This was my goal. No, this is my goal. Maybe I’ve lived in London and New York City for too long, or maybe I’m just an idealist, but I don’t want to live my life in a car. I don’t want to rely on a car to live my life. I don’t want to be one of these people who walks down their driveway, gets in their car, drives to work, spends 8 hours indoors at work, drives home and then walks back into their house. That sounds like living death to me.
However, everyone I speak with, from New York to Seattle, seems to scoff at my idea. Is this more about them or more about me? Is it really pie in the sky thinking to want to live somewhere in the US without a car? Was Texas maybe the wrong place to start? Austin seems all sorts of spread out and even the side streets seem big.
And so I am already considering renting a car and breaking my practically number one rule on this trip. Partially this is because I am staying at a motel in Austin that is not in downtown. It’s actually a good 15 minute walk into the southern end of “SoCo,” South Congress Avenue, a funky area of town. It’s then another 2 miles into what’s considered downtown Austin. Not ideal. Partially, I guess I could look at all the neighborhoods that if I were to move here, I might be interested in living in.
Well, I guess for today I don’t have to worry about it. I’m back in my motel room and watching the rain bucket down. Feels a bit like London, except the temperature is in the 90sF. I sit here in air conditioning and ponder my next day without a car. Wish me luck!
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