The No Car Club

Seeing as this week started off with an anniversary, I thought it only appropriate to end it with another. While there is no clear marker like Bastille Day for this one, has officially been two years since my car died and I’ve been living car free. At first it was a bit of laziness, not wanting to deal with the whole insurance/title/etc., but then it became a challenge to see if I could really live in a city like Baltimore without my own set a wheels. It’s been two glorious years now, and there’s not a day I’d go back and wish I had a car again (especially these days with crazy gas prices!). So in honor of the two year mark, I came up with a Top 10 Reasons to Not Own a Car:

10. No paying for gas/insurance/upkeep or maintenance

9. No worrying about finding parking and you don’t waste $150+/month to pay for a piece of concrete while you slave away all day at your job

8. Walking is free exercise

7. One way streets become two way when you’re on your feet and traffic jams are much more pleasant as you pass angry cars with a mere stroll

6. You can offer to take friends to the airport (a huge favor to people) and they’ll lend you their car while you’re gone if they’re as awesome as my friends (I’m thinking I could even start my own business with this one, seeing as I’ve done 8 airport runs in the past month and a half)

5. Forces you to think logistically and be more productive with your time. And you learn to only pack what you can carry.

4. Car share programs like ZipCar have made getting a car when you need one a breeze (all gas and insurance is included in the totally reasonable fees! Much cheaper than owning a car yourself)

3. Carpooling means more QT with friends! (It’s seriously made me way more social, rather than driving myself places in the old days)

2. Public transportation makes for a great topic of conversation. And trust me, if you ride the bus in a place like Baltimore, you will have stories. (And the less than stellar public transportation I ride on a daily basis means ride it anywhere else is a breeze!)

1. More money to travel! :)

Dare you try getting around for a week or weekend without your car????

{infographic [click to enlarge] by Piece Studio – out of Baltimore! – for GOOD magazine}

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