Divorcing Car #1

As of five days ago, Matt and I can officially call ourselves a one-car family. After a good cleaning, we handed off the car (and the monthly payments) to Matt’s parents who were looking to get another vehicle. These past few days with only one car have been easy-peasy, principally because only one of us is working.

Matt and I have been considering going down to one car for several months now, particularly as I delved more deeply into the eco-friendly, minimalist lifestyle. These were our main considerations in why we decided to slim down to one car – feel free to chime in with a comment below.

1. Saving money. Giving up one car means saving money on car payments, insurance and gas. The cost of gasoline is going to continue to rise and I want to get out of the habit of paying exorbitant prices as soon as possible. Not to mention the effort and time required for the maintenance on a car – oil changes, flat tires, windshield wipers and other painfully expensive repairs.
   
   
2. Living green. In an effort to reduce our impact on the environment, we want to stop polluting the air we breathe as much as possible. Our daily action to do this is to limit the amount we drive our car and to lessen our dependence on this mode of transportation.
   
   
3. Sticking it to the man. Our culture is obsessed with commercialism and consumption. I want to reduce this tendency by consuming less and exhibiting better habits with the things I do choose to own.

Sharing a car requires planning and patience. Matt and I have accepted the challenge to live in suburban America with only one car. In many ways, not owning my own vehicle feels like I am sacrificing some of my freedom. (But has that feeling only been planted by car companies? Screw you advertising.)

I cannot just run off for a weekend getaway with the girls without considering how that would leave Matt stranded. And Matt cannot drive off for a snow cone when I have to attend meetings. Instances like this might be a nuisance, but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages for us.

I expect that once we move to Seattle, we will undergo sticky situations with our car-lite life; however, I anticipate Seattle will have better and more accessible public transportation than what we have access to here in Texas. I hope to find that living in a smaller state will enable us to get around more readily with even less reliance on our car than what we currently foresee. Utilizing multiple modes of transportation will be a great solution and save us a lot of strife.

There are a myriad of difficult situations that we may chance upon. For instance, what if our work schedules clash? What if we both need to commute a significant distance to work in opposite directions? What if one person desperately needs the car and the other person has it? What if the car ends up in the shop and we have no back up transportation? What if the bus makes us late to work? What if it rains or the roads are icy when we are supposed to be riding our bike? Etc.

These are very real questions that I am sure we can problem solve if/when they occur. My hope is that because we are going to Seattle with only one car, we will learn to utilize alternative transportation more readily because we will not have a vehicle to act as a crutch. The limits of owning one car will encourage us to search for jobs within shorter commute times and schedules that we can coordinate. How these tentative hopes play out will have to be another update. Until then, wish us luck!

Car-lite definition: Either a person or place that is not completely car-free, but uses or allows for a variety of alternative transport modes in addition to the car. 

World Car-Free Network - A informational website about going Car-Free for any questions I can't answer

How to Live Well Without Owning a Car - An E-Book with tips on how to live without a car - most of it is available without having to pay for the book