Just wondering, im not trying to be rude. Im scared to drive and i dont live near buses, nor do i want to pay someone to drive me? maybe i should save up for a bike?
I stumbled across this community and now im curious…
anyways how do you all get places?
You have to be deliberate about where you live. If you don’t want to be car dependent, you have to move somewhere that isn’t car dependent or you’re gonna have a Bad Time™.
I grew up in a car-dependent suburban shithole called Langley, and moved to Vancouver at the earliest opportunity where I could commute via transit, scooter, or bike. Every time I moved after that (7 different cities so far) it’s been to places where I can safely walk, cycle, and/or take transit because not being car-dependent was a high priority for me.
I should also point out that this decision, while resulting in higher rent & mortgages than if I’d chosen suburban life, has meant I’ve not spent the roughly $10k annually to maintain a car, which meant that I could afford a to buy a good-sized home in a bike-friendly city. We expect to pay off the mortgage this year.
Car-free really is what it says on the tin: freedom.
This. The two most important places are the home and the workplace. It is ideal if average daily commuting is less than one hour. But you can factor in that healthy humans positively need about one hour of daily excercise per day, so you can subtract that as gym time.
Everything else flows from chosing the right places and making it a priority to be able to get there either by bike or public transport.
Having done that, you will invariably find that you do not spend more time on errands and getting around than people which own a car. Inhabitants of Copenhagen or Amsterdam do not spent more time commuting than inhabitants if Houston or Los Angeles.
It is also great to chose a place with a community which has local social interactions. Most humans need that, too.
please tell ishmael I said hi.
You know, I read that book as a kid 'cause my grandmother came to visit annoyed that I’d published a book and not told her. I think was 17 at the time.
It was one of those books that really got to me though. It changed my entire worldview and I still think of it from time to time. I’m now 46.
found it in a cabin we rented in 1998? maybe 99? profoundly changed the way I look at the world.
makes me wonder how the real quinn deals with the impact he had…