After spending many holidays with family living in places that are poorly served by public transportation and have few or no amenities that are easily reachable without a car, I've realized that those two factors are going to be at the top of the list when thinking about where I might want to live as I get older (assuming I have luxury of choosing).
I finally learned to drive because I didn't want to feel trapped by not being able to. But the real trap is not having any other options.
@beep my dream since I first saw the internet was to someday live in the middle of nowhere but with fast internet.
After five years on five acres in the hills (finally with fiber internet) the biggest drawback is every trip involves cars, and the 10-15min trip into town for anything is getting old. I wish I could walk or ride everywhere.
@mathowie @beep I've also always dreamed of living somewhere off the beaten track, but the beaten track is a really a lifeline as you age.
It's not even so much about the hassle of having to drive everywhere, but about what happens if/when you can't drive anymore for some reason. My MIL lives in a small town where you really need a car to shop for food (unless you are *very* fit and can hike up a massive hill carrying a load of groceries). My MIL doesn't drive, so she's reliant on neighbors. One of her neighbors can't drive anymore because of his eyesight, and another has become a menace behind the wheel but continues to drive anyway. Luckily she has lots of other people looking out for her, but her situation has given me a lot to think about.
(Ironically, perhaps, her situation is partially what prompted me to finally learn to drive in the first place—but I had misidentified the real problem at the heart of that situation.)
Jessica
Ethan Marcotte
Matthew Haughey