How to live life not as you know it...wait, what?

Life as we know it as Americans means that we more than likely own a car. We would probably imagine in your mind that you wouldn't be able to live life without a car and I bet you could very easily think up a quick list of things that you HAVE to do that REQUIRE you to have a car. But what if you were to get rid of your car...what would stop you? I've been going over this list of things that stop me and have decided there is a deeper reason behind the reason I'm listing. Most of the deeper reasons boil down to fear...fear of not knowing how to live life like that, because life as I know it is to have a car.

The reason I'm making these lists is because it's been 3 years since THIS and THIS have happened. Since it was a major change in events and I was a jobless college student, I leased a car. Now that the lease is up on May 10th and the weather is warm, I've been telling myself that it would be nice to have the freedom of not having a car for a while. I've officially made the decision that I will not buy a car until the weather gets cold, but even then, it may be longer than that...we will see.

So, the following information is for myself to have an easy way to access reminders of why I'm doing this and how to cope with my decision :) but if any of you out there are wanting to live car-free for a time, maybe this will help you too:

If one of your fears of going car-less is because you have kids, check out THIS website that talks about how a family lives car free with kids.


Bikes that are great for riding around town and running errands, grocery shopping, that are still inexpensive:
Huffy Bike - 26" Ladies Cruiser
Schwinn Bike - Cruiser Windwood
Trekking Bike - Cycle Tour de France Advantage
Schwinn Bike - Compact folding bike

What to do when you reall need a form of transportation beyond your feet or a bicycle?
Use Public Transportation
Car Share Options - find out if your state or city has one. Many of you may not know, but here in Utah, we have a car share option now. Also, you may be able to find groups of people in the classified adds who are willing to form a car share with you.
Moped/Scooter - I drove a Yamaha Zuma around for a year before I bought my first car, and loved it. I'm saving up for a car, so won't be using my cash to buy one of these any time soon, but if you are considering getting one, there are lots of cheap used options available.
Taxi - why not take a cab? Well, I know I won't be...they are quite pricy...I call the first number on the link I posted thinking it would be handy to take a taxi every once in a while to visit my sister in Layton and they told me it would be $60 one way...talk about a rip off....why haven't I become a taxi driver yet, I could be rolling in the dough!
Car Rental - although they are pricey, they are much cheaper than owning a car if you only go on occasional trips. THIS website talks about how a couple rents a car every six weeks to take off, vacation and visit family. If you need a car for a day, it's around $32.

What to do when it's bad weather:
Rain - get an umbrella and shoes that keep the water out, or just enjoy being wet!
Snow - it's not a safe thing to bike in, but you can walk in it, just bundle up. Get studs for your bicycle tires to ride around in the ice and snow (did you even know these things existed for bicycles? I sure didn't). You are also probably traveling in the dark during winter, arm yourself with lights so you don't get run over.
Extreme Cold - use a ski mask to keep your face warm, wear ski goggles or sun glasses, wear layers.

If you are feeling nervous about making the "big change", THIS is a great article to read. I'll share with you a part of it that echos what is going on in my heart right now, "I remember being afraid, thinking that I could have possibly made a decision I would ver y soon regret. I realized that not having a car would limit me in many ways, but knew that not having it would also free me up in others. So at this point in time, I was just very nervous about the future and I was unsure as to whether or not I would be able to survive without a vehicle of my own."