On November 1st, it will be five months that I've lived without a car, and I think the biggest surprise is how little I've missed it. It hasn't all been sunshine and roses (there's been a little too much sunshine here in Arizona, actually!), but the joys of this new lifestyle have far outweighed the challenges. Here are just a few of the perks and pitfalls:
Perks:
Parking. I love not having to search for a parking space or compete with others to snag the prime spots. I do most of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, and if you've ever been there, you know the struggle. Now, I just pull up to the bike rack, and off I go. n
My transportation expenses are much lower. According to NerdWallet, the average cost of owning a car is over $1000 per month. Even if I had no car payment, I'd still be spending about $450 per month on insurance, gas, maintenance, and registration. In the last five months, I've spent approximately $600 on my bike ($120/month) for panniers, a trailer, maintenance, and insurance.
Exercise. I work in front of a computer most days, so being able to get out on my bike, even if it's only for a quick trip to the store, is a way to sneak in bits of exercise. I don't usually just go to the store, however. If I have somewhere that I need to go, I tack it on to an hour-long ride around the lake in the morning before the store opens.
I'm much more deliberate about what I do. Do I really want to ride all the way to Target to impulsively buy something I saw on the internet? It makes me stop and think. I've noticed that I consume less, which is always a good thing.
No more vitamin D deficiency! I've suffered from low levels of vitamin D ever since I moved to Georgia. Now that I'm out riding my bike every day, that's no longer a problem. Tempe, Arizona, gets an average of 300 sunny days a year, which leads me to the challenges I've faced so far living car-free.
Challenges:
The heat! It's a challenge for anyone living here, but not being able to run from my air-conditioned apartment to an air-conditioned car to an air-conditioned store made me have to adjust my daily schedule. This year, Phoenix (Tempe's neighboring city) reached temperatures of over 110 degrees on 80 days in 2024, which meant that if I wanted to avoid heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or simply bursting into flames, I needed to get out early in the morning to exercise, grocery shop, etc. Also, my bike's maintenance guide warned that temperatures over 105 degrees have a detrimental effect on battery life. Now that it's finally getting cooler, I'm looking forward to getting out in the afternoons and evenings to explore more of the city.
Distracted drivers. Speeding drivers. Distracted, speeding drivers. Luckily, I've only almost been plowed into once when a woman in an SUV made a left turn as I was going through an intersection. Thankfully, at least one of us was paying attention.
Sometimes, I need a car. If I want to go paddleboarding at Canyon Lake, I can't just jump in my car and go. But that just requires a little more planning. If I can't carpool with someone, then I have to rent a car, but thanks to services like Turo.com or getaround.com, it's not crazy expensive, and it's still cheaper than owning a car.
I know that living without a car depends a lot on where you live. Here in Tempe, it's been pretty easy. The infrastructure is there, although it could be much, much better. There's good public transportation, and the city is compact enough that I can get to where I need to go in 30 minutes or less. What I value most about getting out of my car and onto the bike is that I'm much more present. Both by choice and necessity, I'm much more engaged with the world around me, and I think that's something we can all benefit from.
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