Whatever Margaret thinks about people who make a real effort to be truly green by not owning a car which as far as I’m concerned makes them less of a slacker.

I would not buy a condo without parking. I do not have a car, but it adds value, is convenient for guests, and good chance that sooner or later I will buy a beater to get me out to the wilderness.

I have been living and working here for 4 years without a car, and love it.

If only you knew.

I am married with a young child in our parkingless condo. I work, so did my spouse until recently. Our daycare was a block away, our jobs are (were) 10 minutes away from our homes. When we needed to get out of downtown, hertz and zipcar provide when the bus system wouldn’t. Incidentally, my spouse (now stay-at-home) doesn’t drive – never learned how growing up in New York. Never needed it. Still don’t.

Get out of the past. (By the way, Dads can start dinner, too.)

Since becoming car-free, I joined 6 clubs and have served on boards for four different organizations. I’m currently attending regular meetings for 6 committees. Where did I find the time? I also got rid of my TV and I started bicycling. Between the bus and a bicycle and zipcar, single ownership of an entire automobile isn’t necessary, I just spend more time planning my transportation and being intentional in my scheduling. Sure, it gets tougher when I have 9 committee meetings in a month, but a committee meeting takes the whole evening no matter if I get there by car or by bicycle. An extra 45 minutes for transportation isn’t that big of a deal compared to the 3 hours spent in the meeting.

The one situation where I won’t argue that a car isn’t a necessity is for parents of babies. There is a blog of a woman who is doing it by bus, but it is so hard that I won’t try to twist anyone’s arm there. Now, the good folks at totcycle have a lot of solutions, and I see Julian bicycling with a couple small children in his cargo bike, but he is a saint and a superhero.

I also have a friend who bicycles from Fremont to Capitol Hill to pick his two children up and tows one on a trail-a-bike while the other rides a separate bicycle, to Greenwood. Other times, he bicycles over and then the three take the bus back.

It is possible for active, social people with civic connections, but there is a trade-off in travel radius that does make it less ideal for frequently visiting friends and family who live away from transit lines.

When my child was young, and living with me – no way would I voluntarily choose a carless life. I can just imagine what it might have been like trying to deal with what is a fifteen-minute sidetrip to the day-care-center with a car becomes an hour-and-a-half ordeal on the bus, each way. And taking a kid and all her stuff plus the groceries on the bus? Getting home at 8:30 to start dinner? Moms are obviously not worth considering, in your world.

For single people with no connection to the community, a carless life would be OK.

You can get pretty much anywhere you need to go in the active part of Seattle, which includes the Eastside, in 15 or 20 minutes by car, whereas to go by bus typically takes 45 minutes to an hour, not including the wait time, and the time it takes to walk to where you are going, once the bus drops you off. That pretty much limits how much you can get done in a day.

For slackers, a carless condo would be OK, but if you’ve got things to do, a car is pretty important. d

Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods on Westlake, and in a pinch the Kress IGA mean I don’t even rent cars every weekend anymore, though.

So, no, I don’t need or want parking with my condo.

I would definitely NOT buy a parkingless condo in Seattle.

The only problem with my current place is that my bicycle parking is in my living room. The storage lockers are inconvenient for daily use, so the bike comes inside with me every night.