It isn’t likely Anne will see cows on her commute, as David Lippert does in Houston.
By Micheline Maynard
Curbing Cars readers are offering Advice for Anne on whether she should keep her 1998 Honda Civic or go car free. David Lippert and his family went car free in Houston, and here he weighs in with some suggestions.
Hi Anne,
It sounds like you have some of the key ingredients to go car-free. Our regular activities are school, work, groceries.
Even when we had a car, we made choices to minimize the loss should that happen.
I took the bus to work downtown. My daughter has always used the school bus and groceries had to be walking distance or take a bus there and a cab back. My wife is a stay a home Mom. These life choices were less about ideology and more about fear of being stranded.
These are some tips for helping you to make your decision.
1) Identify the regular destinations (they’re different for you, I suspect) and whether you can achieve those without a car. The neat thing is that since you still have the car, you can test that out now.
2) Have warm gear for walking and waiting for buses. The worst it gets here (Houston) is 40 degrees and that wet bone chilling cold. I’m sure you have the gear but with snow and/or ice I’d be worried about a fall up there.
3) Dehydration in summer is our thing (to avoid). Be sure to have water with you in warm weather — it’s probably a good idea all the time, too.
Take care,
Dave
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