I wrote a link-laden comment over on the Cascadia Scorecard Weblog in response to Alan Durning's post announcing that his family has decided to try car-free living. Unfortunately they're stripping html from their comments (damn spammers anyway!), so I'm putting the linky version here. All but the last link go to other entries here on Mad Times.
Congratulations!Posted by jeffy at March 29, 2006 04:28 PMWe went through an almost identical process a little over a year ago and are still car-free.
For us, living out in Issaquah (16 miles east of Seattle along I-90 for readers outside the Seattle area), where buses are few and far between and flexcar isn't an option, it has a different set of challenges. Around town here, we can get by most of the time with bikes and feet. For trips around the region, the bus works sometimes, and when it won't we rely on informal car sharing relationships with our wonderful friends. For trips, we rent a car or take the train.
As you say, though, your transportation needs are subject to your own choices. Choose to live close to work or close to transit and your need for a car decreases immensely. Kipchoge Spencer said it well recently: "The most efficient kind of transportation is already being where you want to go."
Taking the plunge with a family of five, though, that's true courage. I look forward to hearing more about your family's experiences!