this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2024
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Deciding not to get a car; it saves ~400.000 euros in my lifetime which at 40k net a year income means 8-10 year earlier pension
Ahh, European public transportation. Not an option in the US unless you live in NYC and rarely leave the city.
I just got a new job near DC that I can actually take the train to from MD. It's like 2 hours each way but I don't have to fuckin drive (except to the station) so 100% worth
I legit can't tell if you're being sarcastic. lol
I can't imagine being ok with a 4-hr daily commute in a private car with all the amenities, much less one on a public train.
You're way tougher than I am, if you're serious, I'll say that!
A public train or bus is a way nicer commute than in a car. In a car you can't really do anything but drive. On a train you can do just about any seated task. I wfh now but when I didn't I would login and start work during my commute.
Fair enough. I've only had to use a train in one city when I would go to the airport and that shit was terrifying sometimes. Also, I can just listen to an audiobook if I'm trying to be productive in the car
Right, i forgot to mention that my current commute is about 3 hours of driving. I am also super suceptible to road rage, so without fail I end up spiking my cortisol begore even getting to work.
I am gladly swapping it out for an extra hour of being able to do shit like watch youtube and doodle (plus it pays a hell of a lot more than my current job)
I'm so jealous. My work is only a mile away, which in a perfect world I could walk in 10 mins, but because of many slow crosswalks and busy intersections it's like 30 mins freezing my balls off. Plus there's a section of road that's 40mph (64kmh) with no sidewalk, and a bridge that forces pedestrians onto the high speed road. It's both slow and basically suicide if I tried to make a habit of walking.
There's another route but the intersection I would need to cross is excruciatingly slow. I had to sit for 15 minutes before I could cross. Plus it's another 40mph road and if someone runs a red I basically die.
Damn if I hear this I am so glad to live in the Netherlands. Infrastructure here is designed such that everybody takes a bike or walk if within a few miles, on safe roads
It's unfortunate that much of the US is stuck in a feedback loop of people saying "walking sucks, I'll drive", roads and driving infrastructure are improved at the cost of pedestrian infrastructure, more people say "walking sucks", and repeat. Eventually you get like 12 lane highways at the cost of many sidewalks, bike lanes and tram/train lines being bulldozed.
Eventually everybody has to drive because pedestrians have been squeezed out of the equation. It saddens me that people don't realize how nice walking could be, because they have only experienced poor pedestrian infrastructure. Even people like me who would love to walk have to choose driving or a death wish.
That being said it is slowly improving, many towns near me are implementing bike lanes, and more side walks. Unfortunately the bike lanes are the "safety paint" variety but it's at least something. As mentioned before my little town is renovating town square and it's a lot more walkable. Unfortunately not that helpful for me because the town square is only like 600 feet in size (200 metres) in size, but again, it's something.
I would love to visit Amsterdam just to walk my little butt off haha
40mph is 64kmph not 93kmph but yeah that’s still uncomfortable to bike besides if it’s busy. I’d say instead of posting it here, send a letter to your local government.
My bad, I have changed it now. Thankfully my town is already working on it, I'm just waiting for the pedestrian infrastructure to spread beyond the town square.
I keep meaning to look at exactly what my small car costs per year.
Last estimate was £1000 a year on fuel, parts, and maintenance.
Which is equivalent to 50+ hours of car club use.
For now, I have too many "shit, I need to get this large/heavy object 5 miles away" moments to make it worth it.
But long term, I kinda like the idea of not having to worry about the car.
Insurance and depreciation are the bigger costs I think, but even ignoring those; if you have “heavy objects” less than once a week it would probably still be cheaper to just rent a van when you need it. Convenience might be an argument but yeah that’s what you pay the big bucks for.
That figure actually includes depreciation and insurance! In fact, almost half of it is just the bloody insurance... Though I should possibly make an allowance in the figure for future repair work, as it's an older car.
I think once my big project (and associated last second trips to the builder's merchant) is finished, I'll have a go at living without the car.
My housemates may not be too happy about the private taxi service shutting down though!
Average car insurance cost in London is 1200-1600, surely yours isn’t less than half that?
That's the benefit of not-london and a small car: It's under £500!