Living without a car isn’t as bad as most people tend to imagine. I take the bus to work everyday which actually consistently results in an early arrival. I walk to the grocery store, the mall, to my favorite restaurants and just about anywhere else I need to go. However, occasional mishaps pop up which tend to get me wondering - What if I bought a car? I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately so I decided to do one of the things I do best - make a list.

Pros

• I would have so much more independence. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a lot available to me already. I live downtown - which is where all public transit in NOLA converges - so I have the entire bus system to my disposal daily. Plus, living downtown means that I have virtually everything I need access to within a few blocks. But what about when it’s late at night and the buses stop running, or if they’re off schedule, or if I am just too lazy to go for a walk? Well, I usually just sit in my apartment. If I had a car, however, I could go anywhere whenever I wanted! I wouldn’t have to be on NORTA’s schedule! Late night ventures would be possible without me being forced to ask for a ride! Being dependent on others is something I try to limit as much as possible and a owning my own car would drastically reduce that. Plus, I would stop accidentally calling my boyfriend my chauffeur.

• The commute by bus is looonnnnng, y’all. A car would drastically cut the amount of time I spend traveling and allow me more time to do more productive things like exercise, cook, meditate and write.

• I would look so good behind the wheel of this:

Cons

• You guys, cars are expensive. I know, it surprised me too. Here’s the rundown: Currently I spend $55 a month to purchase a 31 day bus pass. That’s unlimited bus and streetcar rides for a whole month for one low cost! If I bought a car my expenses would more than double. I would have to pay a note, insurance and fuel costs. Plus tolls, maintenance and possible tickets would add up as well. That’s a big sacrifice.

• As it turns out, cars happen to be harmful to environment. Refusing to purchase one would allow my contribution to global warming to stay low.

• Without a car I lower my chances of dying. It may be bleak, but car accidents are pretty common, y’all. With my bad luck and tendency to be easily distracted it’s quite likely that I’ll kill myself violently while behind the wheel of some sort of vehicle. If I continue to take the bus I can relax rather than worry about driving because they are so safe (if you ignore the events of the movie Speed).

• Oh, did I mention finding parking downtown is often impossible?

Verdict - Yeah, I think I’ll stick to this whole no car thing indefinitely. A little inconvenience each day does not compare to the risk of fueling detrimental climate change and possible death.

What do you think? 

• Tags
• automobile
• car
• environment
• finance
• pros and cons
• public transit
• rant