Well it's a good thing he's already married or he'd never get laid again. Anyway, San Francisco has a pretty good mass transit system. Try not having a car in Tampa then you'll impress me.

He's from San Francisco, a city known for lots of kinky butt sex and fetishes for sex toys made from the rubber of old tires. If this guy is unwilling to get behind the wheel, perhaps he's willing to get the wheel, behind.

BUT HOW WILL YOU EVER LIVE WITHOUT A CAR??

BTW Mugato, being car-free in a real city is no real obstacle to receipt of pootie.

/why yes, my BOB trailer and I *are* getting a kick out of some of these replies! :)

I stopped driving 8 months ago. Love it. Screw peak hour.

I went without a car when I lived in Manhattan, again in Tbilisi, and again in Shenyang.

If you live in a functioning, dense city, you don't need one. If you want to get away for the weekend, you can take a bus or rent a car

/This would never work in Memphis

.

You just have to GET TO DA CHOPPAH

I have been car free for 5+ years now and for the most part love it. It did not take long for me to realize how less stressed I was not being a part of the frenzy that is the life on the road. It was apparent I had always been in a hurry to get nowhere fast, in addition to always endangering my life and finances.

With my new career being an entire community over now I am dependent on another to get me to work. To this I will be needing to become a car owner again, but I hope not to get caught up in the laziness and mindlessness that seems to come with being independently mobile.

I have a car but I only drive ten miles a week if that. Public transit rocks. FARK DRIVING!

living within a car

SushiJoe: living within a car

You got an lol out of me.

Mugato: SushiJoe: living within a car

You got an lol out of me.

I lived in a 66 Buick Wildcat for a while.

Fastest house in town--pass anything but a gas station

.

Country Boy. 12 Miles to nearest Quick-E Mart.

/Must. Have. Car.
//Am perma-screwed

Difficulty 1/10. You live in freaking San Francisco. Try doing that in Ocala Florida.

Why do all you people need cars when we all know you spend all your time in your mothers basement?

... is impossible when you live in a town of 3000 people.

Mugato: Well it's a good thing he's already married or he'd never get laid again. Anyway, San Francisco has a pretty good mass transit system. Try not having a car in Tampa then you'll impress me.

Or try it in Houston.

/I'll be doubly impressed

muzzrphochr: I have been car free for 5+ years now and for the most part love it. It did not take long for me to realize how less stressed I was not being a part of the frenzy that is the life on the road. It was apparent I had always been in a hurry to get nowhere fast, in addition to always endangering my life and finances.

Yea, I can't explain it, but taking my bike to work is much less stressful than taking my car.

my goal for the next year is to drive my car less than 2 days a week on average- and yes, that includes doing my grocery shopping by bike or walking.

/driving it two days because I'm taking a dance class one day a week and my feet kill me after it. no way I'd be able to walk home or bike home.

I would go carless if there was a bus stop within reasonable walking distance, but since I live in the burbs the nearest stop is literally about 2.5 miles away. I have gone most of my adult life without a car--if the author of TFA thinks going carless in San Francisco is difficult try going without one in east central Kentucky where there is NOTHING resembling mass transit.

also, that article was super pretentious.

I have a car because I live in the burbs and have a toddler. I do, however, only use the car when it's needed. Every tool has a purpose.

/bike + trailer = usual mode of transportation
//bus = good for longer trips
///car = rainy days, big shopping trips, trips to places with poor bus access

muzzrphochr
I have been car free for 5+ years now and for the most part love it. It did not take long for me to realize how less stressed I was not being a part of the frenzy that is the life on the road. It was apparent I had always been in a hurry to get nowhere fast, in addition to always endangering my life and finances.

With my new career being an entire community over now I am dependent on another to get me to work. To this I will be needing to become a car owner again, but I hope not to get caught up in the laziness and mindlessness that seems to come with being independently mobile.

Well, you certainly won't have to worry about gas prices or anything, since you could power six vehicles off the smugness and elitism exuding from your pores.

Nineteen miles to a real grocery store. No public transportation out here in farmland. With the Texas heat, my food would be spoiled by the time I got it home.

This old bat is keeping her pickup.

As has been said, doing this in a city is not a big deal. The writer seems to think he's bleeding edge. He's merely normal.

I can tell you from experience, however, that being on the right side of the green divide is not easy. As I trudged to work this morning, a 40-minute trek, I dearly missed my car. As I budget my time and memorize bus routes and timetables, it seems as if I am returning to my humble immigrant beginnings, repudiating some notion of being an American. But I'm not. Giving up the car is my new American responsibility.

Jesus, what a patroit. He is as those who suffered that cold, desperate winter at Valley Forge.

A 40 minute commute!?! On public transportation!?! What's the problem here?

Boo hoo. No car in SF? Get a moped to use sparingly and shutup. At least you have the convenience of not having freezing temperatures & snow.

Lame article simply states the obvious, does little research into HOW to live without a car.

I just moved to Boston. Parking spaces here rent for $225/week. I gave my car to my dad.

So far it's not bad at all. In fact, it's oddly freeing. I don't have to think about parking, and I find I do a lot more random exploring and finding of unexpected stuff when I have to walk to wherever I'm going.

Car-free is not a viable lifestyle option for me, because in a year I'll be going back to my old profession of reporter, and reporters need transportation. I am, however, considering a moped.

We finally bought a car now that we're expecting a baby, but we don't use it much. We're lucky enough to both be about a 30 minute walk / 15 min. bus ride from our jobs and just down the street is a good grocery store, shops, restaurants, etc. Without good urban infrastructure it wouldn't be possible.

I never had a car up until about a month ago.

I'm 23 and living in East Providence. I've worked in Providence for five years up until about.... a month ago. My new job is in Warwick, which is about 15 minutes from here if you observe the speed limit.

On the bus, that 15 minute commute becomes a three hour commute, not including time waiting for transfers and having to walk the last half mile to work.

fark living without a car.

soze: BTW Mugato, being car-free in a real city is no real obstacle to receipt of pootie.

you know what's great about being a girl? No one cares if you have a car or still live with your parents, or whatever, as long and you seem reasonably self-sufficient. its not like a standard for being "successful". plus, having roommates is considered GOOD

This should be another entry in stuffwhitepeoplelike.

Whodat: A 40 minute commute!?! On public transportation!?! What's the problem here?

I feel for the guy. 40 minutes of sitting there doing nothing, not worrying about traffic, listening to music if he so desires, with the options of doing work or reading the paper or just staring off into space.

/bus rides are a little less idyllic with a 15-month-old in tow
//still not a bad way to travel

What I got from the article is that it appears the author is trying to glorify himself for being a broke-ass, car-less schlub.

I'm keeping my car....but using it less. I've been bike commuting to work 2X a week for the last year and a half - before gas prices went crazy (doesn't take much more time than driving). I can bike (or even walk) to two grocery stores, dry cleaners, pharmacy, pet shop, vet, several restaurants, bank, hardware store, a Starbucks, etc. There's even a dentist, optometrist and physical therapy office in the same area. When I need my car serviced or inspected, I just drive it to one of the two local garages, and walk home. Takes all of 15 minutes.

So, my goal this year is to see how many of those quick trips to the store can be replaced by bike or walking....might take a bit more planning, but really won't take any more time.

My car was totaled by a thief a year ago. I've done just fine so far.

I have not owned a car since I graduated High School 4 years ago. One of my workmates basically has to work 9 hours a day instead of 8 to make the same amount as me because he drives. If I can go without a car for the rest of my life I will be cool with that.
Of course I am lucky enough to have found a place that is within 2 blocks of work, school and a grocery store, which is nice.

Whether or not having a car is necessary really depends on where you live. In a college town, the public transit is usually quite good.

While I applaud the effort to get by without a car, like almost everyone else making such comments/claims/prognostications, this guy is dead wrong as to where we're going to end up in America. We're not going to give up cars so easily, and I don't think we have to. This guy is wrong because he is: a) not an economist, b) not a scientist, c) not an engineer.

He fails at basic order of magnitude calculations (how much energy is required for the American lifestyle vs. how much is available in many forms in the environment [esp. solar]), he fails to understand the fact that using ethanol can create a close to closed carbon cycle (dramatically reducing CO2 emissions) and is probably one of the cheapest and most environmentally friendly transitions we can make, he fails to take into account the possibilities of many future technologies, especially as indicated by the DARPA grand challenges (AI driven cars can lead to significant increases in efficiency as well as safety)... etc.

People with no feel for the bigger picture should just shut the fark up.

Mugato:
Well it's a good thing he's already married or he'd never get laid again. Anyway, San Francisco has a pretty good mass transit system. Try not having a car in Tampa then you'll impress me.

First point = total bullshiat. Second point is more salient... is this a half-troll or something?

Metal:
Lame article simply states the obvious, does little research into HOW to live without a car.

1. become familiar with transit schedules so you don't stand at bus stops for ages in the rain
2. repay your friends for all the rides you've bummed (how about a home cooked meal or taking them to the movies)
3. Car-share, lots of big cities have it. And some smaller centres too!

I'm 28 and don't have a license, so I'm really getting a kick out of these replies.

The wife has a car, which is used for visiting her family and getting groceries (which are within walking distance, but who wants to lug a week's worth of groceries around?)

Quite the rambling, shambling article.

I didn't have a car when I lived in the Bay Area. Never really even thought about it. Walked to work through Chinatown most every morning, took Muni to the dojo, and walked home. When I lived in Berkeley, not having a car did make for some long days. I took off to work in the City via BART at about 6:30 a.m. and got home around 10:00 p.m. BART could be a bit strange in the evening, e.g., sitting down and wondering 'Why the fark is this seat soaking wet?!' or getting into a car where the only other riders were thugs.

All in all, though, life was pretty good without a car.

shinosai: Whether or not having a car is necessary really depends on where you live. In a college town, the public transit is usually quite good.

Not necessarily.

I got to the part about bus transfers and closed the window.

I can work retail and walk there, or I can work at my primary job 25 miles away. If retail were not dead-end, that would be okay. It is dead-end, so I drive.

Damn_Conservative_Media: he fails to understand the fact that using ethanol can create a close to closed carbon cycle (dramatically reducing CO2 emissions) and is probably one of the cheapest and most environmentally friendly transitions we can make

BWAHAHAHA.

Except that people are clearcutting forests to make way for ethanol producing crops. Here's a hint: guess which one of these two sequesters more CO₂.

No Such Agency:

1. become familiar with transit schedules so you don't stand at bus stops for ages in the rain
2. repay your friends for all the rides you've bummed (how about a home cooked meal or taking them to the movies)
3. Car-share, lots of big cities have it. And some smaller centres too!

Word.

I wish ZipCar would expand up here so that people had less of an excuse to biatch.

He'll be bumming rides off friends and neighbors. Oh, can you take me to..

8 years without driving. Crappy transit system where I live but it gets me around when I need to. It doesn't hurt that I'm a 2 minute walk from the bank, my work, a grocery store, the main transit terminal. If I go out of town, I take the train or the bus. Still a hell of a lot cheaper than paying for gas and insurance every month.

I don't have a car, and have a choice of three subway routes and two bus routes to get to work, so I'm getting a kick out of these replies (and also paying a fortune to live in central London).

In Northern Michigan, if you don't have a car you starve and die. If you ride a bike you get run over by the white trash rednecks in their trucks or the bluehairs who just don't see you. Public transportation up here? Don't make me laugh.

I haven't owned a car for over 20 years, a light-displacement motorcycle is a cheap, efficient way to go.

However, with gasoline hitting record highs, I notice people are dumping motor homes for highly attractive prices.

If you could buy a $20,000 motor home for $10,000, drive it 6,000 miles a year at 6 mpg and $3.60/gallon, that would be under $10/day, which is cheaper than anything you could rent to live in, or any decent car you could buy. If you keep it 5 years and sell it for $5,000, you just spent $383/month for housing AND transport, and you weren't living like a rat to do it.

You could use a cheap motor scooter for errands, and only run the big unit once in a while. You have to run it regularly anyway, or it will go bad on you.

Do the math first.

And think outside the box.

If you get caught in a stampede, you are eiher going to get trampled or you will run over a cliff, but if you can stay outside the stampede, you can find out where the cliff is, and wait at the bottom for free fresh meat.

Archie Goodwin: Why do all you people need cars when we all know you spend all your time in your mothers basement?

...said the guy who pays money to visit a website.

atlanta_ufo: He'll be bumming rides off friends and neighbors. Oh, can you take me to..

Yeah, I had one of those friends years ago. He was oh-so-noble for not owning a car, but he didn't mind transferring the cosmic guilt onto me. Now I have a friend and coworker who simply won't buy a car because it's so cheap damn near free to ride to work in my car.

Tired of it, but very bad at confronting people.