Could you live without a vehicle in your life

[hank2222]

Could you live without a vehicle in your place.I was asking this question to someone i know because of future health reason where my driver's lic's is taken away from me by the state and i was wondering how to get back and forth into town as it needed .

I have some future health issuse that might make it inpossblies for me to have a vehicle and driver lics here in the next few year's and i have been thinking about that question here for a while

As part of the plan a person with a vehicle i know could do a twice a week into town run for supplies with them driving me there with me paying for the gas for the vehicle and maybe buying them lunch or breakfast as payment for helping me get into town .Also i was thinking of letting them drive my vehicle as payment also if they need to borrow a vehicle to use in errand's that they need and that way we can workout something for us as it need .

Part of the plan is once on Tues morning and once on Sat mornings to get supplies i need from the store and let me get out of the place as it needed .On Tues i would do all my doctor's vist and other thing's that i need to do with a short trip to the local grocery store to get the basic items i need into sat morning and then sat morning is the big shopping trip for all the good and food supplies i would need for the following week at the cabin

[RedJohn]

This is what I do everyday. I live in a big city. Driving is a bitch, parking even more, so I use public transportation. It need some getting used to but it works.

[bacpacker]

I would have a hard time getting by right now without a vehicle. I work 34 miles from where I live.

[helomech]

I work 180 miles from where I live, and to buy anything I have to drive for 30 minutes. So yes I need a vehicle.

Actually I have to drive 180 miles, and then fly another 100 miles to get to work.

[Kodiak]

With work and kids, not having a vehicle is out of the question.

And helomech, i do not envy your commute lol.

[ladyhk13]

I work 180 miles from where I live, and to buy anything I have to drive for 30 minutes. So yes I need a vehicle.

Actually I have to drive 180 miles, and then fly another 100 miles to get to work.

Holy Moly helo! I do hope this is not a daily commute? Do you get to stay where you work during the week and come home on weekends? Gas must be killing you!
I live out in the country so a vehicle is a must until it really hits the fan and everything shuts down. Then I hope we have the right animals in place for transportation.

[LUNCHBOX]

I understand the vehicle issue Hank and don't need you to explain that. I also feel not one of us wants to give up ours. My question for you is does/will your condition stop/hinder you later as far as your own safety, and I mean that in regards to a SHTF scenario? As Ladyhk13 states and my feelings the loss of a vehicle may be something we all have to face in time, but will you be at a loss for much more? I don't mean to pry.....it just seems that would be a concern for me so I could plan better. Just an opinion.

[Sniper-T]

I hadn't even finished reading your post, and had already 1/2 written my response:

NO FREAKIN WAY!!

But before I could hit enter, I stopped and thought about it... I like when people make me stop and think.

I too am a rural dweller, and have an hour+ commute to work... but do I NEED a vehicle...

I blew up my truck a couple years ago, and went for a few months without it... but my wife still had her car, and although inconvenient, we were able to carpool.

Although my home internet sucks, I can remotely connect to my work computer and work from home.

I attend 8-10 meetings a week... but via computer or telephone, I could conference call in from home.

I have a couple neighbours that also work in the city, so again, albeit inconvenient, I am sure I could catch the odd ride to work if I needed to.

Shopping... this would be a tougher one... I too would require weekly trips to the store, not just for fresh stuff, but also to increase my stored preps... assuming the loss of vehicle thing didnt mark the onset of SHTF, I wouldn't want to live off my preps if I didn't have to. I do have a couple of small towns nearby (7 miles) so I could walk it, or ride a bike. I have also taken both my quad and snowmobile into town for supplies. But they also 'require' a drivers licence.

The hardest thing (besides admitting this) is that I am a junkie. yup! an addict! I can get mighty cranky if I don't have my 'fix' often hourly!. My wife even agreed, that if there EVER isn't any in the house... it's grounds for divorce!
We've both made 0200 rides into the city to get me some... or 2155 rides to the closest town to get some before it closed. I do have some powdered stored, but it isn't the same... I've thought about quitting, and have run out at times and gone cold turkey for several sequential hours... but in the end it always comes down to one thing... I LOVE my milk, dammit! I don't want to give it up! I drink a gallon+ a day (I've cut back) and I love it. I typically have an open jug in the fridge, a spare jug in the fridge... and an emergency jug in the outside fridge.

But, with planning, and possibly some rationing *shudder* I could probably make do with weekly shopping trips, although I might need to buy another fridge.

So it would all come down to 'need' vs 'want' I love my vehicle, and the freedom it allows, but if I had to give it up could I?? yeah, begrudgingly I could make do without it(them)

I think you would want to minimize how much you rely on your friend(s) for rides, and offering cash or filling up their vehicle is a lot better than having them drive yours. skip the Saturday shopping and do it on Tuesday? That way you've cut your dependance on them by half. And once a week for a doctors visit with a few pitstops is a lot more do-able than twice a week for most people.

you should try to keep your licence at all costs, even if that means voluntarily giving up driving. Without a licence, if you had to drive in an emergency situation, your insurance would probably be void, and you would lose everything if you were in an accident.

Wish you the best for a speedy recovery of what ails you.

[helomech]

Holy Moly helo! I do hope this is not a daily commute? Do you get to stay where you work during the week and come home on weekends? Gas must be killing you!
I live out in the country so a vehicle is a must until it really hits the fan and everything shuts down. Then I hope we have the right animals in place for transportation.

It's not as bad as it sounds, I work 7 days, then I am off 7 days. They house, and feed me while I am there.

[Fatty]

Yes i could. I live in a city of 30k and its 2 miles to work. I almost walked to work for a whole year until i started long distance running. After my kid is born ill start walking again:)

[ak474u]

Someone could get one of those big tricycle style bikes with a pretty good hauling capacity and could use that without a license. Of course if there were paralysis, or other health issues preventing one from pedaling or operating it safely, that would be out of the question.

[mollypup]

Well, if you can't live without your gas/diesel burning vehicle, then alls I got to say is you're gonna have a real tough time of it. (I'm a peak oil believer). Better figure out how to get a horse and cart, cause bicycles are only gonna last so long. I figure not having cars can really only be a good thing in the long run. It'll force people to walk again and get their weight under control and get into much better shape. I do feel sorry for those who can't walk, or have handicaps which prevent them from being able to move easily from point A to point B. That's one of the many very sad and unfortunate potential side-effects of a full scale SHTF event, like an EMP. A lot of people are going to die and the handicapped will be among them. Makes me sick to think about it. I plan on helping them as much as I can though.

[hank2222]

Here is the thing i have a big backpack to carry thing's home if i need to walk to the store and i been trying to set it up where i have a twice a week trips into town to get thing's as i need .There is a couple people i know in the area where i'm at is allmost in the same boat as me and we are thinking about pooling our ideas and come up with a van type ride set up to go into and out of town on those day's

[Sniper-T]

is there a neighbour's kid that is old enough... might be a nice part time job for a teenager??

Have you talked to the local stores? do they have any kind of delivery service available?

something we used to do in univ. was to order a pizza, and ask to talk to the driver. We'd give him a nice tip to pick us up smokes/beer/etc on his way. Never tried groceries though - lol.

[helomech]

Well, if you can't live without your gas/diesel burning vehicle, then alls I got to say is you're gonna have a real tough time of it. (I'm a peak oil believer). Better figure out how to get a horse and cart, cause bicycles are only gonna last so long. I figure not having cars can really only be a good thing in the long run. It'll force people to walk again and get their weight under control and get into much better shape. I do feel sorry for those who can't walk, or have handicaps which prevent them from being able to move easily from point A to point B. That's one of the many very sad and unfortunate potential side-effects of a full scale SHTF event, like an EMP. A lot of people are going to die and the handicapped will be among them. Makes me sick to think about it. I plan on helping them as much as I can though.

There is a difference betweein living without a vehicle pre SHTF and post SHTF. I can't go without a vehicle and maintain my life like I have now. But if the SHTF fan living without a vehicle will be the norm. If anyone thinks they will have access to a vehicle after the shtf fan I believe they will be wrong. And here I am not talking about a 5 day localized event. I am talking a complete SHTF.

[mollypup]

is there a neighbour's kid that is old enough... might be a nice part time job for a teenager??

Have you talked to the local stores? do they have any kind of delivery service available?

something we used to do in univ. was to order a pizza, and ask to talk to the driver. We'd give him a nice tip to pick us up smokes/beer/etc on his way. Never tried groceries though - lol.

You can buy a ton of groceries on the internet. I buy a lot of heavy stuff (bags of dog food, etc...) from Amazon.com. And besides free shipping (usually), they run a lot of specials where you can get up to 50% off. It beats having to go to the store and pull it off the shelf, load it into the buggy, haul it out to the car and then later into the house. It just arrives right there on your door step! And I haven't paid any sales tax on it yet either.

[helomech]

You can buy a ton of groceries on the internet. I buy a lot of heavy stuff (bags of dog food, etc...) from Amazon.com. And besides free shipping (usually), they run a lot of specials where you can get up to 50% off. It beats having to go to the store and pull it off the shelf, load it into the buggy, haul it out to the car and then later into the house. It just arrives right there on your door step! And I haven't paid any sales tax on it yet either.

No one will deliver to my house. UPS, fed ex, none of them will. Heck I can't even get pizza delivered out here.

[Stormfeather]

No one will deliver to my house. UPS, fed ex, none of them will. Heck I can't even get pizza delivered out here.

Im not sure if im envious or dreading the idea of not being able to get deliveries being that far out. . . .

[Stormfeather]

. . . . .
The hardest thing (besides admitting this) is that I am a junkie. yup! an addict! I can get mighty cranky if I don't have my 'fix' often hourly!. My wife even agreed, that if there EVER isn't any in the house... it's grounds for divorce!
We've both made 0200 rides into the city to get me some... or 2155 rides to the closest town to get some before it closed. I do have some powdered stored, but it isn't the same... I've thought about quitting, and have run out at times and gone cold turkey for several sequential hours... but in the end it always comes down to one thing... I LOVE my milk, dammit! I don't want to give it up! I drink a gallon+ a day (I've cut back) and I love it. I typically have an open jug in the fridge, a spare jug in the fridge... and an emergency jug in the outside fridge.

But, with planning, and possibly some rationing *shudder* I could probably make do with weekly shopping trips, although I might need to buy another fridge.

. . . . .

Get yourself a cow. . . .fresh from the tap. . .and its always available!

[helomech]

Im not sure if im envious or dreading the idea of not being able to get deliveries being that far out. . . .

It has a few downsides, but I would not give up the seclusion to have delivery. We just have all our packages sent to my wifes work. Heck my mailbox is about 3 miles from my house.

[The Stig]

Can I live without a vehicle in my life now? No. Between driving to sales calls, or driving to the airport to fly somewhere else to make sales calls, I ain't walking.

Can I live without a vehicle in my life if an event somehow precludes the use of them? Sure. If the event is so bad I don't have to worry about gainful employment and nobody else has one....not an issue.

[Sniper-T]

Get yourself a cow. . . .fresh from the tap. . .and its always available!

That is the plan SHTF, but it just isn't realistic right now. Cows take up too much time, and attention. Can't just take off for a week(end) when there's milkin to do.



It has a few downsides, but I would not give up the seclusion to have delivery. We just have all our packages sent to my wifes work. Heck my mailbox is about 3 miles from my house.

My sentiments exactly. I wouldn't give up my seclusion for the world, even though it can be challenging at times. I'm over 5 miles from my mailbox, and have all my deliveries go to my office.

You just can't get this kind of privacy in the city:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/multiplicity/IMGP5275.jpg

[izzyscout21]

^ Gorgeous, man. That's a nice shot.

[bacpacker]

Awesome location sniper. I would be hard pressed to go to work if i lived there.

[helomech]

That is the plan SHTF, but it just isn't realistic right now. Cows take up too much time, and attention. Can't just take off for a week(end) when there's milkin to do.




My sentiments exactly. I wouldn't give up my seclusion for the world, even though it can be challenging at times. I'm over 5 miles from my mailbox, and have all my deliveries go to my office.

You just can't get this kind of privacy in the city:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/multiplicity/IMGP5275.jpg

Wow beautiful place.

[Sniper-T]

Thanks guys!

Here's another shot from the other side...

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/multiplicity/IMGP5247.jpg

[izzyscout21]

Nice. that's absolutley beautiful.

[izzyscout21]

http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx288/2crgrunt/demotivational-meanwhile-in-canada.jpg

[izzyscout21]

But back to the original question. No. I could not live without a vehicle righ now. there's too much going on my my family's life that requires the use of a vehicle.

[hank2222]

i tried something this week and found that i can pack home about two weeks of food in the backpack with the meat items carryed in a soft side an cooler from walmart that had a wrap around loop handle added to the bag .

I can fit the following items in the cooler

-x-bag of chicken
-x-bag of hambuger patties
-x-package of boneless pork chops
-x-package of boneless steak
-x-package of deli sliced roast beef
-x-package of deli sliced bolgna
-x-package of sliced chesse
-x-package of shedded chesse
all this packed into the soft side cooler.The cooler is a 40.can sized unit that is found at walmart.

When i have time i put my shopping list down for two week time frame

[Evolver]

Just to speed the trip up you could buy or rig up a tow behind trailer for a bike... kinda like the ones people use to tow they're babies and kids around in and put your supplies in it. It would be faster than walking. Or if riding a bike isn't a good idea make it a walking pull cart hooked to a back pack waist belt. Just an idea.