The Chainlink

How  many people here are 100% car free? Not part-time or just for those "larger" items some believe only owning a car can deliver, or so they can visit family somewhere else, or they are so happy with their dentist out in the burbs' they refuse to find a new one. Taking public transportation in combination with riding and walking count as being car free. I would just like to know who has taken riding bikes to the next level and ditching the car completely.

About me: I have been car free for 5 years and counting. I sold my 5 years ago to Car Max (I wanted to get rid of it immediately and didn't want to deal with selling it myself). I let my drivers license expire this past Jan. 11th. (My 30th. birthday) and to celebrate (I have been waiting for this moment for a long time) I cut my license up (I have a state ID and have for years) and had a toast with myself. It was one of those moments in my life that will stick with me for life. So, who else does not own a car, will NEVER own a car again and is much happier this way? I have seen so many people ride bikes to only witness that same person jump into their car down the street. I have know many people to ditch the bike for suburbs because they think it is "best for the kids" type attitude.

I'm not judging anyone who ditches the bike, moves to the burbs', and buys a car (Or never really got rid of it) so they can put their kids in a school that is acceptable to them. I just want to know how many plan to live this way for the rest of their lives and are actually doing it. Have a good day everyone and safe riding.

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Well said, Sir. Have a great day.

h' 1.0 said:

There is absolutely nothing smug about anything Uptown Joe wrote.  He laid out what this thread was going to be about, and for some reason it seems to have gotten stuck in someone's craw.

I see nothing wrong with congratulating someone for making life without a car work.

Until you've actually gone car-free you don't entirely understand what it entails-- it's nice to have opportunity to connect with others who have similar experience without someone crapping all over it.

I find it particularly bizarre that the folks who jumped in and went all "divisive" on this discussion are the ones claiming Joe started a "divisive" thread.

This thread is about not owning a car.  It's not that hard to figure out. If you own a car, new discussions are free-- I'm sure we can always use more about being "car light."

I will afford you the courtesy of not posting to it, as it will clearly not have been intended for me.

i personally haven't owned a car since 2000.

but i've been an I-GO member since 2004.

for the past year i've been living with my now fiance and she does own a car which she uses to get to work. her family all lives up in milwaukee, so the drive up I-94 is becoming a regular thing.

we currently live in a west loop condo, but we're talking about starting a family sometime after our marriage this summer, which will probably entail a move to a city neighborhood or inner burb where we can afford a little more space than a 1-bedroom condo. i imagine my future wife will always want to have a car. i imagine i will continue to live as bicycle-centric a lifestyle as possible.

I will ABSOLUTELY do everything within my power to keep us a 1-car family.

I am,it wasn't by choice, but since I was a weekend bike rider for years it wasn't such a bad transition.

It will be 8 years in May. 

I had a job where it was 30 miles one way so I borrowed one then.

I'm not opposed to owing one but where mass transit is available (I mean we have the nations 2nd largest) why "waste" 100's a month if you don't need to.

Cabs, zipcar/igo/ I get around... all availiable for the NEED.

My wife and I have not owned a motor vehicle since 1989. Bike and Bus with an occasional taxi.

The last several years we've rented cars for some weekend visits to out-of-state relatives that are not near enough to trains or planes to make it work.

Michael, very nice. You have not owned a car since I was 6 years old. Cheers to you, my friend!

I don't own a car, but I rent one occasionally, cab once or twice a week, and my girlfriend (not a cyclist) drives to and from PT and occasionally ferries me places.  I take shuttle buses or the El to work when the weather is too much for me or I have to be all spiffy to lecture or something.  And remember: however car-free any of us might be, most of the goods we buy arrive where we buy them via internal-combustion-engine-using trucks.  No one who lives in the city is free of dependence on fossil fuels.

I am 24, have never owned a car and likely never will (unless I have children at some point in the future, which looks unlikely anyway). I am a social worker in the city, so sometimes I use a Zipcar provided by my work, if I don't want to ride to (or the commute time is vastly different) certain parts of the far west or far south side, but I also commute to client visits by bike.

Car free for 2 years now. 

I rent a few times a year for vacation or work. Like Sarah D., I'm a Zipcar member for when I need one—and the Zipvan is particularly nice, such as when I moved within the city last summer. Occasionally take a cab in a pinch. I also compete (road, crit, cross), which may require me to get a ride out of the city.

And I, too, like driving every now and then. It definitely makes you a better rider and driver to step into the other's shoes once in a while. But personally owning a car is too much of a financial burden.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss my car sometimes. Grass is greener. I'd miss my bikes a lot more.

Car free except for iGo. and cabs. so shoot me. i live in a city by choice, which makes it easier to not own a vehicle. but some of us are older, have arthritis, etc - it isn't always realistic to haul everything by bike, esp when it's freezing cold out. and there are those relatives who insist on living in the burbs. must perforce visit a few times a year. 

I think it's great to go car free - but, as with all things, it's a balance. if i walk around judging people i'll get frown wrinkles. think i'll stick with crow's feet from smiling. Does this comment add anything? Eh, sorry if not.  

It's all about balance. Well put.

Gina Godalia said:

Car free except for iGo. and cabs. so shoot me. i live in a city by choice, which makes it easier to not own a vehicle. but some of us are older, have arthritis, etc - it isn't always realistic to haul everything by bike, esp when it's freezing cold out. and there are those relatives who insist on living in the burbs. must perforce visit a few times a year. 

I think it's great to go car free - but, as with all things, it's a balance. if i walk around judging people i'll get frown wrinkles. think i'll stick with crow's feet from smiling. Does this comment add anything? Eh, sorry if not.  

I have lived in Chicago since 1987 and have never owned a car. Although it never occurred to me to bike year-round until a few years ago. Was always a walk/public trans girl on the North side and don't have family in the burbs. Didn't rent cars very often, either.

These days, ironically, I bike year-round but live with my fiancé, who has a car! Smugness factor at an all-time low! But as others have already pointed out, you cannot totally predict the directions your life will take. My hat goes off to those of you who have ditched your cars, along with those of you who have them and overcome the inertia factor enough to bike anyway.

I've been entirely carless for I don't know how long, it was kind of gradual. I had a car that broke down, and then some months later I had it towed off, and never really felt any need to replace it. 

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