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I had just dropped my grandson off at soccer practice and was heading home when my car’s overheating warning light began flashing, accompanied by a piercing “ping ping” noise. I quickly pulled over and turned the engine off. Shrugging my shoulders, and since I was in my normal uniform of shorts and a t-shirt, I decided to jog the two miles home.
The next morning, the mechanic called to let me know it was a coolant system failure. Because they were busy, it was going to be four days before the car was returned. This would normally be a problem, but in our case, it was just a minor annoyance. A few months beforehand, we had decided to embrace frugality and sold our second car, which had only been driven 326 miles the previous year, mostly by me to stop the battery going flat.
The reason that a car-free four days was no issue was because we’d made a plan before selling our second car. We discussed it and decided that since our town is compact and easily walkable, we could always manage with our feet and our bikes. It also helps that we live within a 25-minute walk of the town center, and there’s an hourly public transport bus halt right across the street from our home.
Four days was right on the edge of what we had agreed was acceptable, any longer we would have rented a small car. So how did our car free days pan out? Honestly, it was hardly any bother at all. My wife Suzie and I nearly always walk everywhere within our town anyway, and I’m out on my bike almost every day.
Our main annoyance was one of the days when it reminded everyone why Ireland is emerald green—with lots of heavy rain. But I always go by the maxim, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices.” Suzie reminded me of this as she dispatched me to the shops by myself!
Four days passed quickly and we once again became a one car household, but there wasn’t much celebration. The bill was paid and a small sigh left my mouth, but that afternoon, we walked down the driveway past our repaired car and headed on down the sidewalk and into town. It’s what we do, why change because the car is back?
I guess I’m fortunate to live in such a walkable community, which makes having a car optional. Our one-car lifestyle has been tested and found to be perfectly acceptable. The financial benefits aren’t massive, around $2000 a year, but the savings on tax, insurance, and breakdown cover certainly help. If you combine with the proceeds of the car sale and the reduced admin hassle of one car we think it was a good choice.
The most encouraging takeaway is that if we ever get to a point where we can’t drive, our current location is a standout, future-proofed small town to live in. This is a nice realisation that makes thinking long-term that bit easier.
We have two cars, the “fun” one (a convertible) and the “practical” one (a mini-SUV). Both long paid for, both extremely low miles. My husband works from home and I just retired, so we definitely don’t need two. There’s plenty of stuff we can walk to, the bus stops right in front of our community and is free for 60+, and being a college town, Ubers and Lyfts are plentiful, as is food and grocery delivery.
At some point, we’ll give one up, most likely the convertible when we get too old and stiff to climb in and out of it. But we sure love having it now.
Years ago I had a low-slung coupé. We once had an hysterical twenty minutes removing my aging mum from the passenger seat!
My husband had a similar moment with his 83-year-old stepfather a few months ago.
I’m inching my way into “old age” when it comes to how I get around my city. I downsized from a 3 story town house to a small 1955 single level ranch. This is the 3rd home i’ve had in the last 10 years in Portland. But all of them have something in common that makes my life great for aging. I choose neighborhoods that reflect a village. I can walk or bike or bus to all the essentials. I always have a list of 5 or so items/places I need within close proximity (1/2 mile to 1 mile) when I buy a house. So yes, I have a car but most of my errands I walk or bike to. Farther away and I take the bus that is only 2 blocks away. Or maybe I even use my car 😁
FYI: my essentials are grocery store, pharmacy, coffee shop, casual bar (dive bar?), nicer restaurants.
Sounds like the perfect setup. I guess you mean a public house (pub)… very important lol
Here in the US, growing up in the 50s and 60s we could easily walk to stores or our doctor’s office. Many adults in the neighborhood were able to walk to work, which would have been at Jeep, Chevy, or a number of tool and die shops that serviced the factories. The cars that our folks built enabled families to move to the suburbs, which is what nearly everyone did.
Not having a car these days is a major inconvenience for most people. There are exceptions, such as Kathy’s experience at her CCRC, but the only place we can get to without a car is our community’s swimming pool.
I grew up in a small town, and my mother didn’t drive when I was a kid, so I walked, biked, or took the bus everywhere. My family did have a car, which my dad drove on the weekends—family errands (grocery, library, dry cleaner) on Saturday, church on Sunday. Our area was very walkable and the weather was mild nearly year-round. I think I took all that for granted.
I grew up in England, and we didn’t have a car until I was in my teens. The bus service was pretty good, though. My mother never learned to drive, but walked or took the bus. Over the years I owned a couple of clunkers, but could take the bus or train to work if the car was out of commission.
I am a little amused by this. I’m currently single, and have been a one-car household for much of my life, as is the case for the many, many other people who live alone. One reason I am happy with my CCRC is the bus stop right outside, not to mention the fact that “downtown” is a mile away and the CCRC provides transport for medical appointments.
You might consider that when you are no longer able to drive a twenty five minute walk may also be out of the question. (Fifty minutes round trip, right? No thank you.)
Fair point. Although, our 89-year-old neighbor walked to and from town nearly every day. Mind you, unfortunately, he tripped coming back one day and died from complications from a head injury. I guess there’s a lesson in there somewhere.
We have been down to one car and made the shift when we both retired. When we downsized I gifted one to a veteran’s organization. There are inconveniences. However, I do have a class B RV I can use as a backup, but not as a daily driver (it’s 21+ foot long and doesn’t fit in standard parking). An example of inconvenience: we’re on a 6,000+ mile trek and at a campground. The RV is grounded for a week with what is probably a relatively minor mechanical issue while we wait for service. We could rent a vehicle and under other circumstances there is always Uber, etc. However, we are regulars (11 years) and pay for an entire season at the campground and the owner, upon hearing of our situation gave us daily use of his “old” truck, a Chevy Avalanche. I didn’t ask for this. An example of Networking and community. We’re one of about 60 seasonal campers at this smaller campground.
A friend offered me the use of his spare car, which was actually our old second car that we had sold to him. However, we were happy with walking instead…although if the time frame had been longer that might have changed.
We are down to 1 car also and so far it is going ok. Our area is not as walkable as yours, though. Maybe others who also have 1 car will comment to show it is possible. We had also been a 1 car family the first 10 years of our marriage when we lived in a walkable area. Chris
If it works, it works, but even though we could take a bus to NYC in about 30-40 minutes, we could not get groceries without a car, or medical care. We live on a hilltop so going down is easy, getting back up not so much if you are walking.
Enjoy your new found freedom Mark The walking and biking may become more of a challenge over the years.
I might embrace a mobility scooter by that stage 😀