There is no room for those who do not drive.....

Post Reply New Topic

LOL, I've tried hard in living in states outside my own. But as I said the public transit is becomng more and more expensive, not to mention the places that're now put in commericial areas. That means if you live in places land owned without so much taxed by U.S. government, there is no store, hospital, pharmacy near by.

I realize I sound stupid in saying this given that I'm among so many who are well informed or live in the majority that're given the info to this illl measured. I'm now more than worried since I've been off my meds and am having it harder and harder to find ppl around here who are not only moving out but employing in public transit.

I'm sure there's no easy answere yet only to one's perspective. This has never been easy yet since I've saved so much from investing in the government and working in a substanial low income place....where the efyging should I go?

Where should anyone go whenever they're not only fairly low income to begin with, but lose healthycare, insurance, medicale crap that pretty much helped them in the first place before food stamps?

Not trying to sound all whiny and emo but I can't take it anymore and I know some ppl way worse off than me. Where do you go when this crap happens. I'm sorry to sound ignorant, but this is my first down trodden experience with the economy.

Where does one go isn't socialable or rich to afford education a good college? The only thing I'm worried about more is my mental health more than anything. Aside from me having trouble in making a living at doing what I do best....socialzing and flexibility has never been easy for me to be adept in.

OK, freak it, maybe I making more than it is, but I'm still having trouble in transpertation and resources!! ! I don't want to even say how embarassing it is here b/c I know many "normal" or social ppl are better at this growing up than I am....

I think there are a number of people on this forum in similar situations. I have been struggling with living situations for a while. Even though I have a car, I live with my parents, and have other issues which stop me from being more involved in society.

Really?

Yes really, but in my reality. That's why I wanted to get anyone else's insight into this. I really may be in the majority. I've never been so humiliated about not only going back and taking a drivers course ( without screwing up) but not being able to afford one. They alll seem to give out eventually if you don't know your cars.

Anyway, I realize I have to be an adult about these things. It is not easy especially for ppl who have share familiar senstiment about a person who looks like crap because they "don't work hard enough"....I shouldn't be sensative to a some ppl but it hurts.

I haven't read all the comments, so I don't know if this has been suggested yet, but have you considered a small motor-scooter?
I recently bought a cheap Honda Elite scooter off of a friend for under 1grand, which goes up to 35mph, gets excellent gas millage, and requires no motorcycle license to operate. It's the ideal vehicle for commuting about the city. The only stumper is if you have to carry lots of grocery bags. I'm not trying to advise honda scooters, per say, but scooters in general can be very convenient. Also, I find it easier to drive than a car, because I have a better sense of the space around me, so I'm less likely to hit something on my right side.

I do drive, and I've considered and been working towards being able to bike to work. 15mi each way takes a bit of work to get to, though.

If you live in a small mid western town far from a large city, you are out of luck without a car.

ruveyn

Taxes and education costs are lower here (we don't have a state income tax, either). I am much more laid back and talkative in person than online.

flagstaff has a exellent tansit system, its $1 and you can virtually go from one side of the town to the other and i use it frequently. i feel your pain of being a none driver, as i am also one. we didnt get our bus system for awile, and have a population of 60,000 or so. the midwest is usually the last to get everything though

I live in London, where having a car is an unneccesary, expensive and ecologically damaging appendage.

So I guess I'm lucky enough not to need one. The public transport here isn't perfect, but it's more than adequate - and I'd imagine that driving in a city this crowded would be just as stressful.

I never learned how to drive so I knew ever since I was 18 that I would need to live in a city (I'm 29 now). I live in Philadelphia, which is about an hour train ride from my hometown. The public transportation here is pretty decent and it is becoming a very bike-friendly city as well (we also have car share programs that are reasonably priced for those who are licensed). I can generally get anywhere I need to go and having access to anything I could possibly want was always a big deal to me, regardless of if I actually ever took advantage of a lot of those things. My rent is pretty decent, but I live in a very tiny apartment of course. If I had to live in a tiny town in the middle of nothing like my hometown I would just be constantly depressed because I would feel so stuck at home. I may rarely want to leave my apartment much of the time, but knowing that when I wanted to I would have a very small number of places I could go would drive me crazy. And for jobs I would have a very limited number of options unless I wanted to commute into the city everyday using public transportation that doesn't run very often (and still I'd have to get a ride to and from the train station and such) So I guess it is an issue of control and freedom. You can have control and freedom if you live in an urban area, but then you get all the things that come with living in an urban area. I kind of like cities though even if I am uncomfortable around people. I don't know.

Taking public transportation can be very overwhelming for me as far as sensory concerns go, but driving a vehicle would be as well. I just suck it up and deal even if it is tough sometimes. I just put my headphones on and turn the volume way up and close my eyes a lot. I guess I am used to it. Lately I don't even have to take public transportation that much since I am not longer in university and I am not currently employed. I have access to anything I want within several blocks of me and if I didn't want to take public transportation for a job there would be many options since I live in the center of the city, though I don't personally object to doing so when the time actually comes.

Our country is so large that it is kind of difficult to have integrated transportation. If you want to live in an area that is not urban then you do have to have a car and I know that even some urban areas have poor public transportation and a car is pretty necessary like L.A.

I lived in Rome for awhile and their public transportation is much like Philadelphia's, two main subway lines (though I know they are expanding now), a bunch of bus lines, some trolley lines, and then rail lines to places on the outskirts and beyond. Of course there was a much wider variety of places I could get to easier because it wasn't a large country and public transportation was a bit cheaper, but I'm sure for the poorer people living in rural areas of Italy that they also don't really leave where they are that much, though maybe a bit more than the poorer people in the US who live in states that are in the middle of the country. So I'm not sure that moving to another country would really solve things, plus it is kind of difficult to move to another country legally. So you would be very limited in what kind of employment you could get and you wouldn't be eligible for any state services.

Ohhhh, that's a good point!

Fatal-Noogie's suggestion is probably the best. A second-hand scooter should not be very expensive to get or to run.

If you don't want anything with a motor, consider a folding bike. You can take it on public transport, unfold it, then ride the rest of the way. I read that Dahon gives good value for money. There are nicer folders from other manufacturers, but they can get very pricey. There is also some really bad rubbish out there. If you need more info, I think I can find some online sources.

Europe is generally good for public transport, especially the western central bit (Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Netherlands). Britain is badly served, but apparently much better than the US. I really don't want to experience public transport worse than in Britain. But even there I could live without car. I have now lived without car for 20 years, meaning without owning a car or borrowing cars from relatives or friends.

Portland has very good transportation. There are some places you can't get to by bus or train so you would need to carpool or hitch a ride to or use a cab. But then again you can get to lot of places.

Life in the bus/bike lane topic

I have the same problem, MC.

I live in a town with fairly good public trans. It will be even better when I eventually move closer to Toronto.

Small isolated towns give me a feeling of entrapment. Lack of jobs, services, nosy neighbours.

It would be wiser to move to a larger town/city with any public transit system. Larger cities have more accommodations for the disabled. Right now it doesn't sound like you have much of anything where you live other than family.

Lately here in Seattle it seems like it's getting to be the other way around. Between the new Light Rail, Metro Busses and, Bike lanes in the middle of regular lanes there isn't much room to drive anymore.

On the subject of places to live I live in Seattle wich has a High cost of living but, I make alot more then I would in San Antonio,Texas where my sister lives. At one point I was thinking about moving down there but, this is the main reason I did not. One thing I did notice about San Antonio when I was down there is it is very spread out with lots of freeways and roads. By contrast Seattle is more concentrated with fewer freeways and many choke points. Seattle might be one of the few cities (on the West Coast atleast) where your better off taking the Bus.

P.S. I like to add that one day I was driving my brother in law to work (I cann't remember why). He works for Microsoft. When I got out there, there was all these cars that looked like cabs all over the place and I asked him what they where. Apparently Microsoft has it's own transit system. You can hop a "cab" or a "shuttle" to anywhere on the campus and a few places around town (if you have a microsoft badge). They even have Buses that travel to specific neighborhoods and bus people into work from all over the city. So there you go. just need to figure out how you can work at Microsoft