She
comments that people in their 20`s and 30`s – if they don`t own a car it is ``because
they can`t afford one and not by choice.``
Is
this statement true of Bloomingdale residents – both homeowners/condo owners and renters
– who are in their 20`s and 30`s? Do 20-somethings and 30-somethings in Bloomingdale who don't own cars do so because they can't afford one?
Is KPW`s comment valid for Bloomingdale ?
From: WKPW3 @ aol.com
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:42:41 -0400
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:42:41 -0400
Subject: [ward5] Harriet Tregoning is pro-choice...
on transportation (GGW)
I
am glad to hear that other people like cars.
Also, most of the people in their 20s and 30s (other than online) love
driving. If they don`t have a car it is
because they can`t afford one and not by choice. [more comments from KPW after
this….]
by David Alpert • October 24, 2012 11:05 am
17 comments:
It's amazing how the people who are regulars on the Ward 5 listserv believe that they have their fingers on the pulse of America, when they wouldn't know the zeitgeist if it bit them in the ass.
I'm a 26 year old Bloomingdale resident with no car by choice. I could afford one, but the cost and hassle is not worth it to me. My life in the District is accessible by metro, bus, bike, walking, and occasionally Zipcar.
I'm a 42 year old Bloomingdaler and didn't own a car by choice until a few years ago. Who the hell wants to pay for inflated DC car insurance rates and parking in DC and if i wanted to go out of town I rented a car for 20 bucks per day. Who wants to circle round and round for hours looking for parking (I used to live in Adams morgan). I had a bike and I loved the fact that I could get to Georgetown in half the time it took my car driving friends. I only bought a car a few years ago because i had a kid and I needed to take him out to childcare everyday. Not having a car in Washington was great! I would love to see Washington DC going the green revolution and take a least one North South street (7th?) and one East West Street (R? P?) and make it bikes/pedestrian only. Those bike lanes are a joke and nobody respects them.
That's about as ignorant a statement as the one a woman made to me as I was standing outside of my condo building. She asked if we all live for free. I said no, of course not. She said, "You're all in your 20s and 30s and I know you can't afford 400 and 500 thousand dollar apartments."
Quite to the contrary. I'm a 25 year old Bloomingdale resident. I moved here from Boston over a year ago. In Boston, I lived in the city (not quite downtown, but close enough that public transportation was accessible). However, I worked outside of the city and did a daily reverse commute by car to get there. I had one office about 25 minutes away by highway, and another that was more like 45 minutes away.
I was excited when I moved here because my office is downtown. I happily sold my car, and started using my bike much more, which had largely been gathering dust since college. Today I bike and walk everywhere, and occasionally take a car2go or the Metro if it is raining or I'm going to the opposite end of the city. And I've never been happier--or healthier! I probably save $650/mo between car payments, insurance, gas, parking and tolls that I paid in Boston--money that I'm happy to have to pay off loans or travel more.
In short, the answer to this question is NO. I had the money for a car, it's just now I have it for other, better things instead. Of course, this is a matter of personal choice.
I don't own a car... and it's by choice. I work in Baltimore, and I can easily hop on my bike... ride to Union Station... and take MARC up to the city. This trip is made even easier now that the Bikestation is open... I don't have to worry a much about my bike getting stolen!
Only occasionally do we need to get out of the city... when that happens we just rent a car for the $20-30/day from DCA (it's cheaper than Zipcar if you need something for 3 hours or more). If we want to get to a difficult area of the city we will take a Car2Go... but most of the time it's Metro or walking.
Harriet - first rule of political blogging (or politics in general)... never use blanket statements... qualify qualify qualify
Hear hear! I don't own a car, not because of the cost (although I do enjoy not paying to maintain, insure and fuel one), but because it is much more convenient, environmentally friendly and good for my heart to bike. I second Adam about the Zipcar and rental options.
I think more people who CAN afford cars should get rid of them.
Just to clarify, because the description on this post is a bit confusing...Tregoning in generally for cycling/walking/public transit. It was Ms Pearson-West, I believe, who made that comment.
I have lived in Bloomingdale since 2010, am a gainfully employed engineer, am 31, and choose not to own a car for a few reasons:
1. I don't need one. Public transportation, my bicycle, and my feet get me to where I need to go.
2. Local air pollution from cars is nasty. I often work on combustion appliances and know the science pretty well. The emissions from exhaust contributes to a host of health conditions including asthma and developmental problems in children. Also note that smog created by a car is worse with heat (DC air is nassstttyy in July)! And don't get me started on gasonline uses contribution to global climate change....
3. Preservation of oil rights is often an underlying cause for war. I don't like war so I try to contribute to as little oil consumption as possible.
4. Walking and biking is good for keeping to a healthy lifestyle.
5. I'd rather spend my money on a Halloween costume, a new bike, or some flowers for my lady friend.
In short, I must wholeheartedly disagree with Ms. Pearson-West's statement that the only reason I do not have a car is because I can't afford one.
Respectfully,
Jon
I've lived in Bloomingdale for 3 years, and in DC for 10. I can certainly afford a car, but choose not to have one for both simplicity's sake and to support my views on environmentalism and sustainable urban living. I also disagree with Pearson-West's comment.
Harriet Tregoning didn't make the blanket statement about car ownership. That was Kathryn Pearson-West, the woman who moderates that Yahoo group.
I assist a lot of twenty and thirty year old (and older :) folks buy real estate in the District and within the past few years it is very typical for my clients to not own cars by choice. In fact, it is so common that I have a page on my website devoted to resources for people who choose to live without cars: http://10squareteam.com/resources/getting-around.htm.
I have heard Harriet Tregoning present her perspective on the direction of the growth of DC and how public transportation fits in and I thought she was spot on.
I am 25, live in Bloomingdale, and finances do not impact my choice to be carless. I ride my bike most places, which makes me feel good and reduces my carbon footprint. If I don't ride, I metro or I bus, and I find that the combination of the three usually gets me to where I need to go. Sure, groceries can be a pain, but it also limits how much I buy! So, I'm saving money, staying fit, and protecting the environment, all in one!
When I moved to the DC metro area in my mid-twenties it had been 2-3 years since I had sold my clunker of a car. In Rosslyn there was no place to park it and my employer paid for metro so there was little need. Even after I bought my house in Truxton Circle, I still was carless. I had friends, there was Flexcar/Zipcar and I didn't want to even have to think about car break ins or my car being stolen.
Just because someone doesn't have something doesn't mean they can't afford it. People have options. Where we are with public transit and rentable cars, we have the option of spending money that would go to gas, insurance, car notes and repairs on something else.
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