in the burbs. No car seat to contend with, no parking, just pop in and out. Plus, I can focus on her and not be a slave to the carseat rules. One day we rented a car so I could go to a play date and pick a friend up at the airport. By mid-day, I realized how separated from my LO I felt. Granted, she was just in the backseat in her carseat, but I am used to wearing her, carrying her, being with her all the time. Then it occurred to me that if you are living like most folks do, their babies do spend a lot of time in car seats running errands, dropping other kids at school, etc.

As far as staying sane, I'm not sure I do! At least not as sane as I would be otherwise. I don't feel like the answer is another car....we don't want to go that route. For me the answer would be moving to another area where shopping, social interaction, etc. is walkable easily. Hopefully we will do that soon.. Working on it!

I too, would LOVE to hear some ideas about staying sane without the car!


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## mamamoogs

hi mamas
I do have a car but I do not drive. so it is a bit different situation for me.
I will go as far as the grocery store or bank etc, but I have a horrible fear of driving and only go as far as i need to which isnt more then a mile or two done the road. It is a pain because I have to rely on DD to take us to the doctors or places out of my range,so it is almost like not having a car i suppose. I have been this way since i got my license 25 years ago nothing has changed.

I find that I am having a bit of a problem now because my DD is older (5) and wants to go places her friends go I will not drive to them, it is even harder explaining to other moms why i dont drive when they see me around the neighborhood driving my car.... So I tend to just shy away from making firends with others who dont already know me. kwin? anyhow we do walk a lot to the beach to the library, aroundt he neighborhood playground etc when the weather permits...


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## Eyelet

Hey all! I think I belong here. I don't have a license or drive, though we do have a car that my husband drives. When we lived in Chicago (where we lived until 6 years ago), it was no biggie and I took public transportation everywhere, but now that we live in the sticks it can be really isolating sometimes. Not to mention many people's reaction that I'm a non-driver...I think lots of folks think it's weird or something.


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## demetria

Jaki said:


> Hey all! I think I belong here. I don't have a license or drive, though we do have a car that my husband drives. When we lived in Chicago (where we lived until 6 years ago), it was no biggie and I took public transportation everywhere, but now that we live in the sticks it can be really isolating sometimes. Not to mention many people's reaction that I'm a non-driver...I think lots of folks think it's weird or something.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [/QUOTEto
> 
> We have a ton of public transport options for long distance and in town so we just jump on a tram, train or bus for each new adventure.


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## shayinme

Guess I should join you guys.







I grew up in Chicago and lived there till I was almost 30 and never learned to drive, really was not an issue. Well 8 years ago we moved to Maine and it turns out I have a very bad fear of driving with a capital D. I raised my eldest in Chicago and it was a non issue but my dd is 4.5 and its becoming harder to be a non-driver since Maine is fairly rural. Granted we live in a town that is walkable but for playdates unless the person lives in town too its hard to schedule things. I am also a WOHM and my dh drives me to work and to work related things (he telecommutes so he has some flexibilty to do that) but since he works too he can't drive us for play stuff.









People look at you like there is something wrong with you, I generally don't explain my phobia instead using the fact we only have 1 car as the reason the hubby drops me off and picks me up. Of course we only havw 1 car because owning 2 would be silly. I have seriously been thinking about using hypnosis to get over this issue since until recently it was not a huge deal but now its starting to affect my quality of life. There are buses you can take to get to the city where the museums are but they are really costly ($5 each way!!) and the times they run are just not convenient. By car we could be at the children's museum in 20 mins by bus its literally an hour and the buses run every 3-4 hours.

As for keeping sane in the present, we walk to coffee shop, library and just around. Though after a while its kind of boring even for me.


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## mkksmom

I'm in the "has a car but afraid to drive it" group. I will drive on the back streets in my neighborhood without hesitation, but there is no reason to do it these days. I pulled my 5 yo dd out of public school, so we spend a lot of time in the house. I could drive to the mall, but I figure between the germs and lugging the baby around and all her stuff and all, I never end up doing it. I need to get over it. I've always been cautious, but I got more and more nervous after a series of car accidents among the members of my family when I was in college. First my mom was driving and I was a passenger in an accident. We both ended up in physical therapy. Then my boyfriend at the time was in an accident and ended up in physical therapy one month later. Then 3 months after that, my mom, dad, and brother were in an accident. Everyone was injured, but my mom was the worst off. She spent a month in a medicine-induced coma. I was the rock during the time she was in the hospital. I just didn't want to drive after that. Didn't do it for about 2 years. Then I had to get a car and drive so I could teach. I found a job that involved a 30 minute drive daily, and I was more brave then. But then I got rear-ended. I found back streets after that. Once I became a SAHM, I started driving less again. I have to give myself a major pep-talk before driving to a store because it involves a 2 lane, hectic street, and I hate the sweaty palms that go with driving there.

I've beena SAHM for 5.5 years now, almost 6. I'm used to it, but I probably spend way too much time on the computer so I can be social in some way.


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## WindyCityMom

Well, I don't drive, don't know how, and don't care to learn how (and have attempted). I've got SPD and man is it a challenge in itself!

I DO however live in Chicago so public transportation is readily availible and abundant







Things are generally in close proximity to eachother anyways so I'm able to walk most places, given the weather is decent


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## bluebirdiemama

This is the place for me!
I haven't had a car in over 2 years. . . . . just staying home with the kiddos. Now that it's spring it won't be so hard. But because of where we live, and the lack of sidewalks I won't be able to bike my kids past the end of the neighborhood. So I guess if we want to go anywhere, we'll have to walk. The library isn't far though


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## sleepingbeauty

I don't have my own yet but I don't drive or have a licence. OH does. He's got a car too. I'm working on it.... Public trans. sucks in my town from what I hear (we just moved last month, not sure yet).


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## lapis

also not quite a mama yet (trying trying trying) but i HAVE toted around tons of kids (as a nanny) w/o a car in: seattle, san fran, nyc, dc and hopefully soon here in austria! I never for a second wished I'd had one... and am looking forward to many more walks and bus rides! however that being said I've only lived in big cities or cities w/ good public transport... hopefully when we move again we'll continue to be able to have the luxury (I guess its a luxury to not drive in this day and age?) of living without a car... I actually think we like it so much that it would take the "perfect" job to get us somewhere where we'd HAVE to drive.


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## happyhats

Hi. I don't have a license (had one, let it expire when I lived out of state and didn't have a car or money for a new license). The hubs and I share one car, which he uses 10+ hours a day for days a week for work. I've been toying with getting a license though. I would like to volunteer, maybe take some crafting classes, etc, but they're all out of town. For now though it's not a huge deal being at home. DD is a little over a year, we do our shopping on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and I have friends/family come over. The weather is starting to turn nice so we just took our first outdoor walk! There's not a lot to walk to nearby, but I'm thinking of trying my stamina and walking to the park or other places in the future.


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## samann1121

Wow, hi everybody! I don't drive either. I just never got my license. I think I'm going to need to get it here pretty soon, as my husband is going to do some traveling in the next year. We also only have one car, and we mean to keep it that way, even if I do get a license.

My 10mo DD and I do go a little crazy sometimes, especially when the weather is bad. When it's nice, we can go for a ride to the park or library with our bike and bike trailer -- best money I ever spent!

I know how to drive, I just never got my license. I'm not afraid of driving, I just don't really like doing it, and I've found ways to get around it for almost 10 years now. People think I'm crazy (especially since I live in Oklahoma -- wide, open spaces and no good public transportation!). But I'm glad of what it has meant for me. I've had to be more flexible (something I've always struggled with), and I get to spend more time with my husband. I'm afraid if I got a license I'd never see him!


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## seim.ge

We don't have a car, and we love it. Really, we do. "Bus" was one of my son's first words, and at 19 months I can tell him which route we are taking and he knows which way to walk to get to the correct bus stop. We love it.

The hardest part, obviously, is grocery shopping. We are fortunate enough to live in AmazonFresh's delivery area, which has helped tremendously. We also live on a beautiful trail that takes you a 1/2 mile to the grocery store, so we are able to make "emergency" runs fairly easily.

As far as activities go, we find that living car-free makes it easier for us to get around. We don't have to deal with traffic or parking, and we like that we aren't tied to a specific neighborhood when we go out. If we get tired of hanging around at the zoo and decide to leave, we can just wander and enjoy ourselves without having to worry about finding the car again. We'll run into another bus that will get us home eventually, no matter how far we wander from our usual route.

I only miss the car when I am trying to use Craigslist or Freecycle. I don't expect people to make ridiculous accommodations for me...I was the one who chose to live car-free, after all, and I don't expect people to inconvenience themselves for me. Sometimes it's ridiculous, though. I went to a lot of trouble to borrow a van to pick up a large item this week and the seller sold it out from under me. Another seller lives less than 10 minutes away from our house and drives right by our street every day on her way home from work, and she offered to let me pick the item up at her office so she has the item in her car as she drives by my house...but her office and house are both inaccessible by bus and I would have to walk 2 miles round trip to get to her. I offered to pay extra to cover her gas and "inconvenience" if she could even just meet me at the gas station on the corner...I mean really, I'm just asking her to pull off the road for 5 minutes max to save me two miles of walking in the rain and cold with a sick toddler, and she refused. I was so frustrated I told her to forget the whole thing; I'd rather pay full price for a brand new item from a reputable company where the people will treat me respectfully than get a good deal from a jerk. Whatever happened to moms supporting other moms, really? I don't expect everyone to give up their cars, but I do resent how those of us who DO take that step are punished for it. =/


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## FallenofTrack

I'm so happy I saw this thread, because I don't drive, and the issue of driving has been on my mind recently. I have never really been crazy about the concept of driving, and for the most part, I have usually been able to get to most of the places I need to go, by using a bus, taxi, or train, and in the past, immediate family members were nice enough to give me a ride, once in a while, if I needed to get somewhere that wasn't as readily accesible by public transportation. Where I live currently, I do have the option to take public transportation to get to most of the places I usually visit, such as the library, mall, grocery store, but I am fed up with using the bus service because of how crowded the bus that comes down my route, normally is. I am unlucky enough to live on a bus route that picks up a lot of passengers a long the way and by the time the bus gets to my stop, I am lucky if I can find a seat. And having to bring my two year old daughter, along, if I do need to go somewhere, just makes the situation even more difficult, because I have to bring her stroller and her diaper bag, and there is really no extra room on the bus to be able to rest these items. So I really don't go out that much, unless it's something that really has to be done. I am trying to make it a weekly habit to bring my daughter to the library, a couple of times a week, so I don't mind taking the bus to do that, but that's one of the only reasons that I will put up with the annoyance of having to use the bus.

My boyfriend and I have recently talked about me getting my license and then a car, so that our daughter and I can do more stuff outside of the home, while he is at work. I would like to be able to just jump in the car and drive to where I need to go and to take my daughter to different activities, instead of having to worry about the bus schedule and wasting time at bus stops, when having a car would make things a lot easier.


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## scrapadoozer

Quote:


Originally Posted by *shayinme* 
Guess I should join you guys.







I grew up in Chicago and lived there till I was almost 30 and never learned to drive, really was not an issue. Well 8 years ago we moved to Maine and it turns out I have a very bad fear of driving with a capital D. I raised my eldest in Chicago and it was a non issue but my dd is 4.5 and its becoming harder to be a non-driver since Maine is fairly rural. Granted we live in a town that is walkable but for playdates unless the person lives in town too its hard to schedule things. I am also a WOHM and my dh drives me to work and to work related things (he telecommutes so he has some flexibilty to do that) but since he works too he can't drive us for play stuff.









People look at you like there is something wrong with you, I generally don't explain my phobia instead using the fact we only have 1 car as the reason the hubby drops me off and picks me up. Of course we only havw 1 car because owning 2 would be silly. I have seriously been thinking about using hypnosis to get over this issue since until recently it was not a huge deal but now its starting to affect my quality of life. There are buses you can take to get to the city where the museums are but they are really costly ($5 each way!!) and the times they run are just not convenient. By car we could be at the children's museum in 20 mins by bus its literally an hour and the buses run every 3-4 hours.

As for keeping sane in the present, we walk to coffee shop, library and just around. Though after a while its kind of boring even for me.

Boy, I can relate. (Right down to the living in rural Maine part.) I'm 31 and have never had my driver's license. It is becoming such a pain in the butt to not have my license that I am thinking it might actually be the motivation I need to get it. My husband of 10 years is an absolute sweetheart but he is really tired of being the sole driver in our household and honestly, I can't blame him at all. I am sick of feeling like this is something shameful that I need to hide, but when I think about going for even just the permit test, I start hyperventilating. I just don't know how to get this phobia in check. I am soooo ready to have this thing conquered and behind me. But how?


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## shayinme

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scrapadoozer* 
Boy, I can relate. (Right down to the living in rural Maine part.) I'm 31 and have never had my driver's license. It is becoming such a pain in the butt to not have my license that I am thinking it might actually be the motivation I need to get it. My husband of 10 years is an absolute sweetheart but he is really tired of being the sole driver in our household and honestly, I can't blame him at all. I am sick of feeling like this is something shameful that I need to hide, but when I think about going for even just the permit test, I start hyperventilating. I just don't know how to get this phobia in check. I am soooo ready to have this thing conquered and behind me. But how?

Yes, Maine is definitely not a friendly place to live when you don't drive. We are in southern Maine 20 mins south of Portland and there are buses in our area to get around in town as well as to get to Portland. Yet they are not convenient at all, some new play places opened up in Portland I was sad tp see you pretty much must drive to get to them.









I am guessing since you are in Maine you have similiar issues that people really do look at you here like you have 3 heads when you mention you don't drive. Or folks see my hubby dropping me off, I swear I feel all of about 10 years old.







My biggest thing though is feeling it limiits my dd because now that the weather is getting warm, my work schedule is flexible enough that it would be great to connect with others but its hard to.

I did find a couple of hypnotherapists in Southern Maine that I am toying with calling because I want to get beyond this and feel like I have a life. Sounds crazy but in a weird way I was happy to see you were in Maine because I felt like I was the only one in Maine who does not drive.


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## almadianna

there is already a tribe of car free families to I have merged the two.


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## Mommel

Hooray!

I live in a small suburb of Portland, OR and we are TTC #1 now.

I have a car now, but it is old and on it's last leg, so we are selling it as soon as we can move closer to the light rail system back into the city, which we are plannning to do this summer.

We exclusively use public transportation three or four days a week now. The darn car was stolen last winter (then recovered) and I had to walk a half mile to the bus in the slush, so that's why we need to move closer in. Portland's transit system is indeed amazing - one of the best in the states from what I hear. And my car has been more of a hindrance than anything.

I found my tribe!!


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## rachelernst

My sister was car-free in Denver, albeit without kids. We were car-free in downtown Chicago before we had kids. Minneapolis/St. Paul would be a good possibility--I'm moving there this summer. Visit our MN/WI tribal area.


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## babymango

St Paul, MN and being car free here sucks. Bus schedules are more like suggestions, the bus comes whenever, and not often. Im pregnant with #2 and I think we will just have to give in and buy a car. Not happy.
I spent 10 years in Montreal, Canada without a car. Even with 2 kids we wouldn't need one. I could get to work faster by bus than by car!


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## shayinme

Quote:


Originally Posted by *babymango* 
St Paul, MN and being car free here sucks. Bus schedules are more like suggestions, the bus comes whenever, and not often. Im pregnant with #2 and I think we will just have to give in and buy a car. Not happy.
I spent 10 years in Montreal, Canada without a car. Even with 2 kids we wouldn't need one. I could get to work faster by bus than by car!

I think in the US outside of really large cities like NYC and Chicago and a few others it can often be more challenging than not to be car free. I was born and raised in Chicago, lived there till I was almost 30 and never drove, never even learned. The public transit system in most of the city is strong enough that you have multiple lines (bus & train) that service areas so you are not beholden to the schedule. I raised my eldest in the city and not driving was just not an issue. I also find in larger cities no one looks down on you for not driving since many are in the same boat.

Where I live now we only have 1 car and my fear/dislike of driving holds me back but with my youngest now entering school, I see the pressure ramping up to drive. Its hard to manage play dates or anything because things are just so spread out. What bus service we have is not terribly and actually pretty costly, to get into the city here is $10 Rt on the bus, yes $10. So from a cost perspective its not a good deal at all, which bugs me.


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## beanma

I'm not car-free, but I do know several car-free folks in Carrboro and Chapel Hill NC. We have a pretty decent free bus system here. It runs often throughout the day, though not very often at night. DH doesn't drive to work and either walks or takes the bus. Carrboro, in particular, is very walkable also. Lots of bikes here, too.


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## accountclosed3

we are car free in wellington, NZ. city of 250,000 people (then the greater area--which includes the Hutt Valley and the Kapiti Coast takes it to 400,000).

it's pretty walkable all around, and the bus system is efficient and clean to get to all of the major "neighborhoods." then, there is the light rail system, which takes you a good distance out of town--through those neighborhoods in the hutt valley and up the kapiti coast.

for broader travel, there is a good ferry system to take us to the south island, plus a heavy-rail system (passenger trains and shipping) that can take us through the north island and part of the south island. then, it's buses from there that pretty much go anywhere in the country. there is also an extensive air-travel system here with both small private companies or the larger company like Air NZ.

it's fairly easy to get around without a car, though there are places that are even more remote, and therefore require getting a car of some sort. it needs to be a rather rugged car, because sometimes the roads on the maps become dotted lines for a bit--dirt roads--and then may or may not join up with paved roads again. it's kind of fun.

but, we don't know how to drive here yet. they drive on the other side of the road from the US, and we haven't learned. we also don't drive stick, so we have no clue on how to do that and most of the rentals--particularly the camper-van rentals--are manual transmissions!


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## scrapadoozer

Quote:


Originally Posted by *shayinme* 
Where I live now we only have 1 car and my fear/dislike of driving holds me back but with my youngest now entering school, I see the pressure ramping up to drive. Its hard to manage play dates or anything because things are just so spread out. What bus service we have is not terribly and actually pretty costly, to get into the city here is $10 Rt on the bus, yes $10. So from a cost perspective its not a good deal at all, which bugs me.

My dd is 6 now and the fact that I can't drive is becoming a real issue. If my DH, my brother, or friends can't drive us, we can't go. My daughter is missing out on playdates, potlucks, educational experiences and more due to my phobia. I feel like a liability when someone has to take away from their day to cart us around. I sometimes dearly wish I lived in a big city so it wasn't such an issue. I want to get my driver's permit before Father's Day so it can be my present to DH. He is such a prince for picking up my slack in this department. Shay, I SOOO feel your pain!


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## thehappydeer

We have been car free in Boulder CO, and Olympia WA. Boulder was great, super amazing transportation, and a lot of sunny days. It does snow, but its a dry snow usually and more easy to maneuver, I remember even riding our bikes in the snow without too much trouble, but this was before we had kids. There are a lot of bike and walking trails there that make for a great car free community. Olympia was harder with all the rain, but we just got good rain gear boots and water proof bags and made friends with the many types of precipitation you can come to know.


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## leilay

We were car-free in Ames, Iowa. When we moved to Minneapolis, everything was so spread out that we felt we needed a vehicle each to head different directions.


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## lemonapple

We are currently car-free in Berkeley, CA. The transportation system here is absolutely stunning and cheap. I have no desire for a car here..even on the rainy days!

We also lived car-free in San Juan, PR which sucked pretty hard core. The transportation system there is awful...there's just no telling when a bus is going to come, and they don't have a very far extension outside of the immediate city. Taxis were fairly cheap though.


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## darling_deedee

Hello!

I'm car-free in a town of 75,000 ppl outside of Vancouver, BC. The population count is misleading because we have miles and miles of farm land that they include in that total, plus the fact that my town is split into quarters. There is a really terrible bus system in place but I opt to walk. Because the town is in quarters, just about everything I need (bank, groceries, doctor, etc) are all well within walking distance.

If I desperately need to go to one of the other quarters I'm usually already going with someone who has a car. If not, I'll sometimes call up my mom/dad/sister and see if one of them is available to take me since they have vehicles.

I enjoy the money I save by being car-free (plus they don't let people with random seizures, like me, drive. teehee).

-Deedee


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## CarsonBookworm

We live in Northern Nevada car and license free, in a city of 50k that has reasonable inter-county public transportation....but horrific local public transportation. It is hard on us, but...we carry on.


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## changes

In what way do you experience trouble/challenge regarding driving through SPD if I may ask? I'm genuinely curious, because I belong in this tribe too, and I am not so sure why (even just) being in a car makes me so uncomfortable, or at I least havn't figured out every reason behind this.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WindyCityMom*
> 
> Well, I don't drive, don't know how, and don't care to learn how (and have attempted). I've got SPD and man is it a challenge in itself!


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## juniper_mama

I'm a US expat in Canberra, Australia and it's a great place to be car-free! Especially if you're willing to bike - great network of bicycle paths. Public transport okay from my experience but haven't had to rely on it too much. Going on five years without a car here (now with 14 month old DS).


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## habitat

Car-Free in Jamaica Plain. That's Boston, MA and TTC in January 2012. I hope to be car free forever. I do a lot of at-home work as well as nannying part-time around the corner from me. Baby and I walk to nearby grocery, bank, etc. I absolutely love it. I cycle a lot (without baby) to get around the city, but when I'm staying in the neighborhood, I walk. I can also take the commuter rail to my mom's area.


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## The Imp and I

Im in the scared to drive catagory. I can drive (or should that be could) and did when neccesary in England but once i moved to Texas I would only drive on the dirt roads where we lived in the boonies. Now that we live in San Antonio Im terrified. i get upset even as a passenger! This has been incredibly isolating as the sidewalks end abruptly the drivers have never heard of pedestrians and the distance between average house and grocery store is monstrous. oh and the bus is beyond sucky! I was majority car free in Bristol England because it was easier to walk/bus/train than drive... Now we're trapped from the time DH goes to work to when he comes home. He's bee a rock and does anything he can for me. We're moving to a better walkscore...69 from 0 and I think Im going to do something about my phobia. Now If I could just get people to quit trying to kill me on the cross walk when they turn right on red at 60mph. seriously.... its like they thought that traffic rule up to reduce the walking population!


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## TracyGladRags

I live in Portland, OR and am car-free! I don't have a driver's license (partly 'cause I'm scared, and partly 'cause I've never really needed one). I bike, bus, or walk most places. We have ZipCar here, and my boyfriend has an account so occasionally we use that -- for trips out of town, or when we moved and needed to buy some furniture. It's definitely easy to be car-free here.


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## itsybistyspider

expat family in Denmark. LIving in Copenhagen for 2 years, gave up our car (left it in USA)

We have a trailer to tote our 2.5 year old around in, i love it, she likes her space. Just wish it was warmer.....


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## gingerandpickles

We were car free living in Capitol Hill DC. It is a great place to be with kids and to be without a car. Outside of the city, there are lots of granola types and walkable neighborhoods in Takoma Park, MD


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## philomom

I'm not car free but wanted to chime in that a lot of folks in Portland, Oregon are.


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## melodyka

I have a friend that is casting for a new show to highlight people that are eco-friendly- car-free would be a great fit! if you are interested, please contact Sara at [email protected]
Must be contacted by Friday afternoon March 18th


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## melodyka

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