I’m a late Boomer and I haven’t owned a car since I moved to NYC almost forty years ago. A lot of NYCers don’t drive and never have. It’s one of the reasons I moved here - the subways run 24 hours a day and it’s POP. And of course since this is an older city it’s more designed for walking from point A to point B. Part of the point of living in a city used to be that you could just walk into a store and buy anything you wanted - esp. in a large city like NYC which had hundreds of niche retailers. That’s still largely true here even with the retail crisis.
I don’t like a lot of the way NYC is changing but every other place seems like it would be even harder for me to live in.
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Even without the conveniences of a metro city, according to the article, the auto sales industry and the pros following this generation like lab mice, transport is a non issue in the sharing economy. As is getting at service based goods. My Uncle lived an entire working life without a drivers lic. and it was unheard of. Apparently, the mindset that we need a car is changing.
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The partner and I, both gen Xers, have no driving licence. Our main transport is our bicycles. People are still “shocked” when they hear we don’t have driving licences and this is a biking country.
One of our holidays next year which will require taking long distance buses, and the distances are big. 99% of the members on a travel forum gasp at the thought of taking a local bus in this country. They all drive from A to B. We take local buses on almost every holiday and have not come home in a box, nor have we been robbed or caught a disease.
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I think its fantastic. I too ride a bike whenever I can. While I love driving, and my work involves a great deal of driving, when I don’t need to I enjoy the hell out of taking my foot off the pedal.
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Does that mean the founder of WF with all his vision and business building prowess sold out? Because the first time I stepped into a WF was in CA. Back then, WF felt like the next evolution in health food markets. Today, WF seems very divided btwn being a community partner/resource and being just another Amazon affiliate. And the nickels and dimes buy far less.
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This does not seem like a problem to me.
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For those who might want to take Uber or Lyft to or from a restaurant in California (trying to keep this about food) I really have no idea where you’d get the idea that they aren’t operational. That law is about declaring the drivers to be employees not contractors, as the companies have maintained they are. This could well wind up crippling both companies, but it hasn’t happened yet.
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Yes, I’m following along. As I said earlier, while I was in LA this month I rec’d emails and txt alerts from both companies that service had been halted. I could not use it for crew or clients when I usually can. Was it in protest? I couldn’t get a straight answer and didn’t have the time to waste on it. Big last min hassle though.
Funny that. When my niece didn’t rush to get a license she got a laundry list of reasons why living w/out a car would be a big hassle.
From whom? I grew up in New Jersey, and I got a driver’s license as soon as I could because it was the easiest way to get around, by far. But that’s certainly not true everywhere. I’ve lived in Manhattan for 30+ years, where a car is generally more trouble (and expense) than it’s worth.
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No argument from me. Btwn the bus, train and Lyft, NJ is very easy to navigate.
As her friends began getting their lic, they were surprised she didn’t. She attended college in Philly had no trouble getting around. Got a job in Las Vegas still had no trouble getting around. She got her lic this year and just bought a car a week ago. Lol, I predict she still gets around without it.
well, it was great at the beginnings. Not so sure as nationwide chain business model evolved, and devolved, and revolved.
Our local small chain Bread and Circus used to have all kinds of interesting local stuff, including prepared foods, regional cheeses, etc. Bought out by whole foods and and all the local stuff and character of branches disappeared. Amazon and Whole Foods can be convenient but also “detached and robotic.”
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I, too, first knew it as Bread and Circus. When it was taken over by Whole Foods, I was concerned, but then happy with the result. When Amazon took it over, I was concerned again. This time my concern was born out.
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Me too. I got my license at 17 like everyone in NJ, but I never felt comfortable with driving so was thrilled to live in NYC where I didn’t need to have a car. But once I knew I was moving out to California, I basically resigned myself to (a) driving and (b) owning a car, the latter of which I’d never done. I have a friend who lives and works in North Jersey and yet has never owned a car for vague reasons, and constantly complains about his bus/train commute. If he drove, his commute would be a lot shorter.
It takes me just under an hour by train and close to 2.5 hrs by car from my front door to Penn Sta. My days of driving to NYC just for the day are behind me and I drive all over the place.
It really depends these days if car ownership is a convenience. Sometimes it’s just a habit. Now that I ride a bicycle I find it more relaxing to take a trail than drive a hwy. But I’m sure that having a welcomed break from driving alters my view considerably.
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