In my last piece, I convinced you to save lots of money by selling your car. Well, at least I suggested it.
The selling the car part actually comes after you decided to move to one of those towns – like Ambridge – “where everybody knows your name.
I’ve lived in several places like that: Sea Breeze in suburban Rochester, NY; Williamsburg, VA (sigh!); Athens, GA (double-sigh, go Dawgs!); Bartlesville, Ok; West Hartford, CT; Springfield, VT (where “The Simpsons” movie premiered); Carnegie, PA (two miles from downtown Pittsburgh); and Ambridge, PA (18 miles from Da Burgh).
What factor is most important in moving to a town or small city? Well, since you don’t have a car, EVERYTHING’s gotta be easy-to-reach.
Ambridge has about 7,000 people – roughly the same sizes as Williamsburg (in the early 70s) and Springfield. Williamsburg, Ambridge, and Carnegie are in a three-way tie for placing just about everything where I need(ed) it.
I live at 818 Duss Avenue in Ambridge, an “old mill town” that somehow seems forever new. I’m right near 8th street in a town that has about 16 blocks of small businesses – surrounded by street where most people live.
So, what’s within 5-10 minutes walking distance? The CVS pharmacy, the Citizens Bank (and several other banks), Charles’s Men’s Store (nice, small), the post office, the Fire Department, the Police Department, the Ambridge Municipal Building (containing the place where I pay my water bill), my insurance agent (Carolyn Dunn), the Maple Restaurant (famous roast beef sandwiches), the use appliance store (cheap!), the Chinese Food place, the pizza place, and the Laughlin Memorial Library (lots of books!).
About 15 minute away – down on 1st Street – is my doctor’s office, a three-physician operation. Since I’m a big fan of the military, it doesn’t hurt that all three doctors are veterans – two, Kathleen and Donna, of the Air Force, Michael of the Army. They’re the best doctors we’ve ever had.
Food is something of a challenge. The old Foodland – 20 minutes away – closed. So we need to go to Pick and Pay, which is a 30-minute walk (gulp). But it’s great exercise – at least my wife says so, because she’s the one that always goes to the grocery store. Hee hee.
Like many Western Pennsylvanians, I share the addiction to high school football. Ambridge High School is right across the street, on Duss. The football stadium, named after historic coach Moe Rubenstein, is a one-minute walk. Go Bridgers!
There are a couple of gas stations/convenience stores nearby. But since I don’t have a car, all I do is note the petroleum price increases.
It’s true that we don’t have a Museum of Modern Art or a Yankees Stadium or anything approximating traffic jams
But we have everything we truly need within walking distance. Would we walk everyplace if we lived out in the fashionable burbs? Of course not.
This weekend I’ll talk more about Ambridge, why we love it, and how living here saves us a lot of money.
Showing posts with label West Hartford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Hartford. Show all posts
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
SELL YOUR CAR -- NOW!
"How in goodness name can you live for 10 years WITHOUT A CAR?" People ask me that all the time.
Answer: We walk (a lot), or take the bus. Occasionally, we get a ride from one of my daughters or -- on special occasions -- rent a car from Enterprise. That's the one that picks you up and takes you home.
A car: that's the entity that costs you $60,000 to buy when it's gleaming new. Then it costs you thousands of dollars a year to pay for, maintain, and insure.
After 10 years, your $50,000 car is a piece of junk worth $10,000 -- if you can find a sucker that will pay that much. Or, you can use it on as down payment on another $50,000 car, which turns out to cost $80,000.
Inflation, you know. It consists of spending more to get less.
A car is a VERY BAD INVESTMENT. In fact, because it loses value every day and every miles, it's not an investment at all. It's a money pit.
A car is something that makes the auto dealer, the insurer, and the oil company rich. It makes you, the car owner, poor, at least relatively so.
But, you say, "I've gotta have a car. Otherwise, how would I get to work, or to the mall, or to the gas station to pay $3 a gallon?"
In my case, I work at home. When I have to somewhere that's too far to walk, I take the bus -- either Beaver County Transit or (Pittsburgh) Port Authority Transit. If I need to go somewhere buses fear to tred, I bum a ride from my daughter -- or, on rare occasions, I rent a car.
All cars should be red. Why? Because they hemorrhage money.
In the 30 years I did have cars, I estimate they cost me at least $100,000. If I'd invested that money, it would probably be worth at least a quarter-of-a-million. I wish I had that money!
Of course, you may insist you absolutely must have a car. In your case, you might be right. But it still would be nice if had that quarter-of-a-million dollars resulting from being car-less.
Absolutely, positively needing a car isn't a fact of nature. Like most things in life, it's a matter of the choices you make -- mainly about where you work and where you live.
As for me, I've chosen to live in places -- like Carnegie, PA, Ambridge, PA and West Hartford, CT -- where I didn't need a car. I've chosen to work at home, sometimes in my underwear, and the commute time is about five seconds.
In a year, with a rental car, I spend less than $100 on gasoline. If gas prices go, say, to $5 a gallon, it really doesn't affect me.
Tomorrow, I'll talk about where I live -- its advantages (many) and its disadvantages (few).
steve maloney
ambridge, pa
Answer: We walk (a lot), or take the bus. Occasionally, we get a ride from one of my daughters or -- on special occasions -- rent a car from Enterprise. That's the one that picks you up and takes you home.
A car: that's the entity that costs you $60,000 to buy when it's gleaming new. Then it costs you thousands of dollars a year to pay for, maintain, and insure.
After 10 years, your $50,000 car is a piece of junk worth $10,000 -- if you can find a sucker that will pay that much. Or, you can use it on as down payment on another $50,000 car, which turns out to cost $80,000.
Inflation, you know. It consists of spending more to get less.
A car is a VERY BAD INVESTMENT. In fact, because it loses value every day and every miles, it's not an investment at all. It's a money pit.
A car is something that makes the auto dealer, the insurer, and the oil company rich. It makes you, the car owner, poor, at least relatively so.
But, you say, "I've gotta have a car. Otherwise, how would I get to work, or to the mall, or to the gas station to pay $3 a gallon?"
In my case, I work at home. When I have to somewhere that's too far to walk, I take the bus -- either Beaver County Transit or (Pittsburgh) Port Authority Transit. If I need to go somewhere buses fear to tred, I bum a ride from my daughter -- or, on rare occasions, I rent a car.
All cars should be red. Why? Because they hemorrhage money.
In the 30 years I did have cars, I estimate they cost me at least $100,000. If I'd invested that money, it would probably be worth at least a quarter-of-a-million. I wish I had that money!
Of course, you may insist you absolutely must have a car. In your case, you might be right. But it still would be nice if had that quarter-of-a-million dollars resulting from being car-less.
Absolutely, positively needing a car isn't a fact of nature. Like most things in life, it's a matter of the choices you make -- mainly about where you work and where you live.
As for me, I've chosen to live in places -- like Carnegie, PA, Ambridge, PA and West Hartford, CT -- where I didn't need a car. I've chosen to work at home, sometimes in my underwear, and the commute time is about five seconds.
In a year, with a rental car, I spend less than $100 on gasoline. If gas prices go, say, to $5 a gallon, it really doesn't affect me.
Tomorrow, I'll talk about where I live -- its advantages (many) and its disadvantages (few).
steve maloney
ambridge, pa
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