The frustration of being too poor to have a car.

[mysteriouspoet]

I just wanted to vent about it here. It STINKS. When someone complains about a bad day--someone who has a car--I say, who cares? you have a car!

It's so inconvenient not to have one. I can't think of a single good thing about not having a car except the fact that for some it is a temporary condition. I hope I shall be one of them.

[Amy SF]

I think a lot of us car owners - myself included - take our cars for granted. Sometimes I do think about "the poor people who don't have cars and have to rely on public transportation", but it's probably because I live in L.A. where the public transportation system is kinda lousy.

[SilverC]

I don't have a car. I don't want one. I can get around just fine walking or public transport. Cars are money pits.

[Vegankat]

Cars are money pits.

Damn straight!

I only got my first car last summer, at age 19, and only because a friend of the family bought it for me and allowed me to pay her back as I could afford it. It's a decent car - 94 Ford Mustang - but I seriously would have been better off without it, financially at least.


But it does allow me a lot of independence. I know why you're frustrated, and I hope that you find a solution to your issue. Have you looked at Carmax? They have pretty good deals. I suggest getting a car from somewhere like that, when you are able to afford it, because they won't screw you over. I recieved my car in bad condition and have already paid nearly $1000 in repairs alone. Not to mention it has terrible gas mileage, compared to other compact cars. I guess I have a love-hate relationship with cars in general.

[mysteriouspoet]

Money pits? That's interesting.

I guess in that case, not having a car is a time pit, since I have been late on more than one occasion when a car would have gotten me there when I wanted to get there, rather than relying on buses, which run extraordinarily late on weekends and sort of late every other day.

I don't have the option of walking to places I need to go.

[bumble]

You have to weigh out the pros and cons.If you get a car you can barely afford on your salary,you'll have no clothes,cant go out and party,cant buy nice food or buy a car you can afford and have it break down all the time.

You have to make enough to afford a car,unfortunately.Otherwise it is a huge money pit..very true.

Think how enviromentally friendly you are!
I do know it sucks I have not had a car for years,we have one but *he gets it all the time,and now that I am single,I probably could not afford it..or just barely.Its tough.
Living closer to transit,walking is the very best option..

[brahmacharya]

Yeah, the environment one is good...all the money you save...can't have wine with dinner...having to park and then forgetting where you parked...

Sometimes I wish I had one but I'm investigating the prospect of an auto co-op. You pay a flat fee and register, and then you share a bunch of cars that are all parked all over the place at specific locations with your fellow co-oppers. I'm not 100% clear on the whole thing but it's a thought for those who cannot afford a car fa real but are interested in having one occasionally, for big grocery binges or camping trips [like the one we're taking this weekend, yay]...

[Amy SF]

mysteriouspoet: What about a bike? You can probably find a cheap one somewhere (Target, Wal-Mart) that will help you get where you need to go sooner than by public transportation. I know it's not the same thing as a car, but it's something.

[kraftykraft]

I wish my city had better public transportation so I didn't have to rely on my car so much. With the gas prices going through the roof, it would be a lot cheaper to take the bus. Plus when you go downtown, parking is always an issue.

[Ludi]

I would be dead in the water without a car, I appreciate it every time I drive it, and I really feel for you having to go without one. I had to go without in the past when my car broke down and I was too poor to fix it, but back then I was living in the city and could take the bus or walk to work. Now, I don't know what I'd do without one or if it got too expensive to use it or something...

[rainbowmoon]

I can commiserate. I am in no way close to being ready to buy a car- I have no money and am barely making it with school as it is- but I really need one. I live and will be going to school in areas where there is no public transportation. So, I'm stranded in my town with 2,500 people or on a college campus. Hell yeah, it sucks- someday when I get my degree and a decent job, I am going to be SO HAPPY to a get a car.

[bethanie]

This is slightly off topic (as I have a car). But I'm also trying to decrease my dependence on the car by having us use our bikes for errands, including grocery store trips. What I hate is impatient car drivers. I absolutely loathe people who honk at pedestrians and bikers for 'slowing them down.' I just think...how very self centered of you. Here I am...or here this guy is, on a bike or on foot, and there you are in a CAR complaining loudly about how you can't get to your destination quite as quickly as you'd like. It's insane I tell you...INSANE.

With that, I'm going to bed.

B

[SeaSiren]

A car is mandatory here, unless you want to bike for miles or call a Taxi

[Vegankat]

I can commiserate. I am in no way close to being ready to buy a car- I have no money and am barely making it with school as it is- but I really need one. I live and will be going to school in areas where there is no public transportation. So, I'm stranded in my town with 2,500 people or on a college campus. Hell yeah, it sucks- someday when I get my degree and a decent job, I am going to be SO HAPPY to a get a car.

The good thing about living on campus is that there is almost always someone willing to drive you (and lots of others - believe me, you won't be alone) somewhere, within reason. I didn't have a car my freshman year of college and I got out A LOT. I was popular with the Car-owners because I always chipped in for gas.

Now I live off-campus and I would be helpless without a car, simply because the city in which I live is famous for its ridiculously impractical urban sprawl.

[CaptainSwab]

I didn't have a car as an undergrad. I rode my bike everywhere. Biking riding among the student community was popular at my school though. We had bike lanes and everything. It was the only place I've lived where I've heard of anybody getting a BUI (biking under the influence...no I am not joking).

Of course living in CA helps with this as we didn't get snow in that area. It got cold, but not as cold as what most of you have to live through.

Now I am finally moving to a house again that is close enough to my work where I can ride my bike again and I am excited about that. :)

As a sidenote, to echo other people, public transit could defintly be improved out here. They have metro links and stuff but they all go into LA. I work out in the desert, far enough out of the city where they hardly even have any buses. I think I've only seen one bus the whole year that I've worked there.

It is defintly nice having the convience of a car but it'll be nice when I don't have to rely on it too.

[Brandon]

I didn't have a car as an undergrad. I rode my bike everywhere. Biking riding among the student community was popular at my school though. We had bike lanes and everything. It was the only place I've lived where I've heard of anybody getting a BUI (biking under the influence...no I am not joking).

Of course living in CA helps with this as we didn't get snow in that area. It got cold, but not as cold as what most of you have to live through.

Now I am finally moving to a house again that is close enough to my work where I can ride my bike again and I am excited about that. :)

As a sidenote, to echo other people, public transit could defintly be improved out here. They have metro links and stuff but they all go into LA. I work out in the desert, far enough out of the city where they hardly even have any buses. I think I've only seen one bus the whole year that I've worked there.

It is defintly nice having the convience of a car but it'll be nice when I don't have to rely on it too.


I had no car for almost 6 years, up until the first of this year. I bought my ex g/f's mom's old 84 Delta 88 for $200. It is a massive gas-guzzler! To drive across town and back usually burns about 1/4 or more of a tank of gas. Granted, the car needs a tuneup, and a lot of work, so that's probably a big factor. I still walk and bike most places. I prefer it because I like to walk/bike, I like the exercise, etc.
I do take the hooptie to the grocery store. That is one big plus, not having to only buy as much as I could carry. (although I have carried a butt-load of groceries over a mile before with no problems)

Bad and increment weather is a massive drawback to pedestrianism/biking. No way around it. If it is raining, you will get sopping wet and muddy. Best bet is to put some clothes in a plastic bag and put it in a backpack, so at least you can be dry when you get where you are going.
When it was snowy/icy/slick here in the winter, I would take the bus. Our busses here aren't late, if anything they are 3-4 minutes early. It was worth it to me to drop 50 cents to get where I was going dry, safe, and warm...and quickly! :)

I agree with what Bethanie said about impatient drivers. :rolleyes: I also agree with what Silver said about cars being a money pit too. The most expensive bike repair I ever had to fork out for was about $20, when I had to put a new shifter on, and new brake pads. If your bike breaks on you, you can pick it up and carry it home. No tow truck necessary.

Anyway, sorry to blab on so. I know where you are coming from, Mysteriouspoet.

[bumble]

Yes Bethanie! I hear ya loud and clear! The worst is when they wont stop for a girl and her dog and just run right through the stop sign...I am lucky I have only been hit by a car one time.

They are INSANE!!!

[Katt Fink]

I've never had a car so I know how you feel. The PT system around here SUCKS.. I'd be surprised if there were more than 3 buses in the entire state, lol. Riding a bike (safely) is an impossibility because all the roads around here are pretty much major highways with no bike lanes or sidewalks and the only streets that are safe enough to ride on are residential neighborhoods.. which take you exactly nowhere you need to go. So yeah.. every time I need to go somewhere (like to work everyday) I have to inconvenience someone else. Normally it isn't much of a problem because I make my boyfriend chauffer me around but he smashed up his car 3 weeks ago and it won't be drivable for a long time to come. Then again, in the unlikely event that I'd ever actually be able to afford my own car/insurance, I'd probably just bitch about environmental damage, gas prices, insurance and maintenance expenses.. so it's a no-win situation for me. *hmph*

[Hummusisyummus]

I too have a love/hate relationship with my car. I love being able to jump into it 25 minutes before class and being one time, or being able to get a ton of groceries. On the other hand, I spend insane amounts of money on it. NY, having the dubious honor of being the most taxed state in the US, is true to its reputation in that insurance is extortion. (I spend more on insurance than groceries, those bastards. >=O) I also hate that I pump CO2 into the air over my stupid transportation.

Riding a bike here is close to suicide. The main road I use is an example of the lovely American invention of a straight road lined with stores and chain restaurants that handles far more traffic than for what it was originally intened. In the 2 ½ years I’ve been driving I’ve already been in one accident that I could not have prevented. Had I been on a bike I could have been killed or freaking paralyzed (why do they let inept people drive? WHY?). I’ve considered public transportation for all of 2 seconds because I live at the bottom of a big-@ss hill that just would not work during the winter.

/rant

[Vegankat]

I too have a love/hate relationship with my car. I love being able to jump into it 25 minutes before class and being one time, or being able to get a ton of groceries. On the other hand, I spend insane amounts of money on it. NY, having the dubious honor of being the most taxed state in the US, is true to its reputation in that insurance is extortion. (I spend more on insurance than groceries, those bastards. >=O) I also hate that I pump CO2 into the air over my stupid transportation.

Riding a bike here is close to suicide. The main road I use is an example of the lovely American invention of a straight road lined with stores and chain restaurants that handles far more traffic than for what it was originally intened. In the 2 ½ years I’ve been driving I’ve already been in one accident that I could not have prevented. Had I been on a bike I could have been killed or freaking paralyzed (why do they let inept people drive? WHY?). I’ve considered public transportation for all of 2 seconds because I live at the bottom of a big-@ss hill that just would not work during the winter.

/rant


Off-topic - DUDE, I just noticed we have the same birthday, only you were born a year earlier than I. I've never known anyone with the same birthday! We rule! :vebo:


Okay, back to your regularly scheduled posting. :sweat:

[Hummusisyummus]

We should get together and PARTAY for your 21st. :tame:

[remilard]

I don't want a car personally, but I might sing a different tune if I lived in a less densely populated area that didn't have three modes of public transportation (free 90% of the places I go).

[FreshTart]

I absolutely loathe people who honk at pedestrians and bikers for 'slowing them down.'

I have a Tshirt that I pull over my biking shirt that reads, in big letters,

I am not holding up traffic.
I am traffic.


If I get honked at, the bird* goes up and the pedals slow down.


*As I don't use the bird myself, I invented my own bird. I make a "talking hand" (you know, the chatter chatter motion). I actually think that annoys them more then anything.

The only people who ever honk at me are the people in those huge trucks (not work trucks, they are always very polite) and the wannabe chinese mafia. The chinese mafia are also very nice, but the wannabes are not.

[bumble]

I have a Tshirt that I pull over my biking shirt that reads, in big letters,

I am not holding up traffic.
I am traffic.


If I get honked at, the bird* goes up and the pedals slow down.


*As I don't use the bird myself, I invented my own bird. I make a "talking hand" (you know, the chatter chatter motion). I actually think that annoys them more then anything.

The only people who ever honk at me are the people in those huge trucks (not work trucks, they are always very polite) and the wannabe chinese mafia. The chinese mafia are also very nice, but the wannabes are not.


lol! Thats me in traffic..but not quite as nice as you!

This is me,if you mess with me, as I walk peacefully :gun:

[Kiz]

I just wanted to vent about it here. It STINKS. When someone complains about a bad day--someone who has a car--I say, who cares? you have a car!

It's so inconvenient not to have one. I can't think of a single good thing about not having a car except the fact that for some it is a temporary condition. I hope I shall be one of them.

What a lovely attitude. I can really see how the mere fact of owning a car will make your life sooo much better when things go wrong. Wife cheating on you? Who cares? You have a car! Found out you have terminal cancer? Who cares? You have a car! Your 12 year old just ran away from home with her 30 year old lover? Who cares? You have a car! Oh! For friends like you.

I can think of a number of good reasons for not having a car. It's cheaper. Less impact on the environment. Walking and biking will make you fitter and healthier. Want more reasons or do you just not care?