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Interesting topic to me, as that is what I intend to do if I am ever widowed. We own one car now because my husband still works (retiring next year) and we enjoy long car trips together, but I manage to get by just fine by walking or taking the bus. I figure that not owning a car would save at least $300 a month in gas, insurance, and maintenance minus the cost of bus fare.
[Y'know, I sometimes read posts or articles saying that retirees are "poor" if they only have a net income of $36,000 a year or so or less, but it makes me wonder what the budget is for someone who requires twice that much in retirement! (Especially because I have known of several retirees who survive on less than $1,000 a month -- although these people live in modest, paid-in-full homes.) Yes, it might be "impossible" to find a decent apartment for less than $2,500 or so in some very expensive areas, but if one is retired and in good health, one can usually move to a less expensive area -- of course, then it comes down to a matter of perhaps not wanting to move elsewhere.]
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?
Yep. That is how I grew up. Down many flights in the apartment, walk to supermarket, load it up and lug it back up the stairs.
Why would you do something that 99.9999% of Americans aren't doing?
I know, right? I mean, the majority of Americans are overweight/obese too ~ that's CLEARLY the right way to live life. The majority also have less than $1000 in cash savings, again leading the way in the way things Ought to be done. This is 'Merrycuh, gorsh darnit, you either do it like the majority or get your commie butt out. [/s]
By the way, roughly 10% of households in the US don't have a car (as of 2015), just for your basic education. That's 12 MILLION households without an automobile in the US.
Well, I am a car guy who prefers to live out in the country. I do my own maintenance, my cars are all over 20 years old so are not depreciating. So a car does not cost me that much, and provides both good value and enjoyment to me. So I am not going to get on the "car free" bandwagon.
That said, most of the small towns around me, if you want to live a "minimalist" lifestyle, you could live there with no car. You would spend more for groceries since you have only a few stores within walking distance. You might get tired of the same half-dozen restaurants. If you are still working, you would have few available employers, and pay would likely not be great. One of the towns, you can ride a bus through another small town, and on into the Tri-Cities area, and from there you can transfer to another bus and this way access just about anything you want, but you would have to keep your shopping down to what fits in a backpack or maybe a roll-aboard type bag (not certain about the roll-aboard). The trip to Tri-Cities from where I live is about 45 minutes to an hour by car, but the bus would be like an hour and a half, maybe more, just to get to the Tri.
So, where I am, yeah, if I moved to town, I could in theory get by without a car. In theory. Get by. But, no thanks.
(Especially because I have known of several retirees who survive on less than $1,000 a month -- although these people live in modest, paid-in-full homes.)
This is the key! You need a small, one-story "retire in place" paid-off house. Even better if it's within a few blocks of shopping, doctors, and other needs. We have a lot of small towns in Iowa like this -- I just moved to one. I have a car, but if things got really tight, I could put storage insurance on it and walk/bike almost everywhere. I'd still need a ride to the dentist, but that's not a weekly trip.
Can you? Obviously yes, especially now that online ordering and home delivery have become so common.
People talk about how it saves money to not have a car, but I often wonder if they factor in the higher cost of not having options. You still have bus fare, delivery fees, rental car fees or taxi/uber for those occasions when a car is a necessity, businesses in town charging a higher price than chain stores further out, etc. Plus the cost of your time, which may or may not be a concern for some people.
I tend to buy beater cars that have a minimal cost and I feel like it's well worth it to give me more freedom. I like being able to decide when and where I want to go without being dependent on bus schedules, delivery times, having to plan excursions ahead of time.
Having said all that, I am happy to be living on a bus line, in the event that as I age I'll no longer be able to drive safely.
Hi guys i forgot to mention that. The town i live in has taxi’s so if i do mass grocery shopping i take a taxi from the grocery store which is beside my work. The taxi is $10.00 maximum to my house. The town is very isolated - the next major cities are a 4 hour drive away. I have friends in this town who do drive and ask me to join them on road trips to the next major city which is a 4 hour drive. Maybe once a month. I feel more fit from walking everywhere. Everywhere is a 10-20 minute walk in town. There are many stores that ship here so i do online 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 do. I totaled my car last Christmas and have epilepsy so I decided I shouldn't drive anymore. I live way out in the country as well where cattle outnumber humans 2 to 1. I'm surprised at how many people question my decision not to drive. "Why don't you drive? You should be driving. I can't believe you aren't driving again yet." Etc. . . A. You don't have to justify to anyone why you aren't driving. It's your life and your decision. B. Driving is expensive and unless you do a lot of it, it may really save money in the long run not to drive. I have solved the transportation problem by riding with my wife most places and when I can't, taking Uber or Lyft. Uber or Lyft is available even way out here, but it takes at least 20 minutes for an Uber to be available.
If I decide to drive again, there is an Enterprise up the street from my home and I can rent a car to get to town for the day. Renting one even a couple of days a month is far cheaper than buying one and insuring it all the time. However, my job involves out of state travel and I don't need to drive so driving every day is not an issue for me.
Growing up - my dad stopped paying child support and my mother's car got repossessed when I was in the 7th grade. She chose to pay for food and electricity instead of car payment - go figure LOL. It was embarrassing to me - but gee whiz - The grocery store was a hop skip an a jump across the highway - the laundry was probably 1/4 mile down that highway - high school was a 15-20 min walk. My aunt worked where mom worked - so she picked mom up every morning and brought her home. Some issues came up - as Mom was Director of Nursing at the nursing home - and she had to work double shifts sometimes - to cover - someone always gave her a ride home. She could rent a car when needed to as well. My sister bought a clunker when she was 16 and that was a help. I left home they year after graduation and mom was able to get another car sometime after I left.
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