The Advantages of Not Having a Car

Most of the time I don't really care one way or the other about owning a car. During the past eleven years I have owned a car about half of those have been without a car.

Owning a car can be liberating. Being able to just go anywhere at anytime is a privilege most car owners don't appreciate. Of course owning a car means it is your responsibility. Gas, maintenance, insurance, state inspection, and gas. Being without a car means not having to worry about those things. If you ride the bus someone else takes care of it. Of course everything is a trade off. For not having the responsibility for the bus you have to go where the bus will take you when it takes you there.

Last night I as I leaving Hastings I walked by the outside patio of their cafe and heard someone speaking. Curious I walked closer and realized that it was poetry. Later I would find out it was a gathering of poets and poetry lovers who get together twice a month to read poetry. I sat in on the rest of the readings and had a good time listening to the poetry. If I hadn't been on foot walking to the bus stop I wouldn't have heard them. I would have missed out on this experience. I would have missed a chance to make new connections with these people. I didn't really talk to anyone cause well I tend to stay quiet until I get to know people better but I'm going to go back next time they get together and maybe I'll get up and read something myself.

None of this would be possible if I had a car. So sometimes not having a car can lead you to things you might not otherwise find. It can make you slow down and see things you might have missed.