Liberation

One and a half weeks ago I sold my Jeep and didn’t purchase a replacement vehicle. My wife and I don’t have any other car, which means we’re carless. We don’t plan on purchasing another vehicle for a few months down the road for various reasons. One reason is because I wanted to experiment. Fortunately I live close enough to my workplace that I could walk if I really needed to, but I have found other methods of transportation that function almost as effectively as driving myself (i.e. biking, carpooling). Since my wife has quit her job to stay at home with our baby, she is also less dependent on a vehicle.

The carless experiment will be instrumental in illustrating how much money we can save each month by cutting out expenses related to a vehicle. And anyone with children knows that every cent counts. If we are really able to save any money, it will probably go toward a down payment for our next vehicle. Or if the car is priced low enough, we could simply pay for it.

This experiment will also test the limits of our wanderlust. We enjoy driving to places just to drive there, whether it’s Park City or Antelope Island or even Las Vegas. This experiment will challenge us to find points of interest in our immediate vicinity. We will become much more familiar with our neighborhood and the surrounding areas and perhaps appreciate them more. It’s been fun so far noting how close 7-Eleven is (for a Slurpee) and how long it takes our baby to fall asleep in his jogger-stroller. We have already discovered that nature is easily within walking distance and there are a few places that we will frequent in order to feel like we’re able to “get away” without driving hundreds of miles.

The last point of the carless experiment I want to address is the dependence on oil. My Jeep was a gas-guzzler by today’s standards, only getting 16 miles per gallon. While I will still be at the mercy of the oil industry in many ways, I, as an individual, do not feel that I am impacting the environment as negatively as when I had a vehicle. This last year was an eye-opener in terms of how quickly oil can ruin an ecosystem, both in the Gulf of Mexico and right here in our own backyards. With much of the global discourse focused on environmental issues, it seems to make sense to try this experiment out now. I am sure that my wife and I will create some habits that will keep us from feeling the need to hop in our vehicle and drive around aimlessly, so when we do purchase another vehicle, we use it responsibly.

I wouldn’t recommend trying the carless experiment unless you have plenty of alternate methods of transportation. If you are in a position to try it out, though, it could be fun and informative. It may sound oxymoronic, but going carless has been a liberating experience so far. Some extra planning is necessary, but it’s ultimately doable. Anyone headed to Vegas in the near future?