Been thinking about this for a while but injury and living in the country, where distance travelled is so much greater, have been factors. I have done this for a few years but that was when I lived in the city….. I know there are people on here who do this so what are your experiences good and bad.
cheers

I have been carless for about 5 years now, first of all in west Wales (crap public transport) and now here in Austria (loads of buses/trams/trains which I can take my bike on).

I would definately say go for it – if it doesn't work out you can always buy a car again at a later point in time.

I found I just had to be pretty organised (I only had a bus/train every 2 hours), but if we were going around to friends houses everyone was quite good at giving me lifts – sometimes I had to bike a bit to get to their house but if it was raining I normally got picked up. Make sure you get to know your neighbours for those days when you can't be bothered, I would just hitchhike and always got picked up quickly. Also, if friends were coming around and the timing worked, I would meet them on the way at a supermarket and use them to do a bit "heavy" shop – beer, juice, flour etc. to save me having to carry it on the bike.

I have been carless for about 5 years now, first of all in west Wales (crap public transport)

where I live now!

I live in a village (not quite in the middle of no where but not close to many places that I need to get to), but once I get my road bike sorted I shall be using the bike a lot more and my car a lot less to get around. Also, whilst at uni I'm bike only – I get into lectures in the morning, and bike into the city as well.

Hoping to save some money on fuel (still gonna ave to pay insurance etc as there's no way I can get rid of the car altogether).

Also interested to see how people manage soley with a bike?

I used to use my bike quite a bit, for commute etc. But once again Ive been hit by a large bill by the garage, my mot is coming up and then its tax and insurance time again! Also it will help make me fitter and I'll be doing my bit for the environment which incraesingly is important to me, so think I'm going to try it..

Do have a car but try not to use it much (mostly for biking things!). Got to the end of February this year before I actually went in it.

32 years old and never had a car. Love getting around on the bike. One thing is you'll want an old bike that you can ride to shops/pub and not have the concern of it being pinched, plus nice bike/s of course for fun stuff. I'm quite lucky that my work let me lock my bike indoors, partly because the last one was stolen from their car park though. Other than that it's a case of being organised to get about when public transport is called for and get a decent set of waterproofs!
I am considering a car at the mo, to get me to bike trails for one thing! I am fairly lucky though in that here in Bournemouth the public transport is fairly good.

I've done periods of complete car-ownership-freeness, and for the most part it's fine. However, I did find myself relying on borrowing family and or blagging lifts with mates, which unless you contribute to their ownership costs is taking the piss somewhat.

I'm now back to full time car ownership and probably will be forever as it's so hard to live a modern life (family scattered around) and current hobbies/social life without one. Yes, I know it could be done, but it limits my choices more than I'd like.

BUT although I do own one, I only use it every now and then – weekend trips/DIY store runs etc… I use the bike almost solely during the week…

I managed up to 40 without out one, but have now succumbed, I wouldn't say I couldn't live with out it, but it's quite handy occasionally.

I did it for 12 months, no problems for doing all the normal stuff, shopping commuting etc. Fitted a decent reack and had some ortileb panniers, could fit a full weeks shop into. Supermarket was about 10k away, but quite close to the office so once or twice a week the commute home was also a shopping trip.

But it was awkward for longer trips, getting to fun places to ride etc. So ended up getting a car again. Still commute 80% of the time, and when I get my singlespeed working, that will have racks on to do the shopping again.

I am not into blagging mates for lifts back from the supermarket and the like, that smacks of abusing friendship.

I've always wanted one of these, looks like you've got the perfect excuse!!

I am not into blagging mates for lifts back from the supermarket and the like, that smacks of abusing friendship.

It was never my idea! I was lucky and my friends were quite thoughtful. Various friends offered (I only did it once a month at the most) and if they were coming to see me and needed to go past the supermarket anyway it made no difference to them. I think what comes around goes around. I lived at the local surf spot – most of them would come around for cups of tea and showers before heading home, even letting themselves in if I wasn't in.

Its easy to do in cities – less easy outside of them.

You need to mentally put aside some money that you save from not owning a car and when not having a car is difficult spend this money – expensive taxi fares or hire cars.

Get your main food shopping delivered from an internet order. You need local shops within easy cycle distance for bread and milk and newspapers..

You are compromised sometimes of that there is no doubt – but a little forethought and being prepared to spend the money on taxis and hire cars when needed eases this a lot. I still save a couple of thousand a year over the cost of owning a car – and when I use a hire car I get a nice new one to drive – not some rattly old banger.

Alpine girl, as an aside , how do you like the Alps after living on the coast in West Wales? I looked at a job in Switzerland recently but wasn't sure I could live away from the sea….

hitman
It's a bit mixed, and after 2 1/2 years I'm now looking at going back to the UK. I really like living here, there is nothing better than (in the summer) after work getting out on your bike and heading up a mountain. Somewhere above the city eating dumpling soup and drinking a radler, then biking down just before bed. And the weekend rides are a dream for anyone living in the UK! But, before here I have always lived on the coast and really miss everything about it: the fresh air, the storms, swimming etc. The cultural differences can take a bit of getting used to aswell!

I don't regret doing moving out here (I've got a lot better at riding uphill if nothing else), but now, for various reasons, think I would like to move back closer to family and friends.

i have a van. it often sits for a week, two weeks at a time without doing anything. then we'll go away with bikes for a week or two, then let it rest again.

couldnt live without it, but realistically barely use it. fuel economy less of an issue when you drive 5000 miles a year tops too.

cheers alpine girl 🙂

been car-free for almost two years. this is made a lot easier due to the fact that: i don't have a regular job requiring a commute (lots of work from home and when i'm not at home it's never more than a 20 minute ride away); i live 5 minutes walk from the market square (i.e. right in the middle of town); and i live in germany.

if there is anything local to do or see i'll ride the bike – mate and i went for a night out last week and rode 2 hours to get there. for bulky things, such as beer, i've got a BOB Yak trailer.

if i need to go further afield i'll either travel by train, which can be reasonable price wise depending on where/how many are travelling, or i'll for a "mitfahrgelegenheit" – or a "with-travel-opportunity". lots of people advertise when and where they are travelling, plus how many spare seats they have.

luckily for me, you have to really out in the sticks to be stuck for public transport here. even down in the alps there are good connections to local train stations getting you to munich within an hour….

I haven't had a car for the last 4 months. I prefer it most of the time, and find it an arse occasionally. Car hire is pretty cheap, about £40 for a long weekend. I've had a car or van for a total of 8 days so far, mainly because my mum's been here on holiday and doesn't ride far. If you're on your own, train or bus travel isn't too costly for non-commuting journeys. I'm lucky enough to have access to a work van for £10 a day. I was already in the habit of shopping locally before giving up the car so that wasn't an issue. Good luck and enjoy being fitter 🙂