Look, the way I figure it, I have only owned a car like 17% of my life. I have had access to a car to drive maybe 25% of my life. I might be a bit of a statistical anomaly compared to the average suburban American 29-year old male, which I would guess has owned/driven more than me. I did not get my license until I was 17, I did not drive for 2 years on my mish in Europe, and then I lived in a small college town for a couple more years before I decided I needed a car (I really didn’t).
So it really shouldn’t be that hard to live without a car. I’ve done it before. But before was the Czech Republic, where there are buses and trams and metros to rely on. Before I lived a block away from campus, a few blocks from the grocery, and I didn’t have a job nor a need to travel frequently outside my two-mile bubble.
Now will be more of a challenge. First of all, it’s not just me, I have my wife, who is remarkably tolerant of the idea of going car free. She was the one who pushed us over the edge when I was resigned to lassoing us further into debt with a massive car loan. Second, we live in a medium-sized American college town, except now we are far from campus and I’m not in school anymore. Third, I have become a fat slob and am accustomed to the enormous luxury of a personal vehicle.
That being said, I will admit that my anti-car roots have been forming the last few years. I have posted briefly before of my future utopia where we all live without cars. While that is unlikely to ever happen, I do think that at a glacial pace things may change.
I decided I wanted to make my personal journey without a car more of an interactive people for the two people who read my blog. So for the next little while, I will be blogging my experience without a car. I will relate the struggles. I will relate the joys. Stay tuned.
