We are a one car family

[Anonymous]

When I lived across the street from Metro (multiple locations) this was very common. Almost nobody had 2 cars. I had no car at all until I got married.

I had kids before finding a WFH job and after moving further out, so we needed two cars to drive to daycare from different work sites. If we both WFH at the time we might still have just one car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One car works for us since only DH drives. I don't have a license and we have 2 kids but so far have managed. Am I the only person without a license?

Why don't you want to be independent?

Not PP, but I don't drive due to a medical condition.

We are a one car family with two high schoolers (not yet with a license.) It works out fine 99% of the time. For a decade we both worked out of the home. I take metro and my spouse drives. I get myself and my kids around through a combination of walking, public transportation, carpooling, and metro.

There have certainly been times when I wish I could drive myself- when I needed to see out-of-town family very quickly, when schedules didn't align, etc. But overall it has not been a hardship for us. And he benefits are saving money and raising kids who know how to get around walking and using public transit.

[Anonymous]

We have always been a three-car family. Right now it’s two SUVs and a minivan. This especially works well now that our eldest is driving.

Cars are a little bit like shoes. There are different types for different purposes.

I’m surprised this isn’t more common.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One car works for us since only DH drives. I don't have a license and we have 2 kids but so far have managed. Am I the only person without a license?

That would suck.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of smug one car or no car people. In my experience these are also the folks who "never have to leave the city for anything". Fine. Give yourself a pat on the back.

[Anonymous]

It’s ridiculously insane how this is some source of pride.

Who cares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of smug one car or no car people. In my experience these are also the folks who "never have to leave the city for anything". Fine. Give yourself a pat on the back.

In the past year, we’ve taken Uber to Reagan or Dulles and flown to Europe and Costa Rica. That’s more than leaving the city.

[Anonymous]

We have always had 0-1 cars. We live in DC near a metro stop and bus lines. Almost all the families here have just one car, if any. I can only think of one family in the neighborhood with two cars. They have four kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of smug one car or no car people. In my experience these are also the folks who "never have to leave the city for anything". Fine. Give yourself a pat on the back.

In the past year, we’ve taken Uber to Reagan or Dulles and flown to Europe and Costa Rica. That’s more than leaving the city.

You go to Europe and Costa Rica monthly?

[Anonymous]

We have one car but we don't have kids. We live a reasonable walking distance (15 min walk) to a metro stop and on a bus line. I drive to work and husband takes metro, although I could also take metro if his work situation changed.

Two cars would be overkill and a hassle with how we live our lives. We very, very rarely want to use the car to go two different places at the same time. When that happens we are usually able to adapt by having one person take an Uber or public transit, depending on where we want to go. We also live in a part of DC where parking is a problem and have one off-street spot, so having a second car would either be a parking nightmare or would mean paying to rent a second spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you live near public transportation? Do you have K-12 kids?

It is not common to be a one-car family because of typical US driving distances, conflicting itineraries, and US interest in purchasing luxury goods that increase personal convenience.

Sharing a car reduces personal freedom and requires some logistical sacrifices. People who make it work often have expensive supporting infrastructure that makes it possible. For example, my husband and I only had one car when we lived in a studio condo at a metro stop. That apartment is somewhere between $200K and $300K now. Not far off from the cost of my 3 BR house in flyover country.

Working from home is a small portion of the economy. And I think it is more prevalent among the affluent. New-car buying is also mainly for the affluent.
Historically, affluent Americans are not very prone to accepting underconsumption and less personal convenience. Think about how house sizes have grown and the rise of air conditioning as other relevant examples.

Your positive experience, if politely shared, might intrigue a friend or young couple just getting started, but don't expect a lot of converts.

This.

Do you want an award, OP? I had no car for 10 years after moving to DC. Then we had one car for awhile - one kid and lived near metro. Now we have two cars as it's more convenient. It's also just not that big of an expense compared to everything else.

[Anonymous]

This is very common among impoverished families. And many of the working poor are one-car families.

I guess it’s cool to be proud of it. It’s certainly not for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of smug one car or no car people. In my experience these are also the folks who "never have to leave the city for anything". Fine. Give yourself a pat on the back.

In the past year, we’ve taken Uber to Reagan or Dulles and flown to Europe and Costa Rica. That’s more than leaving the city.

Wow, really doubling down on the smugness eh?

[Anonymous]

Oh the sanctimony here, with no clue as to their privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s ridiculously insane how this is some source of pride.

Who cares.

There's a youngish mom who, when the weather is nice, drops her kids off at Beauvoir with them sitting in a giant basket on her e-bike. She has nearly run me down on the sidewalk multiple times. The smug that she emanates thinking how wonderful she is for using a bike instead of a car is nauseating. Meanwhile, I just know she has a Range Rover sitting in her garage in Wesley Heights.