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I didn't want to hijack the other thread here about driving, but am wondering if anyone has given up owning a car after retiring.
I'm having mixed feelings about doing this. I'm moving to a small town after retiring and purposely planning to buy a home within easy walking distance to most things I need in the downtown area. There is also public transportation available which is no out of pocket cost for seniors. I just need to get a bus pass and can ride the bus as often as I want. The town is small enough where every corner along the bus route is a potential stop, you just have to wave the bus driver to stop and pick you up. The route would take me to the big box stores, hospital and medical area as well. There is also a taxi service available.
I'm not big on driving around and really don't enjoy it but maybe that's because I live in So Cal currently where I feel like driving is a big hassle, dangerous and just not enjoyable 90 percent of the time.
I have a 2011 kia with only 55,000 miles on it. That should tell you how little I drive now. Do I spend the money transporting my car across the country or sell it, rent a car for a couple of weeks when I first move there to get major shopping done and get situated?
I feel like if I transport my car over there, after a couple of weeks, the car will just sit there with very little use. If I don't transport my car, I can rent a car every once in a while to take road trips when I feel like it, and I won't have the hassle of car maintenance and registration.
Money really isn't the big issue here. I can buy another car if I decide I really don't like the bus system and miss driving. I'm traveling there again in a couple of weeks, will get a bus pass and check it out.
Any thoughts? Has anyone gone without a car after retiring?
I would never give up my car unless I became disabled. Do you really plan on schlepping groceries onto a bus? What if the bus doesn’t go to somewhere you’d like to go? What if you want to go visit a relative? Sounds like an awful idea.
I would never give up my car unless I became disabled. Do you really plan on schlepping groceries onto a bus? What if the bus doesn’t go to somewhere you’d like to go? What if you want to go visit a relative? Sounds like an awful idea.
How many bags of groceries would a single person have to schlepp?
And for non perishable items - just have them delivered via Amazon or some other online retailer.
I didn't want to hijack the other thread here about driving, but am wondering if anyone has given up owning a car after retiring.
I'm having mixed feelings about doing this. I'm moving to a small town after retiring and purposely planning to buy a home within easy walking distance to most things I need in the downtown area. There is also public transportation available which is no out of pocket cost for seniors. I just need to get a bus pass and can ride the bus as often as I want. The town is small enough where every corner along the bus route is a potential stop, you just have to wave the bus driver to stop and pick you up. The route would take me to the big box stores, hospital and medical area as well. There is also a taxi service available.
I'm not big on driving around and really don't enjoy it but maybe that's because I live in So Cal currently where I feel like driving is a big hassle, dangerous and just not enjoyable 90 percent of the time.
I have a 2011 kia with only 55,000 miles on it. That should tell you how little I drive now. Do I spend the money transporting my car across the country or sell it, rent a car for a couple of weeks when I first move there to get major shopping done and get situated?
I feel like if I transport my car over there, after a couple of weeks, the car will just sit there with very little use. If I don't transport my car, I can rent a car every once in a while to take road trips when I feel like it, and I won't have the hassle of car maintenance and registration.
Money really isn't the big issue here. I can buy another car if I decide I really don't like the bus system and miss driving. I'm traveling there again in a couple of weeks, will get a bus pass and check it out.
Any thoughts? Has anyone gone without a car after retiring?
2007 SUV owner here - 61K miles. I don't drive around a lot either. I do have to keep a car since where i live i can't just walk down the street to the store. I did quit going to the more distant places in order to support my local store.
Maybe keep your car for a few months to a year and see how it works out.
I've been retired since 2005, but gave up driving, at least temporarily, a little over a year ago and haven't really missed it. Stores are within easy walking distance. If for some reason I need to take the bus, I have a senior citizens bus pass so I can ride the bus for thirty cents. I might decide to start driving again at some point, but for now I'm fine doing without.
2007 SUV owner here - 61K miles. I don't drive around a lot either. I do have to keep a car since where i live i can't just walk down the street to the store. I did quit going to the more distant places in order to support my local store.
Maybe keep your car for a few months to a year and see how it works out.
I thought about that too and it might be what I end up doing. I tend to be kind of frugal and am having a difficult time in my mind justifying spending $1500 to transport the car and then go through the hassle and expense of registering it in the new state when it may not really be necessary.
Everything I think I need on a regular basis will be within a 5-10 minute walk including entertainment, coffee shops, small grocery store, pharmacy, restaurants, library, local pub, and so on. And probably most important, I tend to be a home body and not very adventurous about getting in a car and just driving.
I’ve been retired a little over 4 years and have driven the same car over 21 years and it has <180k miles. My current city has a good bus system and I have been using it a little, more for the adventure of it than anything else since I moved here after I retired and it is a fun way to explore the city. I use my car mainly for going to the grocery store and any other in-town running around I need to do. I no longer consider it a reliable highway car and do rent when driving out of town. But it is nice to have it and because of the age the cost to register it and insure it is really low. I would even consider a somewhat expensive repair as that would be cheaper than buying another. Any new car (depending on your state) is going to have sales tax, high registration fees and high insurance driving up your monthly costs. Your car should have plenty of life left and I wouldn’t hesitate to drive it to my the new location to save on shipping costs. Since money isn’t the issue I would suggest you keep your options open, bear the additional costs of ownership until you get moved and then after you are settled and into your new groove, reevaluate. If you ditch it now and regret it you will be worse off than if you kept it. I’m driving less than 3k per year now.
I would absolutely keep the car. Better to have it and not need it than the reverse. You also don't know when you may need to be somewhere at a location or a time the bus doesn't run.
I decided to lease a car this time around. The dealership is close by. It was easy to do. Monthly payment comparable to a car payment if I had purchased it.
When I decide I don't want to drive anymore, should be easy enough to transition to being a non-driver. I am on a bus line and any store I need to get to is on same street.
Just not ready to cut that cord though. It represents independence for me.
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