I’m coming up on about 6 months of car-free life in Seattle. It’s certainly been challenging at times, and it’s only possible at all because I work from home, but I’m making it work. I’m curious if anyone else is trying to do the same thing. There are a ton of anti-car communities online, but very few people seem to actually go car-free as, like, an ideological thing

  • ebike_enjoyer@slrpnk.netEnglish
    2·
    2 years ago

    Only Car lite here. I only own an ebike, but my partner owns a car, that we use for trips out of the city, mostly.

  • anji@lemmy.anji.nl
    2·
    2 years ago

    I wish.

    For most of my life I lived car-free in The Netherlands. It was never a problem to bike, walk, take buses or trains thanks to the excellent infrastructure. I never owned a car there.

    Ever since I moved to the US 10 years ago I’ve been driving my car daily. Not because I want to, but because I have to. My kids school is only 2 miles away but I have to drive as there’s just no pedestrian or cycling infrastructure between my house and the school…

  • any1th3r3 [he/him]@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    i’ve been car-free for 6+yrs now, and it has honestly not been an issue because i’ve always lived in (fairly) large urban centres with decent public transit or okay to good cycling infrastructure. if and when i need a car, i’m lucky enough to have carsharing programs available here (Lower Mainland BC)

  • sexy_peach@feddit.deEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    Uhm yes, me. And almost everyone I know. I think only every 3rd household in Berlin owns a car. Still waaaaay too many cars.

    • jenbanim@beehaw.orgOPEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      Ah, I’m jealous. Here in the US I’m the only person I know car-free by choice. My area is making some big strides towards reducing car dependence, but we’ve got a long ways to go to catch up with Berlin and other good urbanist cities in Europe

      • sexy_peach@feddit.deEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        Getting on a bike in Berlin is fairly dangerous unfortunately. But public transport is good here at least.

        Also, cars are really really expensive and I’d rather work a little bit less.

  • arcane_chill@lemmy.mlEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I’m also car free in Seattle. I sold the car in 2019, so the pandemic years were tough at times with limited public transport and the fear of COVID.

  • Chloyster [she/her]@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I’ve been car free since my catalytic converter got stolen in 2020. Didn’t feel like replacing it since I didn’t drive much anyway and I donated the rest of the car. I’m not fully free though because my gf has a car and we live together. So on trips to the store and stuff I still benefit from a car

  • Comrade@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I myself have been car-free for about a year now. I own a Lectric XP ebike, and if you can learn to ride on the road and plan your route, it’s not too hard to commute via ebike, even in the states. Also helps is that there is a long bike trail that run throughout the metro area. In addition, the bus service in my city is very underrated and actually goes to places that people care about. So yeah, if you can operate an ebike, you can live car free.

    • jenbanim@beehaw.orgOPEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      I actually got a Radcity 5 Plus recently - I love it! I actually don’t even need to use it on a daily basis because most everything is more convenient by walking or bus, but it’s great for once or twice a week type trips

  • The Cuuuuube@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I lived car free in the DC area for a long time. The only true challenge I faced was taking my dog to the vet. I had a lot of friends tell me they didn’t realize it was possible to live car free until they watched me make it work. The biggest advice I have is to figure out the bus system near you. Usually your goal is to connect yourself to higher and higher quality mass transit

    • jenbanim@beehaw.orgOPEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      I had a lot of friends tell me they didn’t realize it was possible to live car free until they watched me make it work.

      This is part of my motivation! And thanks - I am lucky to have good bus service in my area

  • luna@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I’ve always been car-free. I have never had a license. I specifically organized my life to be car-free. I moved from my parents’ place in a hellish suburb directly into a dense urban area on the east coast of the US after hours of diligent research into walkability scores, Google Maps, good old-fashioned in-person urban exploration, and spreadsheeting to verify that the things I need were within reach of walking / biking / public transit.

    I was thoroughly orange-pilled 10 years before Not Just Bikes started.

  • Strawberry@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I’m in Chicago and just take buses and trains everywhere if I have to go beyond walking distance. As someone with a young child it can be a bit difficult sometimes but it’s mostly manageable. if I have to go somewhere weird in the city that that would take multiple lines to get to I just use an Uber, this is so rare.

    This isn’t an ideological thing for me or anything I just don’t have car money

    • neamhsplach@beehaw.orgEnglish
      2·
      2 years ago

      I’m car free for financial reasons too haha! There’s also a decent car sharing app where I live which I can use when I really need a car, like for going out to the countryside or moving something bulky. Between the upkeep of my bike, public transport tickets and occasionally renting a shared car, the cost of getting around is really low!

    • ConstableJelly@beehaw.orgEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      I was largely car free in Chicago (still used ours sometimes when we were going somewhere where we had to bring lots of supplies, like the beach or a big grocery trip). But since moving back to Florida there’s just no way. Everything is miles apart, and bus routes can only cover so much and and even those double back on themselves in inconvenient ways.

  • karce@beehaw.org
    1·
    2 years ago

    I wish I could. It is impossible to live car free in my state though. I’d have to move somewhere that would better support it like Philly or Chicago.

  • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.techEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    Hey I’m Seattle too! Unfortunately I’m not yet, but I’m working towards being. King County Metro has a pickup within the block, but it takes 45 minutes to take that bus to the light rail, so about 1:20 to get to the city one way. When the Lynnwood extension opens then that will be cut down significantly, and with East Link I may be able to go down to a 1-car household

  • Butterbee (She/Her)@beehaw.orgMEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I’m in Nanaimo BC and I live more or less car free. I own a car but I just put storage insurance on it and don’t drive it unless I absolutely need to. Otherwise I use my ebike to get around town. This works because we have some good multi-use paths that can take me from one end of town to the other and I don’t have to mix with traffic often.