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Went car-free abroad — did you end up needing one after all?

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Marco Rossi 🏆 Community expert
31 Jul 2026, 19:14

When I moved, one of the things I was proudest of was selling my car. The new city had trams, trains, bike lanes, and I was going to be one of those people who never needs a car. For two years that was true, and I loved it.

Then a few things changed at once: a job on the edge of the city, weekends away that trains don't reach, and a partner whose family lives in a village with one bus a day. I've been renting cars so often that I've started wondering whether I was being stubborn rather than sensible.

Did anyone else go car-free after moving and then end up needing one after all? Or did you manage to stay car-free, and how?

16 replies · page 2 of 2

Oliver Brandt ⭐ Helpful member
16 Aug 2026, 11:56

Sweden made car-free easy in the city and impossible the moment we visited friends in the countryside.

Joy Villanueva ⭐ Helpful member
19 Aug 2026, 19:00

Calgary winters convinced me, and I bought a used car in my second year.

Kwame Mensah 🏆 Community expert
22 Aug 2026, 05:41

In Dubai a car felt necessary from the first week, which surprised me.

Elena Popescu 🏆 Community expert
24 Aug 2026, 13:19

Linda, rent for a few months first and see how it feels before deciding, that's what I'd do again.

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Chris Bennett ⭐ Helpful member
27 Aug 2026, 11:17

At our age the car is freedom, and we only resisted it for a month.

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Marco Rossi 🏆 Community expert
30 Aug 2026, 17:49

Thank you all. I've done what Tariq suggested and written down my real week, including the Sunday evenings, and the answer is uncomfortably clear. I'm going to buy a small used car in the autumn and keep using trams and bikes for everything I can. Rajesh's rule about renting more than a couple of times a month made the maths very simple too.