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Did it for a while... Posted by PGAero [Email]  (#1143) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from PGAero) on Thu, 26 Mar 2015 14:15:18
In Reply to: Would you live without a car if you could?, No Snaab, Mon, 23 Mar 2015 16:11:19 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
My wife and I lived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for over a year and had no car.
Most people there don't own cars because they can't afford them. As a result, everything you need, at any location, is within walking distance, or a short bus ride. We walked and took the bus (~$0.07), or a marshrutka (~$0.21. mini van/people carrier that goes further afield, or to more precise locations) just about everywhere we needed to go.
When we wanted to get out of the city, there were a couple of bus routes that took us far enough out to hike from the end of the line into the mountains. We occasionally hired a taxi to take us places that buses or marshrutkas didn't go. We could hire a taxi to take us to a trailhead, or the national park, or some other starting-out point (sometimes hours away), then come pick us up at an agreed-upon time (or just wait for us all day). That would cost us something like $15.
I truly missed having a car, but the logistics of owning and driving one in a developing country kept us from taking the plunge.
I also LOVED not needing a car on a daily basis. I enjoyed walking to get groceries and all other necessities. If I lived in a US city that allowed me to walk to those things, I'd still want a car so that I could get out of town on my own terms. I enjoy driving too much to go without for very long.
~Peter
Below: Marshrutka (I'm spelling that phonetically. It's what they're called. The ol' joke about marshrutkas: "How many people can fit in a marshrutka?" Answer: 2 more!)
_______________________________________ Current: '03 9-5 Aero Wagon, 5spd, Polar/Black Past: '06 9-5 Combi, AT, Polar/Black '04 9-5 Aero Wagon, AT, Nocturne/Granite '03 9-5 Aero Wagon, AT, Steel/Charcoal '00 9-3 Viggen, 5D, Silver/Black '93 9000 Aero, 5MT, Cirrus/Black (Owned this one twice) '86 900 SPG, 5MT, Edwardian/Buffalo Grey
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