2 ms·

I'd drive to my grocery store a 1/4 mile away because I don't want to carry a weeks worth of groceries home

mikepurvis 4y ago
I have a friend whose family of five is car free and he does big grocery runs with a hiking pack or even bike trailer. But certainly point taken— that type of thing is well outside the norm. Most carfree urban dwellers I think handle this by just breaking up the shopping into more, smaller trips. Going every two days instead of every seven, and paying a slight premium for smaller packs of stuff like TP vs stockpiling 48 rolls at once. And honestly, some of it is a mindset shift more than anything else. Like a lot of people who do these big whole-week mega shops still seem to be "popping out" to the store (in the car, of course) every other day anyway for some single item they forgot, emergency snacks, whatever. So maybe if you're there anyway, do the work and extend the meal plan another day or two, bring a backpack’s worth of stuff home, and avoid or defer the mega shop that justifies owning a car in the first place.
- frumper 4y ago
  I would agree that it is manageable to make shopping work without a car, but I'd rather not spend more time going to and from the store, and I'd rather drive a little further to cheaper stores for bulk goods. Also, I don't think the mega shopping is what justifies owning a car, it's more a product that I already have a car because I need to go to work. The car is a sunk cost in most of America.
  - mikepurvis 4y ago
    I feel like both justify the other in some ways: I need a car to do big shopping trips <-> I need to do big shopping trips because I have a car Or, as you say, having a car is just a given most places in America, so there’s not really a question of it being any other way.
  - munk-a 4y ago
    As someone who has lived car free I both agree and disagree with your point. What we tend to do for shopping is occasionally cab/instacart big heavy bulk stuff (like dried beans, canned goods, spices, the 3lbs cut of beef) from Costco/equivalent and then do random small shops through the week to pickup vegetables, fruit and other perishables - it works out quite well and it's nice to be able to plan recipes pretty flexibly.
    - frumper 4y ago
      Again, it's totally manageable to come up with ways to shop without a car. I already have a car though, so it would take more time and effort for me to not use it at this point.
      - munk-a 4y ago
        Sort of? Walking to the store, and generally being outside, is healthy and if you're going to the gym already then the occasional walk is an easier way to get some exercise for free.
        frumper 4y ago
        Sort of? It’s absolutely more time and effort if I include “exercise time” in my now every few days grocery runs. So rather than take 5 minutes each way in a car once a week traveling to the store you’d like me to walk to the closer expensive store several days a week and say it’s only sort of quicker and easier? You have to construct reasons to make it better and even then a walk to the store isn’t the same as a gym workout. I’m much happier walking to the park several times a week with my family than walking to the store with them.

I have a friend whose family of five is car free and he does big grocery runs with a hiking pack or even bike trailer. But certainly point taken— that type of thing is well outside the norm. Most carfree urban dwellers I think handle this by just breaking up the shopping into more, smaller trips. Going every two days instead of every seven, and paying a slight premium for smaller packs of stuff like TP vs stockpiling 48 rolls at once. And honestly, some of it is a mindset shift more than anything else. Like a lot of people who do these big whole-week mega shops still seem to be "popping out" to the store (in the car, of course) every other day anyway for some single item they forgot, emergency snacks, whatever. So maybe if you're there anyway, do the work and extend the meal plan another day or two, bring a backpack’s worth of stuff home, and avoid or defer the mega shop that justifies owning a car in the first place.

frumper 4y ago
I would agree that it is manageable to make shopping work without a car, but I'd rather not spend more time going to and from the store, and I'd rather drive a little further to cheaper stores for bulk goods. Also, I don't think the mega shopping is what justifies owning a car, it's more a product that I already have a car because I need to go to work. The car is a sunk cost in most of America.
- mikepurvis 4y ago
  I feel like both justify the other in some ways: I need a car to do big shopping trips <-> I need to do big shopping trips because I have a car Or, as you say, having a car is just a given most places in America, so there’s not really a question of it being any other way.
- munk-a 4y ago
  As someone who has lived car free I both agree and disagree with your point. What we tend to do for shopping is occasionally cab/instacart big heavy bulk stuff (like dried beans, canned goods, spices, the 3lbs cut of beef) from Costco/equivalent and then do random small shops through the week to pickup vegetables, fruit and other perishables - it works out quite well and it's nice to be able to plan recipes pretty flexibly.
  - frumper 4y ago
    Again, it's totally manageable to come up with ways to shop without a car. I already have a car though, so it would take more time and effort for me to not use it at this point.
    - munk-a 4y ago
      Sort of? Walking to the store, and generally being outside, is healthy and if you're going to the gym already then the occasional walk is an easier way to get some exercise for free.
      - frumper 4y ago
        Sort of? It’s absolutely more time and effort if I include “exercise time” in my now every few days grocery runs. So rather than take 5 minutes each way in a car once a week traveling to the store you’d like me to walk to the closer expensive store several days a week and say it’s only sort of quicker and easier? You have to construct reasons to make it better and even then a walk to the store isn’t the same as a gym workout. I’m much happier walking to the park several times a week with my family than walking to the store with them.