Why Going Car-Free Feels Impossible (And Why It’s Not)

For many people, the idea of living without a car can feel basically impossible. Cars are often tied so closely to our independence and convenience that it can feel like an alien concept even to consider life without a car. But depending on where you live and what your priorities are, going car-free might be more possible and likely for you than you might think.

So in this post, we’re going to talk about a few things that the car-free life could offer you and why it might be more tempting than you’d first think.

Why do cars feel like a necessity these days?

The process of buying a car these days has become so routine that it’s basically been ingrained in our financial planning. No matter who you are, you’ve probably thought about big purchases in life and a car is perhaps one of them. In fact, some might even consider it a natural step on the staircase of adulthood. Families might even feel pressured into buying or upgrading their vehicle for the sake of their children.

But the reality is that this is just something that has been trained over years and years of social normality. Owning a car is no longer a necessary step in adulthood, and there are plenty of alternatives available, assuming that you live in the right area for it.

Exploring the real alternatives to a car

For those who are planning to give the car-free life a try, it’s important to remember that there are several alternatives to owning a car that are worth your time and effort. For example, you can use public transport if it’s available to you, you could try cycling, or you could even use a car rental service if you occasionally do need to drive outside of your town.

These alternatives can give you plenty of flexibility in how you get around and should ideally be combined for more options. For instance, you can use cycling to get to specific locations near you, but you can also switch to public transport if you’re going to travel to another town or someplace further. If you need to go somewhere fairly far and specific, then a car rental is usually the best option if you don’t own a car yourself.

Making the transition easy

The process of letting go of your car won’t happen overnight. You might be wondering something like, “what document do I need to sell my car?” or “how much would a bicycle cost?” and so on. These kinds of questions are natural when it comes to going car-free, and it’s stuff that you should definitely consider beforehand.

You really have to line up various options before you decide to go car-free, as you never want to be stuck and have no way to reach your destination. As such, make sure you try these different options first and give yourself more ways to travel around and commute before you decide to go all-in and sell your car.