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By the time you consider depreciation, maintainance, etc., most studies I’ve seen have the annual cost of owning/driving a reliable older car probably north of $6K/yr.
Seniors ride free on our local bus system. $6k/yr would cover a huge number of Uber/Lyft rides to supplement that.
By the time you consider depreciation, maintainance, etc., most studies I’ve seen have the annual cost of owning/driving a reliable older car probably north of $6K/yr.
Seniors ride free on our local bus system. $6k/yr would cover a huge number of Uber/Lyft rides to supplement that.
Cars are expensive.
Deprecation on a 8 year old car??? Are you serious? I personally did a study for my former employer on a similar 10 year old car for employment training reimbursement. Try 28 cents a mile for everything. The OP averaged 7000 miles a year in SoCal. That works out to $1900 a year. Works out to maybe 40 taxi rides a year. And I doubt the OP is going to ride on Your local bus system
Just because you retire doesn't mean you must start relying on public services just because they exist. I am retired. The only thing that really changed about driving was where I go. I no longer commute to the same place every day. I'm sure the car was bored. It probably enjoys less routine and more variety now. That new spontaneity is a big part of the pleasure of retirement. I enjoy hopping in the car and going for a drive or to a favorite place to walk, bike, or just stop and stare because of that.
FWIW, this seems rather draconian. Like you are already labeling yourself as someone needing to rely on others. Needing the free stuff. Someone who has fewer choices, someone who is resigning themselves to being dependent, living a smaller scale life. Kind of like not using a muscle and losing the ability to. You don't know what life is going to be like there yet; not the daily routine, not the leisure. You are making a lot of big changes. Maybe some are better postponed until the dust settles. IMHO being a new arrival and also arriving there already dependent on systems you haven't used seems counter intuitive. Just when you would want to feel in some control you are taking that away from yourself.
Unless there's some major reason why you don't want to drive or ship your car to your new location, why not keep it and see how things go once you are established there? You can use the bus despite owning a car. You can always sell your car you if find you don't use it. That would probably be a lot easier than realizing you want/need a car and having to buy another.
I get your point and it's a valid one about keeping the car and seeing how it goes. I'm not trying to be dependent on anything. The bus system is available and I'd like to use it. It's a small town. The buses are small. The route is small.
I lived in Italy for a while and did something similar while there. The downtown area which had almost everything I wanted or needed was within walking distance and for other things the bus was available. I liked it and I wasn't retired nor old. It was just a normal way to live at that time. I didn't feel like I was resigning myself to anything and I didn't do it to have free stuff, LOL.
Anyway, thanks all for the input. I'll keep my mind open on this and take the bus around when I visit again in a couple of weeks. I'll also have a rental car BTW.
I would keep the car. Although no one plans on it, you may get sick and need to see a specialist Dr. Specialists normally do not have their offices in a small town; they are typically in a larger town or city, often near a hospital. In fact, your town may be so small it will not have any doctors, dentists, or laboratories.
The other possible issue is the "small" grocery store. Smaller grocery stores are an endangered species, leaving small town residents in a bind when they close. Often the reason they close is because they cannot obtain their merchandise at the same low prices as a larger chain. Thus they have to sell at a higher price to make ends meet, and then they start to lose customers. Yes, having a small and convenient grocery store that you can walk to is fabulous, but there is always a chance it will close.
Since you already own the car, I would try to hang onto it. I am just afraid you will need services not available in town, or the store may close.
I planned ahead, and moved to a community where I wouldn't need a car routinely. It got to the point I paid about $20 a mile for insurance. Handed over the keys, walked away, never a regret.
I'm now living one foot in, one foot out. Picked a dream location. I biked the 2 blocks to Fry's the other night because they had Progresso soup on sale (buy 8 or more 99 cents) and Stouffer's dinners on sale, filled my bike basket. Sprouts is 8 blocks away, and I will oftentimes ride my bike down there for produce. And Trader Joe's is just 2 blocks away. Basha's is 10 blocks away. Dollar Tree 1 mile away.
Yes, I still have my car, a 1985 Toyota Supra, but I feel so sorry for it (I personalize cars), sitting there so much, I feel compelled to take it for a long drive, occasionally, so it won't attack me some day! I'm retired now but my car hates my being retired!
At this point, I could dispense with a car. It would be nothing new as I lived for some years in Minneapolis without a car. It's harder for those that have never been without a car.
I get your point and it's a valid one about keeping the car and seeing how it goes. I'm not trying to be dependent on anything. The bus system is available and I'd like to use it. It's a small town. The buses are small. The route is small.
I lived in Italy for a while and did something similar while there. The downtown area which had almost everything I wanted or needed was within walking distance and for other things the bus was available. I liked it and I wasn't retired nor old. It was just a normal way to live at that time. I didn't feel like I was resigning myself to anything and I didn't do it to have free stuff, LOL.
Anyway, thanks all for the input. I'll keep my mind open on this and take the bus around when I visit again in a couple of weeks. I'll also have a rental car BTW.
So you know what life is like over there. I was stationed in Sicily for almost two years
I loved it that people would shop for their evening meal after work. None of this bringing back bags and bags of stuff from one store once a week. Life was slow paced - except when they got behind the wheel - lol
People think i am weird because i am content to stay home, not go here and there all day. I was lucky to have been all over in my younger days and get paid to do it. So now it doesn't bother me to just piddle around the house all day.
Location: Unlike most on CD, I'm not afraid to give my location: Milwaukee, WI.
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Originally Posted by recycled
I've been in Leipzig, Germany since May without a car, and it's no problem. Streetcars run every 5 minutes into downtown, and the main train station has trains going in all directions on the map at regular intervals. I can walk to the grocery store in 5 minutes, and I ride my bike everywhere in the area. It is not very hilly here, and bike transportation is a common way to get around.
When I go back to the US, I'll buy a car again. A car is needed most places if you want to get out of the city. In Tucson I can live "car light", meaning bike to lots of things during the week, but use the car for excursions to more distant places.
I like the way you think. So Tucson in the fall/winter and Germany in the spring/summer? In terms of weather and comfort, sounds like a good plan.
So you know what life is like over there. I was stationed in Sicily for almost two years
I loved it that people would shop for their evening meal after work. None of this bringing back bags and bags of stuff from one store once a week. Life was slow paced - except when they got behind the wheel - lol
People think i am weird because i am content to stay home, not go here and there all day. I was lucky to have been all over in my younger days and get paid to do it. So now it doesn't bother me to just piddle around the house all day.
Yes, I lived that life before and frankly enjoyed it. That's a big reason I picked this town as a retirement destination. It has a vibrant downtown along with public transportation, yet retains it's history, architecture and small size. All that said, it's not stuck in the 1920s. It's also the medical hub for the surrounding counties. The old historical part of town is it's center on the Ohio River where I will live in or next to the historic district. The newer part is not visible from there and over some hills. That's where the hospital is along with the big box stores which is a walmart, lowes and Kroger as well as other things. The bus route takes you from one end of the old town to the other, then over the hills to the new part of town and then back again.
Agree with the suggestions to try it first, then decide. Another reason for keeping is for the "what ifs", emergencies, evacuation, etc..
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I'm retired now but my car hates my being retired!
