We are in week two of being car-less, and the social experiment is going well! I might start encouraging my friends and neighbors to ditch their vehicles and join us : ) We were already walking to the grocery store, restaurants and pretty much everywhere else around our neighborhood, but now we are completely relying on our shoes, our bikes, and MATA. Here is how my life has changed since not having a car:
1. I get up at 5:45 every weekday morning. Those of you who know me know that this is probably the biggest life change!
2. I make my breakfast and lunch every day. No more Starbucks, Sonic, Backyard Burger, Lenny's...the list could go on. This is one reason why I get up at 5:45. I hope that I will not only save money but lose a little weight in the process!
3. I start and end my day with a brisk 10 minute walk, sometimes accompanied by school children. One day I will need to write an entry about the morning routine around Snowden School. It is adorable and makes me want to have kids right now!
4. I have to leave work at a set time. Again, those of you who know me know that this is huge! I am a workaholic (at work) and I will often stay at work until every last little thing is done - even if that means coming home at 10pm. Now I have to leave at either 6:30 or 8:30 to catch the bus home.
5. We rely on friends more than ever. Becky takes me to running events and voter registration events (you have until Oct 6th to register!). MATA doesn't believe that people should go to church before 9:15 on Sundays, at least that's when their first round of buses leave the terminal. In order to get to the early service, we need friends to take us, and they are helping us out so much! We are currently searching for friends to get us home from evening church once we lose an hour of sunlight, because MATA also does not believe that people should go to church after 6pm.
6. We ride our bikes to church Sunday evenings. This is actually a LOT of fun! The weather has been gorgeous Sunday evenings, and we have a nice route on a not-too-busy street. I'm becoming a pro at shifting gears as we go up and down the gently sloping hills between our apartment and church. It also provides some nice cross training from my running.
7. I am actually reading my textbooks for class! You've got to do something on that 30 minute bus ride.
8. I have not paid attention to gas prices in the past two weeks. How's that for stress relief?
I know that not everyone has a lifestyle that would work without a car, but I highly recommend looking at your routine and seeing if you can walk or ride a bike. It benefits you and the environment : )
3 comments:
I'm glad it's going well! I so wish we were like NYC or SF with decent high-speed transport & everything within walking distance. I love riding the subway, and would so ditch my car if we had something like that. Of course, we are a much smaller city and a lot more spread out with so many people in the burbs and all.
Move back to Midtown and everything (kind of) is easily accessible ; ) There is no way we could do this if we lived in East Memphis - possibly if we live by UofM, but not in any type of solely residential neighborhood.
I have no idea how you do it! Props to you and Jonathan though! I don't think I"m in good enough shape to ride my bike that much either. And yes we'll be in Chattanooga for Christmas, so we'll look forward to seeing you guys!
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