A Week Without a Car?

Posted on by Brian Scott

Could you get by?

First off, we’re retired, no work schedule, no school-runs and we’ve lived rural for four years now.

Last Monday, Jan 26th, I was out walking on the patch when my lovely lady drove up the lane past the feeding post, heading for town, four miles away.

As we chatted when she stopped, she mentioned a knocking sound from the rear of the car, I couldn’t see anything but told her to carry on keeping an ear on sounds from the rear. She called from town saying that the noise seemed worse so, I told her to call in at the garage.

Now, this is a small rural town that has, to my knowledge, three local garages, one of which we’ve come to use for the regular stuff like MoT and servicing and they are always busy. The guy took a mechanic’s look and one of the rear springs had snapped and was rubbing against the inside of that wheel.

End of journey, end of driving for that day. He said he’d get on it as soon as possible. Jo got a taxi, phew, back home and we settled in to wait.

So, here begins my question. By Friday there was no progress as expected and the wholesaler had delivered the wrong spring so, maybe Monday!?

Could you last a whole week, seven days, without a car?

Remember I said we’ve been rural for four years now? It takes a while to adapt to living like this. We usually have a full freezer, plenty of milk, bread and eggs so there wasn’t an immediate issue however, you do start to feel a little house-bound. Cap that with the dull grey days where it’s not always conducive to getting outside and you do start to feel …… down? A little bit lost. I have no doubt that if we lived in town, things would be different, possibly better but we like this life now and it really wasn’t a hassle for us.

Today is Monday, exactly seven days without the car and it’s “pishin’ doon” (pouring), it would be wouldn’t it? The day I am hoping? that I have to get back into town to collect the car, a 4 mile walk in cold rain šŸ˜¦

The nearest shop is 4 miles away.

The mailbox is 1 mile away.

The bins are 1.5 miles away.

Could you cope? Do you cope already?

Do we really need cars? Really? We had a house around the corner from us that had 4 or 5 cars parked outside, probably older, working kids? But 5 cars for one household?

Years ago we walked, caught a bus or cycled to work, to school but no more. We have created our own need for cars, extra costs, pollution and isolation, sitting alone in a tin box whizzing up and down motorways. When we drove South using the old A roads last year, it was great, they were devoid of traffic but the nearby motorway (freeway) was jammed with fast moving vehicles, most of them single occupant.

This rural life isn’t for everyone but, it really does feel so much better than our past life.

Could you be without a car? Could you make the changes to allow that?

Do you get by without one now?

7 thoughts on “A Week Without a Car?”

  1. Although I’m rural in the sense that you are we’re a mile from our mailbox, and about 3 miles from the nearest little gas station market and 5 miles from a big box store and the grocery store for milk and fresh fruit is a bit further. While not rural we still have 2 cars. I think we’ll always have two keeping one for each and use as a backup if one breaks down. We have bicycles as well.

    I hope the right part arrived and you get the car back very soon, and a break in the rain too!

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  2. I live in suburban Houston, Texas, we drive everywhere. I do enjoy getting away from the city and doing bird-watching in various wildlife parks and preserves (30 – 50 miles), and along the coast (50 – 120 miles). I haven’t flown on a plane in over 8 years, and not sure I want to… driving means I can take all my camera gear, and explore detours whenever the notion strikes me!

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  3. I haven’t owned a car for years. When I lived in a very large city I used public transport. When I moved to a small town 10 years ago I learned to walk everywhere. šŸ™‚ Luckily, there are two supermarkets and some other shops within walking distance. If I need something they don’t sell I order online. However, I do need to rent a car a few times a year for certain errands.

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  4. That is a good point Brian, we would all be much healthier without one, but sadly our world has become so much more removed from the local village. Much of our social problems are in the isolation that travelling in a closed metal box has resulted in less social contact, as people would have a chat as they walked and met people along the way as we do when birding on the track..

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  5. I hope you are back home safe and sound warming up from that cold, rainy walk!

    I could not do it. We have a tough time doing it when down a car due to a slight repair. We do have access to the train into the city which we prefer over the 28 mile drive into New York City. The day to day commute and errands? Iā€™d never be able to do it!

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  6. Good afternoon / evening all and thank you for your responses, If I might add, obviously we all have very different needs and requirements and sometimes multiple vehicles are a must. I think my best comment on what I meant was “When we drove South using the old A roads last year, it was great, they were devoid of traffic but the nearby motorway (freeway) was jammed with fast moving vehicles, most of them single occupant.” that fabulous, winding and scenic road was almost traffic-free because it isn’t fast enough for modern needs and I am very glad of that šŸ™‚

    I enjoyed a smirry wet 3.75 mile walk and it served to remind me how much litter is building up on our roadsides šŸ™‚ šŸ˜¦ but that’s another rant, right? šŸ˜‰

    I hope all is well with you all

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