I never realized how liberating not owning a car any more would feel. I sold my car for cash yesterday, cancelled my 3A auto insurance and membership that I have had for over 50 years and will get a nice refund. Now here I sit as a 82 year old and no longer encumbered with a large home or property & vehicles. Every thing that I own is now contained within my two bedroom, two bath apartment. With monthly income which is more than I need to live on & online only bank account and investments I am feeling fantastic & Free. All my driving needs will be taken care of by UBER & LYFT. I think I will take a TRANS CANADA Train Trip next Spring or a Mississippi River Boat Cruise to celebrate. I did all the travel and eight cruises in the past 25 years that I have been retired and owned vehicles and property to take care of. Those days are over.
Good for you Ren....much as I'd love to do the same myself, I live in a rural area with irregular and expensive public transport...so my car she is a'stayin'... If I live in the city of London instead of in the rural shires, I would dump my car like a hot brick..
We do not have a car anymore @Ren Tanner. We just use public transport. We live on a small island so really do not need a car. Save you heaps of money too.
Good for you, Ren. I still need my car but as soon as I see that I don't or I have issues that make me dangerous on the road, I'll do the same. Sometimes on some senior forums I read about all the health problems some have and I'm really surprised they're allowed to drive. Scary! Even some prescription meds aren't condusive to driving but people do.
I thought about this, and we can't do without our car either. Bobby always has some sort of project going, and we use the old wagon to haul home lumber, cement, or whatever else he needs for a project. I usually go to Kroger 1-2 a week for fresh groceries. Plus, we go to the fitness center every other day most of the time. However, if I were by myself, I think that I would sell the car. I am always afraid that it is going to break down on me, but as long as Bobby is there, it is not nearly as scary as it would be if it were just me alone in the car. The city has a van called "Handi-ride" that is for older people and handicapped people of any age that need a ride. It is somewhere between a bus and a taxi in that the Handi-ride will pick up several people and then drop them off wherever they need to go, and then come back and pick them up again when they are scheduled. The regular busline is also not very far away; so between those two, I could probably get back and forth to the store or the fitness center. The money that I spend paying for gas , licensing, and car insurance would cover what it cost me to use public transportation, and I would not have to worry that the car would break down on me somewhere. For the monthly trips to Sam's Club, I would probably have to use a taxi or Uber, so I could get the larger amount of groceries home; or just not shop there at all. But, since we do need the car and I am not by myself, the old stationwagon will stay in the driveway for a while longer.
Because I am only in the UK for less than half the year these days, my car had been sitting on the drive most of the time, so earlier this year I agreed to a car share with my daughter Caroline's partner, he uses it while I am away and we go halves on all the running costs. It works well because he has a work van to use when I am using my car. I could almost manage without, because public transport is good in my area and free being a senior, but I am still addicted to the convenience of having my own transport. Sounds like you have made a wise decision in your case @Ren Tanner
Obviously, what floats one boat sinks another. But Ren is right. Owning things actually un-needed is an encumbrance. If adequate public transportation is readily available, write off the Insurance Companies, Creditors, and accept the minor inconvenience of waiting for the bus. Regarding cars, eventually the powers that be will withdraw our driving privileges anyway. In my own case, my wife renewing her about to expire DL, I asked the Agent about my own need to renew next summer, when I turn 75. Response was, no driving or written test, only visual exam! And, if done anytime during the entire year previous to expiration, you get the new license extended 5 years (at my age) beyond next summer, even if done now! Love the Arizona DL law, changed while we lived in Phoenix during the '90s. Lines formed early morning 2 hours before opening, still in darkness, at the license centers, and some of the folks arriving at opening time were still waiting well into the afternoon! A day off work just to renew a license! Ridiculous, it definitely was. Why was it so? The Phoenix area, like so many other Southwestern cities, experienced tremendous influx of new residents over those past decades. The accommodating services became seriously outdated. SOMEONE in charge used their heads. Drivers Licenses became issued "for life", expiring at age 65. Titles for vehicles were printed and finalized at the center, within moments of application, no longer requiring weeks in the mail. DLs, however, are still mailed. To circumvent fraudulent applications by non-descripts here illegally. I don't claim the system here is perfect; that cannot happen, anywhere. But it fits pretty well. One "gripe": State-subsidized payment of mandatory car insurance for those unable to buy it, in response to lawyers crying out in favor of clients driving to work without insurance, unable to buy it, the Financial Responsibility Law hindering their ability to support their families.
In the UK when you reach 70 you have to renew your drivers licence every 3 years, but you can do it online, simply stating you are safe to drive, no test is necessary at the moment for any age.
Lol yes that should read ............any age over 70.......though my father never took a driving test because they were not compulsory when he started driving....the UK driving test these days is much more thorough than when I took mine, I would probably struggle to pass it now
I really miss not having a car, but I could never afford the upkeep anymore. When I had a car and couldn't sleep at night, problem solved. A long, slow ride down country gravel roads at say, 2 or 3am. was like heaven must be. No traffic, no noise. And on those rare winter nights, with a snow cover on the landscape and a full moon, beautiful. Not to mention all the wildlife you see at night. Rabbits galore, 'coons, possum, deer, coyotes. One night I was idling down a little used dirt road at about 10-12 MPH, just looking around. A red fox ran out in front of me a little ways ahead. He ran on in my headlights for a half mile or about. He got nervous when I nudged the speed up, and jumped off into the brush. If I had a car, I'd probably be eating out all the time, so I guess I'm better off without.
I just filled up my car yesterday and was shocked to see that it was $3.01 for regular at the Chevron. True that Chevron is the most expensive gas around here but I have to drive too far for the cheaper gas.