"I Quit Cars" New York Times Article

In September, 2017, I sold my car, and never looked back.

I had just moved back to LA and thought I needed a car because, well, the saying goes, “you can’t live in LA without a car.” So I was financing a Chevy Sonic, which was an affordable, high mpg, small car that met my needs… however it was still a fossil-fuel burning vehicle, which I was embarrassed to even say out loud. I purchased it at the beginning of my sustainability journey, and before I knew it, I wa boycotting my own possession, as I would walk or ride my bike as much as I could.

In May 2017, I gave up my car for a month - literally locked the keys in a box. I figured if I could go without it for a month, I could probably do it for a year. And in that entire month duration, I only found myself needing it one time to drive down to Orange County. So I borrowed a friend’s car to prove that if I needed a car, I had the community to support it.

So September came around and I sold it! Wow - what a free feeling. Being liberated from monthly payments, insurance, maintenance, parking, gas, and of course the knowledge of knowing that with each mile I was pumping harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere - gone! I learned all of the best bike paths in my community, became a regular at my local coffee shop, and started seeing all sorts of beauty in my neighborhood I had never acknowledged being behind the steering wheel before.

A major highlight - my boyfriend lives in Newport Beach (about 50 miles from LA) and I learned how to take the Metro Expo line to DTLA, then the Amtrak or Metrolink train down to Irvine. A total of $7 and SO much peace of mind, vs sitting on the 405 during rush hour.

I share more about my journey of living “car free” in this New York Times article, as part of their “I Quit” series. You can check out the full article here.

There are REALLY COOL articles in this series. People gave up online dating, alcohol, even one person who gave up buying things, which I found to be super inspirational.

Check it out and let me know what you think!