What I didn’t realize was that I would find myself ditching my car more often than not and walking. My kids are 7, 5 and 3yo. When we moved here, I’d get ready to hop in our car and feel like a jerk when I knew we could walk it. So we’d walk to the library or one of the parks or the store or the farmers market and leave the car parked at home. And then my husband started taking transit to work because it was right there. And then we weren’t using the second car, so we sold it. We’ve realized we don’t actually need our family car. So we’re selling it.

We’ve gotten used to being carlite and soon we’ll be carfree. The older two are riding bikes. I’ve been walking with the youngest in a jogging stroller. The plan is to get a Yuba Mundo next month and taking transit on bad weather days. We have presto transit passes that work from downtown all through the suburbs. We’re signed up with a car share program for trips out of town or we can take VIA rail.

We’ve had to go carlite to figure out that we can do it. I’m so pleased that our house hunting took us down this unexpected path.

The best benefit of being car-less? You are a part of the changing seasons, you feel the slight changes in the air, the ground, the trees in a manner that just doesn’t happen when you’re sitting in an airtight car. There is such a magical something about stepping out one day and realizing the little nubbins on your alder trees have just barely begun to sprout buds – that magic smells a certain way, an aroma only experienced if you’re blessed enough to be outside in the first place.

For example, I go to school 3 miles away. There is one bus per day from my village to the village where my school is and it’s at 1pm. Walking means you either have to (a) cross the motorway junction or (b) hike through the woods (which also makes it a lot longer than 3 miles). It’s not so far away, but it simply can’t be reached and there’s plenty of times I need to be at school when there’s no school buses.

I’m a recorder player. There’s only 3 teachers within an hour and a half’s drive; I’m lucky enough for one of them to be very close to me. Reaching her by public transport would be impossible: again, the only buses are early afternoon, and then walking from the town to the estate (yes, there’s buses, but at the wrong times) is more than an hour.

Never mind the fact that my brother is at university and has to completely vacate his dorm room every 9 weeks and bring all the stuff home; that would be impossible on public transport and a nightmare in a taxi. Then we have to buy things for him when he’s here (as he has no transport at uni, so it’s easier) in addition to shopping for a family of three and my grandmother, who also relies on us being able to drive her to places.

Oh, and my dad’s workplace is reachable by public transport but only if you take two trains with a 45 minute wait between and then get a bus after that.

I detest living in the countryside, and the absolute reliance on cars just makes it worse. It’d be great to even have the option of not using a car, but do that here and you’d almost never leave home.

I have to say that I resonate with the comments about how being car-free helps you learn more about how how to be more self-sufficient and feel more capable. Ironically, we have also had moments in which we are especially grateful for the kindness of others who insist on loaning us their car when we need to pick up a large item or something like that. I think they mostly do that because they pity us for not having a car. Even so, we appreciate the unintended consequence of pooling resources with neighbors and friends to live a little lighter.

I’m not convinced that we’ll be car-free forever, but it’s doable for us for now, and we are enjoying it.

We have chosen our housing locations based on our lack of a car, and it’s made our life much slower and richer as a result. We do buy more locally, we walk a lot, and we don’t ever over-schedule.

Practically speaking, it’s actually really nice to be able to talk to your kids and hold them in your lap, and be able to actually be with them instead of having to drive. Some of my best conversations with my kids have happened on the bus or on walks to run errands. Also, because we walk and take transit and bike everywhere, my kids are learning somevaluable skills that I hope will make them happier people and more responsible citizens in the community. They have to walk long distances, to wait patiently, and to interact with the world around them. They don’t get shuttled around in isolation, strapped to a carseat. They are actors in their transportation, and they have to deal every day with people who don’t look or act (or smell, sometimes) like they do. That’s really important to me. Also, they will be savvy transit users when they get older, and will be able to get around independently. No chauffeuring for me!

So while there are certainly moments when I wish we were in a car (one cold, sleety afternoon with a whiny 2-year-old, 3 bags of groceries, and a 45-minute bus delay comes to mind), it’s been great for us.

Living this way really does focus your world. It’s like living in a small village where you see a lot of the same people, go to the same shops and parks, and use the same streets every day. We base our decisions on what is close and available, foregoing certain activities and opportunities if it would require driving. As a result, my kids feel very comfortable and competent in their neighborhood and get really freaked out if we go to Box stores or strip malls. Wish I’d grown-up this way!

-Ian

Nicolas

simplegreenaction.ca team