Why I will never own a car

It’s not much of a surprise that I don’t own a car. In the past 4 years, I’ve worked on three different continents and only this year I’ve managed to break $20k in net worth. If I decide to move back to Canada with ten times the net worth I still wouldn’t buy a car. Not even an inexpensive second-hand one.

I don’t want to own a car because a) they’re expensive (!!!) and I want to retire by 35, b) I like making life harder for myself, and c) biking is a much better workout.

The conversation around cars focus on how to afford them, but never on how to avoid needing them in the first place. I agree that they are certainly handy to have, but the most common reasons to own a car don’t apply to me. Perhaps, they don’t apply to you either.

Typical uses of a car

• Work commute
• Travel/trips
• Errands
• Actual work

Work commute
Here’s a secret, you can structure your life to eliminate car commutes. In my first year of teaching, my daily commute was 50min by bus and train. It was 25min by bike. This was not an accident, I pulled up google maps and spent a couple of hours figuring out which flat listing had the best commute. The year after, I chose to live in the schoolhouse where I can see the canteen from my window. When it came time to leave London, I came to China where I knew international schools typically provide housing close to the school. 

Travel/trips
I tend to travel either within the city or internationally. When I have staycations I either a) relax at home, or b) take a bus. There’s no point owning a car for international trips. But let’s say I want to drive somewhere more remote, maybe I want to go hiking or camping. I would just pay to rent a car and have a friend drive. I can confidently say I have no desire to do solo trips into the wilderness.

Errands
I’ve only lived in large cities: Toronto, London, Beijing. The best thing about living in large cities is everything is within an hour’s walk. The most common errands I run are for groceries, and a once a week Sunday stroll for food is quite a relaxing experience. For any one-off errands that require me to go somewhere further, I just take a taxi.

Actual work
Fortunately, my work does not require the use of a car. If you’re a realtor or carpenter, you might not be able to avoid one. Short of switching careers, I can safely say driving won’t be on the job description for a high school math teacher. The only issue I foresee would be if I return to Toronto and need to be a substitute teacher. But, there are plenty of private schools in Toronto and loads of tutoring agencies, there are ways to work around it.

If you have a car, what are you reasons for having one? If you don’t have one, do you plan to have one in the future or never have one?