living without a car

fay144

Two years ago I realised that I could easily walk the 3 miles to work in an hour or under, and like was like a huge weight off my shoulder. I was totally elated to realise that I had a choice not to drive in the awful traffic in my town(aberdeen). I feel like it totally changed my life.

Every day that I have walked to and from work since then, I have thought about how lucky I am to be walking and not driving - even in the worst snow and rain, I have thought "thank god I'm not driving in this".

I didn't like driving very much.

gromituk

xzibit wrote:

If I didn't own a car, I would need to get a taxi for EVERYTHING I wanted to do. I do only live 2 miles from the nearest shops, but that is up a very steep hill.

Why don't you get a moped? Or even an electrically-assisted bicycle? This car thing really is an addiction!

dolly_day_dream

Ken-Dodds-Hairy-Knodule wrote:

I don't think sex or build has anything to do with it - more of the attitude of people from some regions.

When I've lived in the north hitching is virtually unheard of. In the south-west and it was very common - if I wanted to get from street to wells, or glastonbury to bristol it was easier to hitch a lift than to wait for the once an hour bus. A lot of people without vans/cars did the same - including 'petit young women' and teenagers.

I suppose it comes down to fear/perception of crime in comparison to actual crime.

None of my friends who hitch have ever been raped, pillaged, murdered, beaten, mugged or !!!!!!ed whilst on the road across the uk, eu, aisa and latin america. So I'll continue to hitch without any fears - and I'll do it with my baby. When she's older I've no doubt she'll do it to.

Snap! when I lived in Cornwall we thought nothing of hitching rather than use the once a day bus. We didn't feel in any danger. When I moved back to London I continued to hitch and was given a right earful from a lorry driver who had given me a lift saying how dangerous it was! This was whilst I was sitting in his cab. Attitudes vary enormously between regions. BTW I agree entirely that crime is so often in the perception of others. I am happy to walk, at any time of the day or night and my children did the same. I do have friends though who throw their hands up in horror at the thought of being out, on their own, after dark.

gromituk

They probably live in a "gated community" too - like living in Johannesburg, inside your own personal prison.

Ken-Dodds-Hairy-Knodule

People just believe whatever the newspapers tell them to believe.

One of my neighbours is obsessed that he's going to be raped in his bed by a burglar, so rarely opens his windows in case someone climbs in whilst he's on the toilet or whatever. I otoh never close my bathroom or kitchen window - they are open 24hrs a day / 7days a week (including whilst we were at festivals this summer). The rest of the windows are open a lot of the time too, and I'll go out and not close them. I've done this my entire life and never been burgled (although someone elses house I was staying at for a while got broken into whilst I was the only person in there ).

As for hitching in manchester - If you are near the redbricks I'm sure some crusty would pick you up in their van if you stuck your thumb out. ;>

kittiwoz

I don't need to hitch in Manchester. I've got a bike!

I don't think I'm overly crime cautious generally. I get the night bus on my own and walk ten minutes home from the stop at past three in the morning sometimes. I cut through a dodgy looking bit of derelict track under the arches where the streetlight is broken regularly becuase I prefer the pedestrian footbridge over the big scary multi-lane roundabout and dual carriageway. I used to walk home past the back yard of one pub where the streetlight was broken and then through the grounds of another pub for a year (and I only got followed down the street by a load of leery, yelling drunks once). We left the back door open all day and sometimes the front door too to try and get a draft going whilst we were in the house this Summer. I don't have any insurance. I know the chances of my ever being attacked are small which is why I don't worry about walking or cycling on my own after dark but I like to protect the possibility of fight or flight just in case. I suppose it is a bit of a control thing really. I like to feel I have options.

My parents never used to lock the back door when I was a kid. Someone or other did walk in and take some stuff once. They didn't take much, a couple of discmans my brother and I had for Christmas, a fountain pen of my mum's and some credit cards, and they hadn't been upstairs. It looked like they'd heard a noise and got spooked. My parents reported it to the police as it seemed the thing to do. A while later a woman from victim support rang up. She kept on saying how upsetting it could be and didn't we feel like our home had been violated and weren't we afraid to be in the house in case they came back and on and on like she was trying to implant fears into us. She just could not seem to accept our attitude that it was just some stuff and probably kids and not maurading axe murderers and we'd try to remember to lock the door in future. She was really persistent and we had great trouble in persuading her to hang up. In the end my dad told her she was intruding on us in our home far more than the theft had and she finally agreed to leave us alone. I can understand how being robbed could be a scary experience depending on the circumstances and I'm not saying support shouldn't be available but victim support seemed so keen to make us victims when we never saw ourselves that way. That doesn't seem like a healthy thing to me.

RRatchet

fay144 wrote:

Two years ago I realised that I could easily walk the 3 miles to work in an hour or under, and like was like a huge weight off my shoulder. I was totally elated to realise that I had a choice not to drive in the awful traffic in my town(aberdeen). I feel like it totally changed my life.

Every day that I have walked to and from work since then, I have thought about how lucky I am to be walking and not driving - even in the worst snow and rain, I have thought "thank god I'm not driving in this".

I didn't like driving very much.

Like you my sister-in-law lives & works in Aberdeen. She doesn't have a licence, therefore no car. She uses the buses & walks. For her it works both financially and exercise wise. For the travelling she does it makes no sense having a car. When she come out to visit her mum on the family farm she uses the bus to get her as far as it goes and then she is picked up by her mum in a car. The train times are not as convenient so she doesn't use it very often & it means her mum has to drive further to pick her up. Her mum doesn't do round-a-bouts nor dual carriage ways nor long distances so that limits her driving.

She is considering taking her test so that she can use other peoples cars, say for eg in an emergency, but at the moment it is not a priority.

If I too, lived in the town I would give serious consideration to doing without a car. Hiring when necessary, walking at other times & having shopping etc delivered.

RRatchet

RRatchet

Hi again,

Since moving to rural Aberdeenshire I have tried using the train (once). It started off as an adventure, my friend sugessted that we took the kids her 2 and my 3 to Aberdeen on the train. She walked with pram & buggy board to the station, I took my car as there is no other way of getting to the station from where I live.
When we arrived at the station in plenty of time the train had been cancelled (no explanation) the next train along was 30 mins later and was very crowded with all the extra passengers. We delayed the train by a few mins as her buggy board fell down on to the track & had to be retrieved by the guard and because it took a while to get both our prams (mines a side by side 3 wheeler) onto the correct part of the train. Then I had to walk down the isle carrying 1 kid dragging another to find a seat (there weren't any) but a very kind japanese couple (tourists) gave up their seats for us. I then went back up the isle swaying into other passengers to retrieve kid no. 3 and back again. The kids were a bit scared and mine cried for a little while. My friend had to stand with her 2 in the door area next to the toilet for the entire 3/4 hour journey. We got to Aberdeen a little fraught, but safely & had a short walk on the beach promenade (cold & windy & tide in) and a very expensive dinner at a cafe chain. Then it was home again on the train whilst it was still off -peak. Very busy again but this time we got seats together with a table and it was more relaxing and we could all chat. Thank goodness though the kids didn't need the toilet or changing whilst on the train (comming or going).
All my friend could say for the next few times we met was "what were we thinking" I think she may have been put of kids on trains for life. It was very tiring and not at all relaxing. It certainly was an adventure and I would consider risking it again, just not yet (I'll wait until the memory has faded a bit more) but boy am I glad I don't have to do it especially on a regular basis.
It was intended as an experience for the kids, however it did show me that with all the stuff I have to lug about for 3 kids under 5 (2 in real nappies at the time) I wouldn't have the room/strength/stamina/patience/time to get shopping as well.

Yours RRatchet

squashy

If public transport is good nearby then go for it. I don't drive but I'm lucky enough to live in an area with lots of students so the bus companies have very competitive weekly travel cards (Cheapest is £2 a week unlimited on the main route!) The only downside really is doing the groceries- I can only buy as much as will fit under the pushchair and on the handles- otherwise I need to get a cab. I'll have to buy one of those wheely shoppers soon when my little one gets bigger!

Another good investment would be to buy a family railcard. Then you can see your family around the country much more cheaply plus use it for days out. It costs £20 annually but you get 2/3 of some fares.

gromituk

You can also get Group Saves on off-peak rail tickets (but not via the National Rail website) - 1/3 off for three adults and half price for four. I've yet to determine what area this covers - certainly west/south of London but it goes further than the map on the web indicates.