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Old 09-08-2010, 03:55 PM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 29,088,341 times
Reputation: 3630

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Just a point of curiosity. If you didn't have a car, could you get by? I got to thinking what my life would be like if I didn't have it as a musician. There are certain things I could still do easily, some I could do only with difficulty, and some that could not be done at all.

There is a grocery store nearby, so that's not a problem. I could still get to my day job and back, too, but it would take 2 additional hours out of my day unless I braved the rush-hour traffic on my bicycle every day. I could get to and from one of the after-school choirs where I work, but the second choir and the church job would have to go - there's no public transport nearby and it's miles from the train station, uphill. To do my laundry, I would need to take two buses at a cost of $6 a round trip, since there are no hookups in my rental house. And I would need to give piano lessons in my home instead of going to theirs, which would cause me to lose most if not all of my current students with their crazy schedules.

tl;dr version: it's possible for me to do without a car, but it would mean giving up a significant amount of income.
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Old 09-08-2010, 03:58 PM
 
Location: East Valley, AZ
3,849 posts, read 9,405,129 times
Reputation: 4021
Yes, I could definitely go without a car. I'm one mile from a grocery store and 4 miles from work.

Why do I have a car?

1) I'm in Arizona. You can't walk ANYWHERE in the heat.
2) I like the convenience
3) I can afford it
4) I have no family in town, so I rely on a car to visit them in another state
5) I like giving rides to people
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Old 09-08-2010, 04:13 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
5,994 posts, read 19,959,525 times
Reputation: 4078
If I had to I definitely could. I have two grocery stores, multiple fast food places and various other shops and two major indoor malls within 5 miles of me. I could also get as far out as San Jose (50 miles) (which is as far as I'm willing to drive for work) on Caltrain in a few hours. The east bay is largely accessible with BART and MUNI takes care of all transportation in San Francisco quite well. So if I really wanted to I could get rid of the car. But that would eliminate any of the road trips I often take, any driven vacations and add several hours to my daily transportation. It would also severely hinder my social life since I would have to ask someone for a ride every weekend. I'd rather drive.
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Old 09-08-2010, 04:14 PM
 
Location: In a house
13,250 posts, read 42,682,771 times
Reputation: 20198
In New England, the only way you could really do without a car is if you live and work -in- a city or downtown area of somewhere and can walk instead. Riding a bicycle isn't an option when there's 2 feet of snow on the ground.
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Old 09-08-2010, 04:15 PM
 
Location: 'Murica
1,302 posts, read 2,938,978 times
Reputation: 833
I already do ride a bicycle to work, but I consider my car a necessity, because even though the supermarket is a mile away, how would you fit all those groceries on a bicycle?
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Old 09-08-2010, 04:16 PM
 
362 posts, read 773,237 times
Reputation: 140
I take the bus, but the number of Ghetto Mothaf**kas with sh*tty attitudes is starting to get on my nerves. I mean damn, They get attitudes for every little thing that you do to them, as IF they mattered to society
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Old 09-08-2010, 04:20 PM
 
32,516 posts, read 37,061,266 times
Reputation: 32572
Another desert dweller here. Not walking anywhere when it's 90 degrees. At midnight.
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Old 09-08-2010, 04:59 PM
 
Location: South Jersey
7,780 posts, read 21,817,590 times
Reputation: 2353
we could not live with our all 3 of our cars Too far for work and we are just too busy and have to be places not to have a car
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Old 09-08-2010, 04:59 PM
 
Location: Pomona
1,955 posts, read 10,959,100 times
Reputation: 1562
It'd take 4 bus routes + walking a mile and a half down an industrial road with no sidewalks to get to work. Total time would be just under 3 hours for 20 miles. Yeah ... that's not going to work.
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Old 09-08-2010, 05:06 PM
 
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
24,342 posts, read 25,855,231 times
Reputation: 59580
Me, we need one because of medical issues and because we want to. How would you haul all the groceries and other goodies home without a car?
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