Any urban (or even inner suburban?) dwellers here who are do not have a car?

[gristy]

How has it worked out for you? How long have you been without?

[Withywindle]

1. 16 years carless in Chicago

There've been plenty of times I've missed the convenience. But that's mostly to do with my desire to get out of the city once in a while for a weekend or something.

I live near enough to downtown and the el and a decent (by CTA standards) bus line and hailable cabs nearby that I honestly can't imagine what I'd really need a car for. It certainly wouldn't be worth the cost of gas/maintenance/insurance/inevitable parking tickets.

[PDJane]

2. I've never had a car.

Don't want one. Would cost me as much as my rent to own one, and $75.00 per month to park it if I didn't drive it anywhere. Frankly, I could take a cab almost everywhere I go for less, and I usually walk where I need to go.

But I live in Toronto, five blocks from the bus station, eight blocks from the train station, and with subways and street cars less than 1/2 a block away. *shrug* It's right downtown.

[silverweb]

3. Yup.

I've lived in an urban setting without a car for about a year and a half now. I work at home and don't need to commute anywhere, so it works out just fine for me. On the two occasions in the past 18 months that I did need a car, a one-day rental was perfect.

[NanceGreggs]

4. Twenty years carless in Toronto ...

We live around the corner from the subway; cabs plentiful on the main drag down the street.

I can't imagine the inconvenience (and expense) of owning a car nowadays. No thanks.

[notesdev]

5. in NYC, many years without a car

and some years with a car where I gave it to my mother on Long Island because it was a lot cheaper and more convenient not to have it around than to have to maintain it in the city.

Here in the suburbs of DC, I do have a car, but I drive it so little that it only barely qualifies as having a car. I could do what I need to do without much trouble if I got rid of it, but I'm a lazy bastard and it can be convenient in bad weather.

[gristy]

8. I'm kind of like your current situation here in the bay area (N. Cal)

I've got CalTrain, BART, VTA light rail, VTA buses, and lots of bicycle shoulders and some bicycle paths. I can go a week without getting in my car. Maybe I'll make a conscious effort to go a month...

[stuntcat]

6. I'm inner-suburban and don't drive

My part of Arlington is crowded and my street is full of cars (my neighbors on the right have at least 6 and we only have one) but I know a lot of people around here don't drive because our buses are so busy and there are a lot of big apartment buildings. So I think our car/people ratio is pretty good.

I haven't driven in years because of a handicap but even when I could drive I used to take the bus and subway to work in DC. Now I walk, I can get everything I need in a 3-mile radius and the place I volunteer is a 30-minute walk. Sometimes my husband takes me places on weekends but if I lived alone I'd do fine, no cars needed.

[elocs]

7. The key really is the availability of mass transit. It's very doable.

Some years back I went for a few years without a car and even in my small city of 50,000 the bus service is good enough to get buy--much better now than it was then. In nice weather I was able to ride my bike anywhere in the city and still can.

I was raised in this city by a single mom and we never had a car (she never learned to drive) so it actually was cheaper. Of course, back then, all the stores and everything were in the downtown and we only lived 6 blocks from there. There was Sears, Wards, and Pennys as well as the movie theaters and grocery stores. Plus, every neighborhood had its own little IGA grocery store. Then you walked to the school nearest you, so all in all there was little need for a car. The irony was that my mom worked as a bookkeeper for a new car dealer.

[Warpy]

9. I spent 10 years without a car in Boston

I did grocery shopping on a bike, on the bus, on the subway, or (only if I was sick) called a cab.

Otherwise, I barely noticed the lack.

I rented something on moving day, although I've been known to move smaller articles of furniture on the subway during off peak hours.

Yeah, that was me. The motormen just laughed.

[progressive_realist]

10. 8 years car-less in Seattle

I don't miss it at all. The key is location. I discovered early on that the biggest (really the only) hassle is carrying groceries home. So my main criterion whenever I move is the location of the nearest grocery store. For the last five years I've lived two blocks from a supermarket, four blocks from the farmers market, two blocks from my gym, two blocks in any direction to a bus route, and about a mile from downtown.

Depending on where I'm going, I can either walk, take a bus, or grab a taxi. I can take a train to Portland OR or Vancouver BC, or a fast ferry to Victoria BC. For backpacking, camping, or other weekend trips, I have to partner up with someone who has a car, but who wants to do those things solo anyways?

The big advantages for me about not having a car, besides the obvious cost savings and the positive environmental effect, are never having to search for parking, never having to worry about my car getting stolen or broken into, and not wasting untold hours sitting in traffic (on the bus I can read a book).

Oh, and I like to drink, too. So even if I still had a car, I would hardly ever use it, for safety and to avoid getting a DUI. :beer:

Here in Seattle there is also a secret car-less realm of sailors and other boat people. I can get away from it all just by sailing a couple hours in any direction. People in cars never really notice this hidden network of waterfront parks, bars, quaint little towns, and other hangout spots. And the people you meet are much more relaxed than most car people.

[Cassandra]

11. At least 25 years in NYC without a car.

Sometimes I need to look for a ride from a friend but I don't miss driving at all. I can get all the way to the suburbs of Boston with 4 trains (2 subway lines, Amtrak and commuter rail), to Philadelphia via Amtrak or NJ transit connecting with SEPTA, to Washington D.C., Amtrak, connecting with the Metro.
At home, I walk and take the subway and buses. Always grateful I don't have to look for a parking space.

[NYC]

12. Never had a car.

You don't need one in NYC. Most Manhattanites only use cars to leave town. For that, you can rent a car.

[Steepler0t]

13. Since 1995

No need in San Francisco.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. My goddess mother does not have one. She lives very close to a stop on the T