What would your life change if you had to get rid of your car/could no longer drive

[Netcurtainnelly]

Do you ever worry about this?
How would it change your life tomorrow?
Which things would not be possible anymore?

I do have the ability to drive, as in I have a driving licence, but I don't own a car. I get pretty much everywhere with a combination of in foot, buses, trains, coaches, and the odd taxi. If I could no longer drive it would just mean that the very rare occasions when I hire a car wouldn't happen and I'd have to find alternative transport. I do live in a city with decent public transport links.

I have arthritis and other health conditions so this is a possibility for me.

With that in mind, I deliberately chose to live very close to shops and a bus stop. I find it very strange when people in their sixties and older move to very rural areas where there are few taxis, no public transport, and they are totally reliant on being able to drive.

I have some friends who live in the villages surrounding my city and it would be harder to see them. I also wouldn’t go to garden centres (pretty rare anyway). Other than that life would be the same as I rarely use my car. I share my car with two other adults. I mostly bike, walk, uber and sometimes get buses and trains. I mainly keep my car for emergencies as ambulances take hours to come if they come at all, you can’t safely rely on the state.

I got rid of mine about six years ago. I moved to a place with much better public transport, and the car was no longer an essential.

Life is pretty great without a car. My costs are significantly lower. On the rare occasion that I need a car I can hire one or get a taxi depending on the situation.

I spend my commute doing things that would take up time when I was at home so while the commute is longer than driving, I ultimately save time. (From Duolingo to sorting out phone contacts and insurance).

It works for me now. It would not have worked for me where I used to live.

DH is under three different hospitals, and we live rurally with poor and unreliable public transport. It would cost us a fortune in taxis (assuming we could get one).
DD is a student and I would have to hire a man with a van to move her stuff.

DH has already stopped driving. If I had to stop we might have to move somewhere with better public transport.

I don't drive so this wouldn't effect me. I can't imagine what I would use a car for. Really this thread is showing what a difference good public transport makes for accessibility. Life is really not that bad without a car, it's not the end of the world if you can't drive anymore, but currently in this country you may have to make changes so you can access public transport unfortunately. I live in a fairly rural northern area but I live by a train station with lots of bus options too, through choice we moved here for the public transport links. My kids lives have not been limited by not having a car. We feel very free hopping on the train and go all over the place. It's having a car that seems to limit freedom to me, you're tied to it wherever you go.

There would be some adjustments but it wouldn't be devastating. My husband doesn't drive due to epilepsy so we already live somewhere where we have options for work/shopping/leisure without driving.

I think the main thing we'd lose is the spontaneity, most things that we do now could still be done but would require a lot more planning.

I spend my commute doing things that would take up time when I was at home so while the commute is longer than driving, I ultimately save time. (From Duolingo to sorting out phone contacts and insurance).

I started to commute by train for a job once and had all these grand plans of what I could do so that it wasn't dead time. Unfortunately, I soon learned that I get travel sick when doing anything but looking out the window.

I would be extremely thankful that I live im London.
My husband lost his licence for medical reasons a few years ago and it had very little impact on our home life beyond needing to allow extra time for journeys.

I am going blind. I will probably not be able to drive in a few years time. I am fine for now (obviously, I am under the hospital and have yearly tests).

I no longer drive in the dark as I’m not comfortable doing so, which is limiting.

I am devastated. I’m 46 and I’ve been driving since I was 18.

My world is going to close in so much that I’ll be trapped.

I mean, it’s not like I often go anywhere anyway. But right now I could. That’s the difference. I have a choice.

I can't drive (temporarily) for medical reasons at the moment and it's doing my head in. I walk to the local shops but it's a right pain in this weather. DH is not happy as he has to come to the supermarket with me for the big shop, up until now we did that separately as I am too slow down the aisles apparently.

The real thing I miss is just jumping in the car and going for a pootle about.

I didn't drive until my son suddenly became disabled after a serious illness. I was perfectly fine with not having a car then but now? I have to get him to hospital appointments by 9am over 20 miles away which would be awful on public transport.

I d have to become much better at getting organised especially with timings. We live a few minutes walk from the bus routes but they're nowhere near as good as they used to be. A ten minute car journey is nearly 25mins on the bus as it takes in other villages.
I love the convenience of saying oh I need to pop to the small local town, get in the car, do what needs done and can be back in 30 mins. First Id have to wait for the bus, then the journey, do the job, wait for the bus, journey home. Its going to be at the quickest, one hour, but bus times prob 90 mins+.

Would be devestating for me as I live in a village with no amenities apart from a community centr,e and my partner lives 2.45 hours away.
I drive everywhere, for both of us at times eg holidays / sundays out to rural pubs etc etc.

I would hate it though could manage as I live fairly centrally in a big town and just around the corner from station (commute by train to London for work). I wouldn't be able to take my daughter to her dance classes across town and I'd have to give up my own gym/dance classes although I might be able to find nearer ones. Wouldn't be able to pick son and his stuff up from uni. Would have to take annual leave for hospital appointments in other towns as would need to rely on public transport and walking (rather than factoring in a long lunch break and driving there). Would have to give up meeting a group of friends for dinner once every couple of months (we are spread out and meet somewhere rural in the middle).

Husband could do some of that stuff but (a) would get fed up doing all the driving/lifts and (b) he's much older than me so may well have to give up driving himself in due course or die before me.

I'm not a petrol head by any means but being able to nip around in the car when I need/ wasn't to makes life run so much smoother. I can cycle but very wobbly, I just don't trust myself on the road so am limited to cycle paths only.

Plenty of city dwellers dont have cars

I chose to get rid of my car. I walk and use rideshare. My life is better. I walk more and save heaps.
Edit: spelling

Yes, we know. However, most rural dwellers need a car.
We would have to move if I could no longer drive.

I think that a lot of city dwellers just don't understand the kind of rural life where to get from one village to another you have to get an hourly bus into town then another hourly bus from town to the next village, resulting in a 10 - 15 minute car journey potentially taking up to 2 hours by public transport, where there are no Ubers or Just Eat/Deliveroo, taxis have to be booked weeks in advance etc.

If I didn’t have my car, I would have to give up work. I work in the evenings at a number of schools in fairly dodgy areas of south London, all of which are a fair distance from a station, and most aren’t close to bus stops. If I called a cab after a meeting was finished I would have to wait in an unsafe street on my own.

I'd have to move (currently live rurally). Even the city in which I work has dodgy public transport, so I would expect things to take longer. I'd be fitter with more walking though! It would be very difficult to help DC when moving (both at University). It would be extremely difficult to see both sets of parents - at the moment we have to see PIL in a day as they don't have the capacity to see us for longer than an hour at a time, and they live a 3.5-4 hour drive from us. To get trains/taxis would mean we couldn't do it in a day, we'd have to find somewhere to stay overnight I suppose.

My parents also live rurally, and thnakfully have remained ridiculously healthy into their old age (both 80+), but I know my mum has been trying to plan a move to somewhere more convenient before it becomes forced, but my dad doesn't want to leave their home.

Edited to add: there is absolutely no public transport in my village, nor any amenities, so no option to stay put and continue to work or really do anything.

We aren't all city dwellers though. And don't all have the option of becoming city dwellers.

It would be unworkable where I currently live and with children. It would be workable without children. If I could drive, I’d seriously consider a move back into London for the transport.

I have done this. It is fine as I live in London. When I leave London it gets trickier. Trains are very unreliable. Buses are slightly better than I realised. I walk a lot.

We are very rural with no public transport. There is no pedestrian access to the village and the only amenity in the village is a pub and a temporary post office in the village hall on Friday mornings. In reality we couldn't live here without cars.

My life would mostly stay the same. I don't drive I cycle I have a cargo bike that fits all my children. We'd still get about even though we are rural. We'd just cycle to trains buses or get taxis if going further a field.

Things like dump runs are harder but you can pay a company/person with a van to pick up stuff.

A car is more convenient yes but I feel a great sense of freedom knowing I get mostly everywhere by my own steam.