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Don't you want to go places other than where you can walk to? What about bad weather? At a minimum buying a scooter would give you more options.
If you don't want the expense of car ownership, is there a car rental place in town? I could see not owning a car in a walkable town & renting one for weekend drives or mega grocery shopping.
I recently moved to a small town for work. I have never owned a car before and i am use to using the transit and walking places. Everywhere in town is a 10-15 minute walk. The town is isolated it is a town of 5,000 people. The town has no transit i plan to stay for 2 years. Its been 4 months and i survived 4 months without a car. People keep telling me i should get a car. There is a pricey grocery store, two banks, a library, 3 take out places, 2 restaurants, a hospital, dentist, law offices.
However there is no mall; i do my shopping online. My work is a 5 minute walk from my apartment and the grocery store 15 minute walk.
Anyone else survive without a car in a small town with no transit? Is it possible?
i admire what you are doing. if you think about it, thousands of city dwellers do exactly what you are doing. i know people that have sold their car and moved to a large city and never looked back.
i have a cousin that lives in a town of about 4000 and has for 60 years. he, nor his mom or dad, owned a car. they have survived just fine. they have all the other conveniences of life, just never had a car.
I have seen older people get around on riding lawnmowers in small towns. A golf cart is another option. Many have farm utility vehicles and go everywhere in them around here, but they cost as much as a car! Winter may be a bit more challenging, but more power to you if you can get by without a car.
I have seen older people get around on riding lawnmowers in small towns. A golf cart is another option. Many have farm utility vehicles and go everywhere in them around here, but they cost as much as a car! Winter may be a bit more challenging, but more power to you if you can get by without a car.
Depends on what that state or town deems road-legal. Up here in AK just about everyone owns an ATV...but they can't drive them on public roadways. Golf carts would be similar. Zoning may play into where they are even permitted. Then there's licensing...some states only license scooters, golf carts, or utility vehicles of certain motor types for use on public roadways. Bicycles...avoid many of those problems.
Farm utility vehicles can be driven on public roads here in Kansas. There may be local county laws involved though. These are the Gators and other utility vehicles that are similar. I am not sure about 4 wheelers, but they do run them up and down the back roads. I don't think they can drive them on the highways.
Where we live there is no way we could get by with just one car, let alone none. There are many times when Mrs5150 is doing something at the same time as me. We are on the active retired side 9 miles from town.
i admire what you are doing. if you think about it, thousands of city dwellers do exactly what you are doing. i know people that have sold their car and moved to a large city and never looked back.
I am retired, and I moved out of my apt in Tucson, AZ and also sold my car. Put my remaining stuff in a 5' x 5' storage unit. I arrived in Leipzig, Germany on May 1 with 1 suitcase plus my bicycle.
This is a pretty large city of 600K with an extensive, excellent streetcar and train network in all directions. The terrain is gentle to flat, good for bike riding. My guess is way over half the households in the city have no car. I have not missed my car so far. Grocery shopping is a 5 minute walk from my apartment. Downtown or the main train station is 10 minutes by bike or by streetcar. Tens of thousands of bikes can be seen on the streets every day. It is liberating, not to be dependent on a car. If I need to use a car once in a while, I'll look into signing up with one of the car sharing services that are popular here.
I am retired, and I moved out of my apt in Tucson, AZ and also sold my car. Put my remaining stuff in a 5' x 5' storage unit. I arrived in Leipzig, Germany on May 1 with 1 suitcase plus my bicycle.
This is a pretty large city of 600K with an extensive, excellent streetcar and train network in all directions. The terrain is gentle to flat, good for bike riding. My guess is way over half the households in the city have no car. I have not missed my car so far. Grocery shopping is a 5 minute walk from my apartment. Downtown or the main train station is 10 minutes by bike or by streetcar. Tens of thousands of bikes can be seen on the streets every day. It is liberating, not to be dependent on a car. If I need to use a car once in a while, I'll look into signing up with one of the car sharing services that are popular here.
I wouldn’t call a city of 600k small town or rural.
Let's expand on this idea a bit.........
A bicycle (or adult tricycle with a basket on the back) is the most common sense way to resolve the lack of a car. Or a bicycle with a small bike trailer could do as well.
Saw an old man who bought one of those trailers you can put youngsters in and pull behind a bicycle, used. He hauled his groceries and everything else in that little trailer. And it had a top on it for the times he got stuck out when it started raining. Wouldn't keep him dry but his "cargo" was safe.
I recently moved to a small town for work. I have never owned a car before and i am use to using the transit and walking places. Everywhere in town is a 10-15 minute walk. The town is isolated it is a town of 5,000 people. The town has no transit i plan to stay for 2 years. Its been 4 months and i survived 4 months without a car. People keep telling me i should get a car. There is a pricey grocery store, two banks, a library, 3 take out places, 2 restaurants, a hospital, dentist, law offices.
However there is no mall; i do my shopping online. My work is a 5 minute walk from my apartment and the grocery store 15 minute walk.
Anyone else survive without a car in a small town with no transit? Is it possible?
"is it possible "
YOU are proof that it is.
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