My wife has an old back & nerve injury, so biking 9 miles to and from work isn’t happening, not to mention it’s 9 degrees and snowing outside, so not, biking isn’t an option. She works in the healthcare industry, and her work is the closest health-related building to our house, so a closer job isn’t available unless she changes her profession.
Even if I sold my house, I’m paying ~5% interest rate on a mortgage from ~2010. Selling my house, even at a profit, and purchasing a closer house (even at a lower cost), would result in a significantly higher payment (like 2.5-3x).
I understand that these are options for people that rent, or are planning on moving anyways, or don’t have health issues. Also, I agree with the less/fuck cars movement, but I don’t see how it’s changing in my lifetime. Even if I end up moving in the next 5 years, it’s not like we are ever getting rid of owning a single car. We sometimes go camping, and don’t have a truck, so we have a car with a hitch for those things. Also, to bring for example, one of my kids to a friend’s house, we would need to drive roughly 5-10 miles, without any public transportation in between, no crosswalks, and it’s not like my youngest can bike that distance.
I also need to bring my parents to doctor’s appointments. Some of them can be 20-50 miles away to see specialists. It’s not like they can ride a bike, and public transportation is limited to very specific dates & times (and not convenient ones for 1-hour appointments). Hell, my father has dementia. He can’t go anywhere without assistance, even with a car. Car-free living in the boonies seems like a pipe dream. The more I think about it, I’m starting to get irrationally irritated at the idea.
Yeah, that seems fair in your case. I don’t completely agree with all your points (for example 9°F(-13°C) is still bike-able with the right kit (Oulu, Finland gets below -30°C, and a lot of people still bike) but snow can be a problem if there’s a lack of maintenance) but overall I agree and I think you’re already on the path to being car-lite, which is great if that’s all you can do.
My wife has an old back & nerve injury, so biking 9 miles to and from work isn’t happening, not to mention it’s 9 degrees and snowing outside, so not, biking isn’t an option. She works in the healthcare industry, and her work is the closest health-related building to our house, so a closer job isn’t available unless she changes her profession.
Even if I sold my house, I’m paying ~5% interest rate on a mortgage from ~2010. Selling my house, even at a profit, and purchasing a closer house (even at a lower cost), would result in a significantly higher payment (like 2.5-3x).
I understand that these are options for people that rent, or are planning on moving anyways, or don’t have health issues. Also, I agree with the less/fuck cars movement, but I don’t see how it’s changing in my lifetime. Even if I end up moving in the next 5 years, it’s not like we are ever getting rid of owning a single car. We sometimes go camping, and don’t have a truck, so we have a car with a hitch for those things. Also, to bring for example, one of my kids to a friend’s house, we would need to drive roughly 5-10 miles, without any public transportation in between, no crosswalks, and it’s not like my youngest can bike that distance.
I also need to bring my parents to doctor’s appointments. Some of them can be 20-50 miles away to see specialists. It’s not like they can ride a bike, and public transportation is limited to very specific dates & times (and not convenient ones for 1-hour appointments). Hell, my father has dementia. He can’t go anywhere without assistance, even with a car. Car-free living in the boonies seems like a pipe dream. The more I think about it, I’m starting to get irrationally irritated at the idea.
Yeah, that seems fair in your case. I don’t completely agree with all your points (for example 9°F(-13°C) is still bike-able with the right kit (Oulu, Finland gets below -30°C, and a lot of people still bike) but snow can be a problem if there’s a lack of maintenance) but overall I agree and I think you’re already on the path to being car-lite, which is great if that’s all you can do.