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LA resident here. Got rid of my car 2 years ago and haven't looked back. A big difference for me is that I hate driving - especially here. The stress of it real

by creyes 10y ago

LA resident here. Got rid of my car 2 years ago and haven't looked back. A big difference for me is that I hate driving - especially here. The stress of it really got to me. Financially, I'm not sure that I actually 'save' money. I live within 100yds of a ton of bars and restaurants, and a 5 minute walk to Trader Joes/Metro. I Uber most places but also take the Metro to DTLA and Santa Monica pretty often. The whole car payment/insurance/gas/maintenance costs for sure are more than what I pay to Uber/Metro but what I'm not sure how to value the 'cost of walking.' I definitely pay a premium for my location and I often wonder, if I lived in a less convenient area (had to drive to groceries, far from Metro) if I'd be able to not have a car. Because as it stands, car costs < uber/metro/rent premium

kchoudhu 10y ago
I'd value the cost of walking as negative: it's good for your health.
- wrigby 10y ago
  I agree, but I think GP is also considering the premium paid to live in a "walkable" area.
  - kchoudhu 10y ago
    Yeah, the math doesn't always work out. In our case, it did: we spent six weeks in LA, and we paid a good $500 extra to live in a townhouse that had a grocery store, mall and park within walking distance. What we spent extra on the location (I think) we made up in not having to pay for a long term car rental. If we were doing this long term and had to weigh against buying a car, I think the math would have worked out differently.
  - creyes 10y ago
    Fact. Just google'd average 1 bedroom rent in LA and I pay a good ~$1k more... mostly for walkability
    - mjevans 10y ago
      I feel like if the premium wasn't there, due to sufficient competition among buildings and/or walkable areas OUTSIDE of the downtown cores (sub-nodes?) that it would be more viable for people to make that choice.
- ptaipale 10y ago
  Depends slightly on what you breathe while you walk.
chrisper 10y ago
How do you handle stuff like day trips? Do you just rent a car?
- creyes 10y ago
  Yeah. Turo (formerly relayrides) is pretty sweet for getting whatever kind of car you need last minute. shameless Turo referral link: https://turo.com/referral?code=741175rvV6z3 https://turo.com/referral?code=741175rvV6z3
vkat 10y ago
>> The stress of it really got to me. This in LA traffic

by creyes 10y ago

kchoudhu 10y ago

I'd value the cost of walking as negative: it's good for your health.

wrigby 10y ago
I agree, but I think GP is also considering the premium paid to live in a "walkable" area.
- kchoudhu 10y ago
  Yeah, the math doesn't always work out. In our case, it did: we spent six weeks in LA, and we paid a good $500 extra to live in a townhouse that had a grocery store, mall and park within walking distance. What we spent extra on the location (I think) we made up in not having to pay for a long term car rental. If we were doing this long term and had to weigh against buying a car, I think the math would have worked out differently.
- creyes 10y ago
  Fact. Just google'd average 1 bedroom rent in LA and I pay a good ~$1k more... mostly for walkability
  - mjevans 10y ago
    I feel like if the premium wasn't there, due to sufficient competition among buildings and/or walkable areas OUTSIDE of the downtown cores (sub-nodes?) that it would be more viable for people to make that choice.
ptaipale 10y ago
Depends slightly on what you breathe while you walk.

chrisper 10y ago

How do you handle stuff like day trips? Do you just rent a car?

creyes 10y ago
Yeah. Turo (formerly relayrides) is pretty sweet for getting whatever kind of car you need last minute. shameless Turo referral link: https://turo.com/referral?code=741175rvV6z3 https://turo.com/referral?code=741175rvV6z3

vkat 10y ago

>> The stress of it really got to me. This in LA traffic