Late yesterday afternoon, my car’s odometer rolled over to 100,000 miles. (As I was looking for a parking space at the time, I was able to capture the event at very slow speed.) My little Geo Prizm has served me well for 14 years, but I don’t think I’ll see it reach 101,000 miles.
Around the beginning of the year, Paul and I started talking seriously about becoming a one-car couple. We could reduce our carbon footprint, and save money at the same time. We were both about to start new jobs, so we decided to wait a few months to sell a car. Change is stressful; we didn’t want too much all at once.
Since moving to Seattle nine years ago, we drive much less than we did living in the Bay Area, or than I did living in Houston. That’s largely because we live in a walkable neighborhood about 2 miles from downtown Seattle. My office is fewer than three miles from our house; Paul’s office just under two. Seattle has a good bus system, with stops for several routes within a couple of blocks of our home. I can easily take the bus to work; Paul has to make one transfer to get to his office. And we have Zipcars parked within a couple of blocks of our house and both our workplaces, so we have easy access to a second car (or van or truck) in the event that we need one.
Paul’s Saab is newer and nicer than my 1994 Prizm, so my car will be the one to go. When we sell it, most likely within the next month, we’ll sign up for Seattle’s One Less Car Challenge. (Yes, I know it should be One Fewer Car, and I cringed while typing it.) This program provides incentives for Seattleites who get rid of a car, and don’t replace it for a year. I think we’ll make it at least that long.
I’ve owned my own car since 1981, the summer before my senior year of college. Twenty-seven years later, I’m preparing to give up my car, and share a car with my husband. When we sell my Prizm, the Saab will become our car. It will be an adjustment, but I’m sure it will be easier than the last time I shared a car… with my sister, way back in high school.
Tags: NaBloPoMo · One Less Car5 Comments
5 responses so far ↓
How awesome! We are both considering how much smaller our next cars will be, but I don’t think Houston will allow us to have just one.
Good luck with the sharing, I have found that husbands share better than high school sisters, so I think you are right about that!
Very cool! Keep us posted on how that transition goes. I wonder if, before long, you’ll find yourself preferring to walk or take a bus even when your car is available!
Good for you! We recently became a one-car (plus occasional Zipcar) family and it is working out surprisingly well. With regular oil changes and a little luck we will get another a few more years out of our 1995 Toyota Corolla. The biggest challenge I’ve found, as a chronic procrastinator, is scheduling enough time to walk or bus. The funniest outcome was “losing” our car one day and thinking it was stolen. A day after reporting it to the police, I found it parked at our daughter’s school three blocks away. Since we usually walk, I had forgotten to drive it home! Embarrassing.
It must be great to live where only one car will do. I had never heard of the “zipcar’ before. Good luck!
sophie: I think it would be possible to be a one-car couple comfortably in Houston… but only if both worked at home.
Thel: I’m sure I’ll write about it more as we make the change.
Julie: It’s the scheduling that I fear will be a problem, especially as I sometimes have to go to construction sites on short notice. How funny that you forgot to take your car home!
Roxanne: Thanks! I know that we’re lucky to live in a city that has good public transit AND zipcars. Cool idea, isn’t it?