Hi all,
So we are NYC dwellers expecting our first baby and simply cannot decide if we should buy our own car. We've survived for 12 years in the city car-less and just rely on public transportation, cabs, rental cars, and zipcars (we frequently zipcar to get around). I'd love to have our own car just for convenience sake, for freedom to get around and leave the city, for the carseat installation factor, etc., but it is just SO expensive as we would have to pay for a parking garage (in our neighborhood >$500 month!!! crazy!). What have other moms done? Have you been able to survive with just public transport and rental cars? Did you cave and get a car and feel it was worth it? Would love to hear any advice and pros and cons! We've crunched all the #s but just don't know what we're getting into...
Thank you!!
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We also live in NYC and we have a car, but we ONLY bought a car when we bought a weekend home in upstate ny. We would NOT have bought a car just because we had a baby. I can't think of anywhere we've been with the baby that necessitated a car...sure, sometimes it is easier to do big shopping trips or to drive places like the zoo, but the cost of parking totally negates any pros, IMO! So unless you have places that you drive to regularly (like visiting family), I definitely would not do it. It is painful to think about how much we pay for a garage (and DH always says that I coudl save us the money by doing street parking and moviing the car since I SAH, but I refuse to do it since i hate hate driving.)
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Thanks so much @hilsy85: I think that's an important thing to consider! Right now, we leave the city almost every weekend (I ride horses and travel to do that), but usually try and share cars/rentals with friends. Of course, I imagine we'll be a lot more homebound at least at first with the baby. I guess we could always give it a try without a car for a while and get one down the line if it seems really tough..but I'm in planning mode
thanks so much for your perspective!
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@Gigi2: ah so interesting! Do you ride out on LI? I rode out there for years
(and now ride upstate!).That changes it a bit, if you're traveling somewhere somewhat regularly, then having your own car would definitely be more convenient...I guess it really depends on whether you can/want to afford the garage payments, or deal with street parking. Since it sounds like you use a car regularly, it might make more sense for you! But yes, I imagine you'll take a few months off from riding while pregnant/with a newborn
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@Gigi2: We live in NYC and do not have a car (and don't ever plan to get one). It's very easy to get around the city without one, just make sure you have carseats that are very easy and quick to install in taxis with just a seatbelt (we loved the Cybex Aton as an infant seat and Combi Coccoro as a convertible). I used to just wear LO in a carrier when taking the subway, and when we're with DH he just picks up the stroller with LO in it and carries it down the stairs. I need to work out a little more before I can do that myself.
But we've never had any trouble getting around with taxis, Ubers, etc. (never use Zipcars or rental cars, but if you have a good portable carseat, that would be just as convenient as it is now for you guys).
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We live in NYC as well and don't have a car. To get around on a daily basis, LO is in her stroller. I'm also a WOHM, so LO is often with her nanny strolling around the neighborhood and beyond. We decided to invest in a good regular stroller and umbrella stroller. I also babywear on the subway (these days she is in a Tula carrier) or take an umbrella stroller. We live very close to a major subway station, so it's very hard to justify getting a car. I don't drive, and my husband has a great commute (as do I).
We use Zip Car and rental cars if we must. I actually took her on her first Amtrak ride last weekend and packed lightly (my DH was bringing more stuff in a car the next day).
DH has already ran the numbers and felt that we couldn't justify the cost. Now, if you visit family and friends who live outside of the city often, would be amenable to driving a lot, and do quick weekends trip a lot, don't mind the parking regulations, etc., it might be worth it for you to have one.
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@Gigi2: my sister lived in NYC with her baby and they did not have their own car but sometimes borrowed from their parents, who were local. When they did street the parents cars, they took the car seat out and put it in the trunk anyway, to deter thieves. Not sure if that was just overly cautious, but just pointing that out since it would negate the convenience of the car seat installation. Bils mom had her car garaged in a cheaper but less convenient spot and I know it was a big pain.
We are in boston and do need a car, but it's a whole different ball game.
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I live in DC, which is MUCH more car-friendly than NYC, so my opinion is biased, but... we have a car and love it for trips out of town, grocery shopping, errands, etc. HOWEVER, DC is very car-friendly, we have a garage in our rowhouse, etc. Most of our friends do not have cars and do just fine.
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@hilsy85: that's so great you ride, too! I ride out in NJ. I'm very excited to get back at it, but will definitely need a little time off on the other side of delivery
I'm not sure how much I'll be showing, etc. so that will have to factor into the car decision, too. How much time did you take off??@foodnerd81: @bkcaribbaby: @beehive: thanks so much for your perspectives. It actually makes me feel so much better that so many moms are getting around just fine with no car. @beehive: thank you so much for the carseat recommendations! That's a big worry, the constant carseat struggle if we do drive somewhere, but I'm hoping we can make it easy enough to avoid the huge extra cost..
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We 're in NYC and have done without a car so far! We use taxis/uber and occasionally zip car (but only to visit friends in nj). We're actually getting a car next month but only bc it's free (my mom is giving it to us since she wants a new car), insurance will be low since it's a really old car, and parking isn't crazy expensive in our neighborhood (dh found a garage for like $200/mo). I don't think we'll need it so much as it'll make some things a little easier. But we could easily get by without, we wouldn't have considered a car except my parents offered it
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I'm not urban but a friend ended up buying a car in downtown Chicago once kiddo hit preschool. The preschool they got into was three buses away and they said it was a miserable hour commute on public transit!
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I would not... I don't live in NYC, but from observing many friends with kids in NYC, you a) have to have a big budget for this as you have to pay for a car, its insurance (pretty high in NYC!), maintenance & garage space (which you don't even know how far you gotta walk to). The only family I know that has a car are pretty well off, plus parents live in Queens and they visit regularly. Otherwise I feel like between Uber/taxi/zipcar you can't possible spend more than $500 a month!
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We lived in NYC when our son was born and there is no way I would have wanted a car. One of the reasons I chose to live their in the first place was to not have to deal with a car! We would just stroller or babywear everywhere with our son. I think the only times we ever took a cab was to go to the airport. However, since you said you travel every weekend, maybe it would be good for that?
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We own a car. With that said we use the car everyday. my husband drives to work (in Brooklyn) and we always go out on the weekend to visit family.
When we were living in the city (Manhattan) it was a PITA to do street parking. They have alt side almost everyday. the only saving grace was my father owns house in Queens and we were able to leave the car there and when we needed it take public transport and get the car.
If you are not going to use the car every week then I would say don't get one. The car payments, insurance, upkeep and occasional tickets will not add up to renting/zip car-ing.
I do not drive our car and I am able to get DD around town using public transportation
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I live in nyc and i have zero intention of getting a car. We use zipcar occassionally but mostly just use amtrak to go visit our parents and stuff. We typically stay in the city on the weekends though as we dont have a vacation house or anything.
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I live in NYC, LO is almost 2 and we don't have a car. It's been great! We live in Brooklyn and there's so much to explore just in our neighborhood we haven't felt the need to get out much - park, 7 different playgrounds in a 2-mile radius, botanical garden, splash pad, zoo, carousel, children's museum, Coney Island a short train ride away, etc.
We're moving to Texas in a couple weeks and we have to buy two cars and I am dreading it.
I say hold out at least until LO is a few months old and you can reassess.
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I vote not worth it unless you are using it at least one or two weekends every month. Otherwise, it makes more sense finically to rent or get a zip car. Between parking tickets, insurance, gas, upkeep, the dings and dents that happen in a garage or on the street, maintenance, inspection, etc., it is not worth the headache. Street parking is rage inducing.
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I've been curious about this from the naps perspective. We live in Chicago and do have a car. Especially when LO was napping a lot, but past the "nap anywhere" stage, it seemed like the awake time to get out of the house was limited. For those without cars - do your kiddos just nap on the go? We could use public transit to get anywhere, but by the time we got some places, we would have like 30 minutes before we'd have to get him home for a nap.
thanks so much for your perspective!
I say hold out at least until LO is a few months old and you can reassess.
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