Life without a car...

I’ve always had a little run around,

but it’s getting on in years now and has started acting its age on cold mornings,

among other things,

so I’ve decided to just let it go gracefully instead of fighting the inevitable and spending a fortune to squeeze another year out of its life.

So my decision to live without a car was mainly brought on by this fact,

but it’s been something I have considered for a long time,

for obvious reasons - such as being more “green” and getting more exercise.

It has been hard to let go of the crutch without a prompt, so I’m grateful for finally getting the push I needed.

It’s been a month using the ‘ol legs instead of wheels,

which is a decent amount of time to come to a conclusion for the long term I think,

and so far it’s been awesome!

The pros just keep stacking up! I’m already at a point where I can’t think of a single good reason to own a car ever again.

Here are my reasons for being SO happy that I decided to get walking:

• I have the peace of mind that I’m not polluting the air and adding to the whole global warming situation.

• I’m getting some good heart healthy exercise in the fresh air with natural light, instead of a stuffy gym. Which also comes with many added benefits such as: getting to listen to the music on my playlists, which I never had time for before; getting to appreciate the small things that usually go unnoticed, like a smile from a fellow walker; noticing the trees and wildlife, or just having more time to contemplate things without rushing through life. These might sound cheesy, but it’s hard to describe what a difference these little things can make without experiencing them for yourself.

• I also have less time to sit around and eat junk!

• I’m saving money in ways that I never considered before. Obviously I no longer need to pay for car tax, MOT, car insurance, fuel, and servicing, but I’m also saving tons of money just from not shopping unnecessarily anymore. Because I have to walk, I only buy what I need so that I don’t need to carry myself to death, and I also don’t make unnecessary trips to the shop to buy things out of boredom.

• I never have to deal with the stress of traffic, finding parking, road works or any of the other things that get a person’s blood pressure up when behind the wheel.

So as you can see it’s been an eye opening month for me, and it’s still pretty cold and wet out there, so it’s only going to get better as the weather improves!

The only ‘kind of’ con I could think of in the beginning that turned out to be a non-issue was that I’m not going to be able to get around as much during the school holidays, because naturally we go to places that are much too far to walk to.

We are lucky enough to have a train station one mile from our house, but there are a few places that are a bit off the public transport route, which is why I’m also lucky and grateful that my husband only works 5 miles from home and also cycles to work when the weather is good,

so I have access to his car during the holidays, and his car is also way more eco-friendly than mine was.

But despite having access to a car, I already know that we will probably just take advantage of all the wonderful parks, lakes and playgrounds in our area instead of hopping in the car to go further out.

So as you can see, not having a car has already changed my life for the better in so many ways.

I’m sure that even more pros will present themselves as the time goes by, so if you don’t really NEED a car, then get rid of it!!

And if you do need your car, then try and make fewer trips and walk when you can,

you won’t regret it.