People choosing to not own a car. - Page 5

reiki604 · ‎03-09-2010

@Blingqueen023 wrote:
@truffle wrote:
I love the freedom of a car. I never have to worry about bad weather or people or getting sunburn or windburn. So many advantages to owning a car that i never will be without one. When you live in a city where many own one and you walk, you are breathing in noxious car fumes which is like 2nd hand smoke. No thank you. Yes insurance is expensive as are repairs. It's all figured in to our household budget and we'll never be without our cars.

I wouldn't be without a car either. I"d be scared to death to take public transportation in these large cities. No way. Don't feel like getting robbed, raped, mugged or even killed by a gun or stabbed to death thank you very much. Give me a car any day.

Sorry but LOL! I have lived in NYC for my entire life and have never been robbed, raped, mugged or killed by a gun or stabbed while taking public transportation. I have never known anyone who experienced these things. Oh wait....I do know someone who was pickpocketed on the subway when he fell asleep on the subway at 3am. But he was just stupid.

'I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man'.......Unknown

sunshine45 · ‎03-09-2010

@NYC Susan wrote:
@151949 wrote:
Article on NBC news this evening -- the new thing for people living in the city is not owning a car. They can easily use public transportation or walk for their daily needs and on those occasions when they need a car they just rent one for the day. And where do they rent them - well people who own cars advertise them for rent a few days a month which greatly helps them with the expense of owning a car.Financially good idea for both sides.
However, I have known friends who did not have a car and they are a bit of a pain in the neck to their friends and relatives who are always having to drive them places.
New thing? There's nothing new about this. Going back decades, this has been pretty common among most people who live in cities.

In the 70's, my BIL kept his car in a garage near his NYC apartment, and the cost was more than many people pay for rent. Even though he could well afford it, everyone thought he was crazy. It was extremely uncommon. Lots of people move from the suburbs into the city specifically because of the public transportation and no longer needing to own a car. There's nothing new about any of this.

I do know people who live in cities and own cars (myself included), but overwhelmingly most do not. They generally use public transportation and rent cars as needed. It's been that way for a very long time. I'm not sure where this NBC News story came from, but it certainly sounds like super-old news to me.

@NYC Susan

my brother lives in the DC area in a condo. he has a car, but rarely uses it. he lives a few blocks from the metro and takes that to work every day. his condo came with a parking space. some people who dont own cars and/or wanted to make some money, sold their parking spaces to other owners for 40000 dollars!

********************************************
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein

NYC Susan · ‎03-13-2010

@reiki604 wrote:
@Blingqueen023 wrote:
@truffle wrote:
I love the freedom of a car. I never have to worry about bad weather or people or getting sunburn or windburn. So many advantages to owning a car that i never will be without one. When you live in a city where many own one and you walk, you are breathing in noxious car fumes which is like 2nd hand smoke. No thank you. Yes insurance is expensive as are repairs. It's all figured in to our household budget and we'll never be without our cars.

I wouldn't be without a car either. I"d be scared to death to take public transportation in these large cities. No way. Don't feel like getting robbed, raped, mugged or even killed by a gun or stabbed to death thank you very much. Give me a car any day.
Sorry but LOL! I have lived in NYC for my entire life and have never been robbed, raped, mugged or killed by a gun or stabbed while taking public transportation. I have never known anyone who experienced though things. Oh wait....I do know someone who was pickpocketed on the subway when he fell asleep on the subway at 3am. But he was just stupid.

Thank you! I didn't even know how to respond to this. You said it perfectly.

No one I have known in all my years living in NYC has ever had any of these things happen, and the vast majority take public transportation every day.

My son, btw, was robbed at gunpoint on a suburban street in a wealthy neighborhood where everyone uses cars as transportation.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

@Bonanzajellybean wrote:
@151949 wrote:
After my first husband died I didn't have a car for 3 years. However, I lived next to my grandparents on one side and my brothe & SIL on the other so I had access to one if I really needed it and I would drive my Gram to the grocery store and buy my groceries then too.Also , I would use my Gram's washer/dryer to do my laundry and their's - otherwise I would have had to go to a laundromat & would have needed a car.
Did your family think you were a pain in the neck?

PROBABLY

WenGirl42 · ‎07-05-2012

It feels like two disparate ideas are being conflated here. I have always lived in areas without viable public transportation, so I have owned a car as long as necessary. If I lived in an area where owning a car was not necessary, I would take responsibility for getting myself where I needed to be when I needed to be there (not relying on mooching rides from anyone I knew) if I decided I didn't need to own a car. Buses or trains or taxis or rideshares or walking or biking are all more viable (to me) than mooching.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

I think the posters from NYC really do not realize that there is a huge country here that is completely different from NYC - that life in NYC does not at all represent life in most of the rest of the country.

reiki604 · ‎03-09-2010

@NYC Susan......... I don't live in Manhattan but will NOT drive there. If I have to get there it's via public transportation. I just need to remember to make sure there's money on my metrocard. The great thing is I don't have to worry about catching the last bus or train.

'I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man'.......Unknown

WenGirl42 · ‎07-05-2012

@151949 wrote:
I think the posters from NYC really do not realize that there is a huge country here that is completely different from NYC - that life in NYC does not at all represent life in most of the rest of the country.

@151949 I think the posters not from NYC don't realize that there is a huge diversity of experiences that are completely different from theirs...including many areas where owning a vehicle isn't necessary at all

missy1 · ‎03-10-2010

@151949 wrote:
I think the posters from NYC really do not realize that there is a huge country here that is completely different from NYC - that life in NYC does not at all represent life in most of the rest of the country.

Big cities, sure buses are everywhere. It would take so many transfers and hours to get where you need to go. Even with Amtrack it takes awhile (ex: San Diego to OC). You would need your work close, where you get your groceries etc. Uber costs like $15 just to go one way a few miles. This adds up.

momtochloe · ‎11-03-2013

@151949 wrote:
I think the posters from NYC really do not realize that there is a huge country here that is completely different from NYC - that life in NYC does not at all represent life in most of the rest of the country.

@151949 I am not sure I am understanding this post as your original post highlighted how folks in urban settings no longer owned cars because of their access to resources that more suburban or rural folks do not?