Buying a car after not having one the year I lived in San Francisco was one of the most liberating things I've ever done.
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For such a big, international and tech city as San Francisco to require a car to feel free reveals how poorly organised the US are in terms of public services.
I guess the public transport system is almost non-existent.
I'm glad my country isn't an oil producer. We're less rich, but if the GDP per capita difference all goes to buying a (30k$ berline electric) car to feel free...
To clarify: I bought the car after I moved out of SF. I didn't need one while I was there. But I still think being trapped in the city was unhealthy for me.
You don’t own a car, a car owns you.
That may very well be true, but it seems to benefit me more than it benefits it.
Ok, I'll bite. How does my car own me?
Owning a car creates its own demand that otherwise wouldn’t exist.
e.g. choosing suburbs to simplify car ownership, and then relying on the car every day.
Choosing not to own a car creates its own demands (on your time, your comfort, your freedom).
Anecdote: my brother-inlaw lives in Chicago (one of the places in the US where not owning a car is quite practical), and purchased a car. Why? Because he attempted to do a home renovation himself over the course of a winter without one. Hauling around tools, materials, and himself on a bike in snow and slush was not something he ever wanted to repeat.
Even something simple like grocery shopping is a pain without a car. And delivery services (someone else’s car) or a nearly daily shopping trip are the only alternatives.
Plus, Chicago is a place where it’s far easier to be car free if you’re wealthy. The north side is where most of the density is, and the highest real estate prices.
I judge Chicago (minus the extensive suburbs) as more of a one car per family situation. Which is better than most of America but not car free.
In Tempe Arizona, this will never work.
Grocery carts are a thing..
And then reno is over and the payments continue. Truck rentals are a thing.
It depends on where you live. I do this a lot but I live near a store.
I lived 10 years without a car and having one now is awesome. I choose to live in suburbia because I want quiet. Having a car is complimentary.
I can now purchase heavy groceries and get them home without tipping someone etc.
I exercise less but having a backyard with privacy, a car, and peace and quiet is what I want at this stage in my life.
Grocery carts are a thing.
You’re ignoring all the benefits. It’s like saying owning a dog is terrible because you have to pick up poop.
"choosing suburbs to simplify car ownership"
Explain how a car owns ME, not a straw man.
How about “choosing a lifestyle that expects car ownership is a given”?
Requires a down payment, finance payments, registration and taxes, dmv lines, insurance, maintenance, traffic tickets, parking tickets, toll roads, parking fees, higher rent to pay for parking, fuel, police surveillance, dealership sales scams, etc.
Now you need a better job and probably stuck in traffic more often in service of the car. No wonder rideshare and rentals are taking over
I have a very old car but rarely use it, am realistic about it, and prefer walking and metro when possible.
"Requires a down payment, finance payments, registration and taxes, dmv lines, insurance, maintenance . . ."
Does life not involve responsibilities? How does this imply OWNERSHIP over oneself? Tally that actual amount of time all of these responsibilities actually involve rather than assume that the rest of us are overwhelmed by your exhaustive list.
"traffic tickets, parking tickets, toll roads, parking fees" higher rent to pay for parking, fuel, police surveillance, dealership sales scams, etc."
It didn't take long before you had to stretch to find these nearly insurmountable obstacles.
"Now you need a better job and probably stuck in traffic more often in service of the car."
Did you stop to consider that this better job that wasn't available without a car might be a reason why you also have a higher standard of living and more liberty to spend your newly acquired free time doing what you enjoy?
"No wonder rideshare and rentals are taking over"
Ever heard of buses, trains, and taxis? It isn't like these things never existed as options that people -- including car owners like yourself -- have used before.
"I have a very old car. . ."
So does it OWN you? The point of contention here is ownership. Before the car, people may have owned horses. Owning a horse involved a lot of responsibilities as well, but it also provided a service for people. That doesn't imply that the horse owned the owner.
It’s an expression to warn a young person about the reality of car ownership, that you become a slave to it. It requires a certain amount of imagination. Cars are not a barrier to good jobs, one simply moves to where the commute is acceptable.