This morning I got a call that I wish I could say happened for the first time but it’s about the third such call I’ve received since launching CarFreeBrad.

Today’s call was just about par for the course and started with an exasperated voice on the other end starting off with “What does it take to be CarFree?”.  Each time this is sparked by a god aweful commuting or other driving experience and serves more as a way to vent than a serious inquiry into CarFree-ness.

Regardless of the motives, it’s a good question and one that I won’t even try to fully answer in one post because there are so many degrees of “CarFree-ness”(some more acceptable than others according to comments) but deserves a little time.

My immediate response to him was “a really understanding girlfriend with a car”.  We both had a good chuckle over that and moved on but it’s really key factor to your “CarFree-ness”.  If you are in a relationship, that person has to be on board and must support the move or it will not work.  I’ve said repeatedly that there will come times in your life when you will need a car(sometimes you’ll just really want one and that’s cool too).  So be realistic about your need/want for a car on a regular basis.

Overall, embrace the realistic that driving sucks but riding sucks sometimes as well. Plan on only riding as much as your can stand!