Is learning to drive worth it?

[hypephesia]

I live in inner London. Can’t really get a car here. But would be useful to drive when visiting areas outside of London or abroad. Plus I may one day move out of London.

The problem is that learning to drive is so expensive. No one I know has a car to teach me. So I’ve estimated it will cost about £1,500 to learn to drive. That would be a big chunk of my savings too.

Is it worth it?

No one I know has a car to teach me.

Well, no-and it wouldn't be fair to ask them to; it's not their job! Yes, you'd need to pay a driving instructor and yes it's expensive. I think it's 100% worth it.

I passed my test 18 months ago, I blew what little savings I had on a last ditch attempt and I thankfully passed.
It's expensive, but for me it's been worth it.
It's not an insurmountable obstacle not having a driving licence, I managed for many years without and still had a full time job, holidays, days out etc, and I have never lived in a city, it took more planning and I needed to take it into consideration when moving or for jobs, but no more so than my finances or other considerations you need to consider when making decisions like that.
I'm very glad I did it, it has improved my life, there's no doubting that, but I'm still living in the same place, doing the same job and I still don't have the urge to drive to the beach at 3am just because I can for example.
It's not essential unless you choose a lifestyle that makes it essential.

I love hiking and there is no way I could get to places I hike on public transport. I have lived in London so get why you don’t need to drive in London. But are you somehow unable to leave the confines of the M25? DH and I did a road trip for a month in America that would have been so much harder of one of us couldn’t drive.learn to drive as soon as you can afford it.

I’ll say yes, but with the proviso that you are actually going to do some driving after you pass your test. It’s no good passing then not getting behind the wheel for years, you’ll have lost all your skills.

I was a late learner at 42. I found it very hard-going and four years later I'm still a pretty anxious driver. Like you, I live in London and it was quite possible to manage without a licence.

What I would say is that in the eventuality that you find yourself in a position of needing a licence (a job that requires driving, relocation to somewhere rural, a dependent becomes unwell and needs regular driving to medical appointments etc.) then that is the worst possible time to have to learn - so much pressure and urgency to pass by a certain date or else you can't do the thing you're learning for, and when you probably don't have the mental bandwidth for it because you're dealing with a big life change.

I think having a licence that you don't 'use' now may well end be something you thank God for at some point in the future.

If you feel deskilled having not driven for some time when you pick it up up again, then you can get sone refresher lessons to build your confidence without the horrible pressure of preparing for a test.

I don't think I'll ever like driving but I'm very glad that I'll never be in the situation where I simply can't do something quite important to me because of a lack of licence.

Passing your test is only the first step to becoming a good and confident driver. If you pass the test, drive regularly for a while then stop for a few years that previous knowledge will not leave you and you will always have the skill to go back to or for the occasional situation when you need it. If however you learn, pass the test, but never consolidate that knowledge, it won't 'stick' in the same way. Then you would need to have refresher lessons (or a good friend/partner to sit with you) in order to get properly confident/competent. On the other hand learning anything new is almost always easier the younger you are and gets harder (and maybe takes longer) as you get older and once you have your licence you never have to take the test again.

What do you think you are missing out on by not driving?

Living in Central London I suspect 'not a lot'. I know a few people with driving licences where its been a complete waste of time and money learning to drive as they've never really needed to and are either not very confident or have forgotten how to drive.

Unless you're planning on moving away from London or needing to drive for work I'm not sure I'd bother right now.

The cost saved by not driving or running a car will pay for a lot of deliveries and taxis.