Last
week I had a car.
That, in and of itself, is nothing special. Except that for the past four months I have been living in DC without one. Walking. And biking. And Metro-ing. And rarely catching rides.
While having the car was productive, I was happy to give it back. Really happy. Don’t get me wrong, having a car in the city allows me to get everything I need done. I can get to big box stores. I can get to the military installations. I can get anywhere I need.
But after 400 miles of driving I realized that from the safety and comfort of the rolling steel cage, DC looks just like Oak Park IL, and White Bear Lake MN, and Peoria AZ, and Stamford CT, and any number of other metroplexes. The highways and roads are just the interconnecting tubes of a large urban human habitrail. I can get where I need, but where to park? Toll roads? I felt utterly disconnected from the world around me.
What the car really did was point out to me that I have really enjoyed the walking and the biking. Being part of my surroundings. Hearing the compressors running for the Whole Foods refrigerators. Smelling the garlic and harrissa at the Lebanese place. Watching the tourists meandering on King Street. Feeling the bumps on the roads and trails on the Bikeshare bikes. There is an intimate connection to my neighborhood that is missing when I strap myself in the driver’s seat. I missed that. I was glad to have it back.
I don’t know that I can really live in the big city completely without a car, but I am not sure that having a car would at all increase my happiness or satisfaction. If I stayed in DC long enough, I might need to have one for real. I would likely get music gigs that would be off the metro lines and likely after hours. There are some purchases that are just not realistic to carry on bikes. Sometimes the weather really does suck and I turn into a wuss. My daily life can certainly be done car-free however. Uber, taxi, and occasional rentals can fill some of those gaps.
I could see that having a car would allow for more freedom to explore. See friends and family in VA. Go to Gettysburg, Williamsburg, or the Blue Ridge Parkway. Get lost on the back roads in West Virginia. Trek down to the shore of Chesapeake Bay or the Outer Banks. But surely I can accept the cost of a weekend rental for those times? Isn’t that far better than having a vehicle sitting in the parking garage 95% of the time? Would I turn into the hamster in the habitrail if I had a car full-time? Perhaps I would. There sure is ease and comfort and convenience in it.
But for now, I am enjoying the return to my walking. And biking. And Metro-ing. And rarely catching rides.
