Homebound

With both cars out of commission, I'm realizing how much I use them on a day to day basis. Fortunately, we have enough milk and other food in the house and there really isn't anything pressing that I need to get to, so this hasn't been that much of an ordeal. Nevertheless, it is reminding me of the time when I was in college and I had no car, but yet managed just fine for four years. I wonder now if I could make it four days.

The main difference however is that I lived in a completely different situation. In college, everything that I needed was within walking distance - school, work, church, stores, everything. That is simply not the case in our neighborhood. Granted, I could walk over to the metro and get to a few things, but it would be a significantly longer walk and would certainly be complicated with having to take Ellie with me. We have friends who live closer to the city in an area called Crystal City and they do not have a car. They seem to be making it work pretty well. But, there's no question that the walkability factor is much better there than where we live.

That was one of the things I liked about living in Cambridge, MA (yes, there are a few things!). Everything that we wanted was within walking distance. We had two cars (we were one of two families that we knew with two cars), but really there were often times when it was more of a hassle than anything, what with always having to find a parking space not only where you were going but when you came back. Not to mention moving your car for street cleaning every month. And then there is the terrible state of the roads. I think we drove Matt's car maybe once or twice a month and that was just to stretch its legs and for street cleaning. And the time that the blizzard of '05 came through and his car was buried in feet and feet of snow, we left it for almost a month - waiting for the snow to melt.

All of this is to say that while I love where I live, there are certain benefits to living in a place that is more accessible by walking. Of course, you don't generally think about them except in the rare case when both of your cars wig out on you. But such is my life.