Living Without... a Car

How quickly things can change. One moment, my husband, son, mother and I were heading up the motorway en route to our holiday in the pre-dawn gloom, the next moment there was an almighty thud in the side of the car and a black BMW passed us in the inside lane, upside down and in the air...

Thankfully, no one in our car was hurt in the slightest and the person in the other car only had minor injuries. But although the damage to our car was relatively minor, its age meant that it was written off by the insurance company. This meant that once we returned from our holiday, we had to start looking for a new car.

Now, I know that many people regard a car purely as a functional tool, only required to get them from A to B efficiently and comfortably. We have the attitude that a car is for life, however, and that if you're spending a large sum of money, you should buy something that will give you as much pleasure as possible every time you use it. Just as with choosing a pet, or even a partner, we wanted to choose something that we would love for years to come, and never wish we'd chosen another one instead.

We only had the courtesy car for a few days, so choosing the car was of necessity much faster than choosing a partner or even a pet should be! Despite that, we managed to find a car that ticked all the boxes on our second day of looking. Unfortunately, it turns out that despite the state of the car industry and reports of thousands of new cars sitting idle, we'd managed to choose a model where none was readily available, and with a delivery time of 16 weeks.

I suspect most people would think us a bit daft to spend a whole summer carless rather than settle for a different make/model, but we decided to hang on for the one we'd decided on. I often think that we are far too dominated by an ‘I need...' attitude these days, whether it be car, mobile phone, central heating, TV, a spare bedroom, more money... It's quite empowering to realise that we can manage perfectly well without some of the things we take for granted. Life may be easier with all these conveniences, but it's good to realise that to a large extent they are luxuries, and not basic necessities. Maybe if we try going without some of these accoutrements of modern life, we would value them more.

I admit that managing without a car is a lot more feasible for us than for most people. My husband walks to work, I work at home, we live near a range of shops that supply all our needs, and there is a good local bus service. Yet there will certainly be times when I'll miss having a car. I won't be able to ferry my teenage sons to their friends' houses, or go to garden centres. If I want to purchase something not available from the local shops or town, or something too heavy to carry, I'll have to order it over the internet. I had been planning a few days in Cornwall over the summer but will have to consider going by train (which from here would involve several changes), delaying the trip or seeing if there's any way of cadging a lift. On the odd occasion where I need to go somewhere I can't get to by public transport (my dentist falls into this category and I've just realised I have a check-up in July), I can always take a taxi - not having to pay insurance, tax etc. for a few months should cover the cost of a few essential trips.

So, how will it go? Will I be grinding my teeth in frustration at all the things I want to do but can't, or will I end up wondering why we ever thought we needed a car in the first place? I'm quite looking forward to the challenge, and am planning to keep a diary of the trials and tribulations, the pleasures and the pains, of not having a car over the next few months.

Is there something you thought you couldn't live without but found that really, it wasn't a necessity after all? Or would you like to try giving something up so see if the experience can be empowering, rather than a real inconvenience? If so, the BGI newsletter team would love to hear about it! Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Judy

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