You have to be deliberate about where you live. If you don't want to be car dependent, you have to move somewhere that isn't car dependent or you're gonna have a Bad Time™.

I grew up in a car-dependent suburban shithole called Langley, and moved to Vancouver at the earliest opportunity where I could commute via transit, scooter, or bike. Every time I moved after that (7 different cities so far) it's been to places where I can safely walk, cycle, and/or take transit because not being car-dependent was a high priority for me.

I should also point out that this decision, while resulting in higher rent & mortgages than if I'd chosen suburban life, has meant I've not spent the roughly $10k annually to maintain a car, which meant that I could afford a to buy a good-sized home in a bike-friendly city. We expect to pay off the mortgage this year.

Car-free really is what it says on the tin: freedom.

Deliberately lived car free for 4 yeaes here in Australia, choose to live somewhere with better public transport and walking distance to shopping/services. Had a large shopping centre with doctors, dentist, chemist, groceries and a bazillion speciality shops across the road. Walking, PT, an e-scooter and bicycle were all we needed. I worked from home, my parter used her e-scooter for her 4km round trip to work. Busses really suck, they're what cities use when thy have run out of ideas, we used the light and heavy rail often.

Fuck cars :)

If your local area is conducive to bikes, that's a great option. Really, though, sometimes driving is the only option. I don't think anyone's really advocating for ditching cars everywhere, but rather, promoting walkable cities and bike infrastructure and less of a reliance on cars where it's not (or shouldn't be) actually necessary.

Personally I really enjoy walking, think nothing of walking 3 miles / 5km or so to get somewhere and back, further sometimes, it's not a waste of time to me, it's the time where I do my best thinking. For this a good backpack is a good idea for shopping. I am fortunate to live somewhere where everything I need is within that radius and there are decent buses and trains for further trips so I've never had to drive, in some places a car is essential though, unfortunately, there's nothing I can say to help there, other than to move but that's not always possible either.

Bicycling, walking. Sometimes bus/train.

Usually I do:

Walking: ≤1 km, occassionally up to 5 km.
Bicycling: 1-15 km*
Bus: 5-25 km
Train: ≥25-1,000 km (if it takes more than 4 hours total, I prefer a night train).

* You can take a bike on the train here, usually a foldable one. I've never done it, but you could then take the train range plus 5 km - foldables aren't handy for loong distances. Great for within the city, though. Alternatively, you park a bike near the station, and at the end stop, rent a bike from the station.

I don't usually use a ferry for larger distances, but if it's for the night, I love it.

I only fly if the distance is further than 1,000 km.

For most local trips (up to 5 km), I will either walk or bike as my default option. For longer local trips (up to 50 km), I use the public transit we have in my city, which is world-class. A third option I use from time to time for local trips is taxis, but this is a very rare occurrence. Finally, for longer-distance trips, I take the train.

In rare circumstances, I will rent a car, but this is an almost never-occurrence for me.

Your ability to do the same will be highly dependent on what kind of infrastructure is available where you live. A large part of the message in this community is pointing out the need for this type of infrastructure, such that more people can enjoy living life with less cars for transportation.

By foot and by bike.

I live in NYC. I live here in large part because I don't need a car to live here.

I walk for most daily needs. There's also abundant bus and subway options. I would bike more, but one bad accident has me scared to ride with traffic again)

Maybe housing is more expensive, but sometimes you get what you pay for.

Go for a bike, if you can afford it try an E-Bike out.

I live in a city so it's walk > bike > bus > subway > train > taxi, and in rare cases rent a car.

Live in a city, in the UK, so just having good public transit links. (though sometimes inconsistent)

I'm so grateful that I rarely need any means of transportation except for my pair of legs. When I have to go to the city center I take the train

Preferably a train, then bus, then I drive a car. I at least text the group of people who live nearby if anyone wants a ride.

My average day is walking and cycling, sometimes the bus. If I need to travel outside of the city, I prefer trains.

Details: I have a pedelec and a bicycle trailer, which i can use for stuff i don't want to carry. Most of the times when i am cycling, i am using the pedelec, but i have mountainbike as well.

Time is in one direction, so traveling back is not included:

• Groceries: 10 minutes walk (one direction) or 2 minutes cycling for the nearest store.
• Dentist: 8 minutes walk
• Work: 15-20 minutes cycling
• Gym: 30-40 minutes cycling, i often make a stop on the way home to buy some groceries
• Visiting relatives (outside the city): 90 minutes of walking/bus/train/bus/walking

The gym is the furthest i cycle in my daily life.

I sometimes visit other cities via train. I can store my bicycle safely at the bicycle parking house at the main train station (1€ per day) or just take the bus to the train station.

This really just comes down to choosing where you live and at the same time writing your MP once in a while requesting better funding for good permanent infrastructure.

This could include asking for larger wider sidewalks, dedicated bicycle infrastructure like multi use trails, bikepaths and bikelanes, or asking for the city to allow more medium density into neighborhoods so that transit becomes more visible in the long run. You can even advocate for the addition of local shops to be able to open in residential neighborhoods.

Living in a "modern" American style suburb generally means the need of a car as shops and pharmacies are generally "outside" of the suburb. Walking in these places also generally is restricted to along the same street you need to drive down with no "short cuts" or trails in between homes. So walking 30min vs a 5min drive generally the car will wins out.

There are places in North America that are more walkable then others, look for more dense neighborhoods with no driveways and local shops right within the neighborhoods. I would also recommend looking at the youtube channel "NotJustBikes" this can give you ideas in some of the stuff you can start looking at from a infrastructure standpoint to show you well designed places for people and not just cars.

And I'd not forget making places that look like this is possible, it just requires a shift in perspective to see one is "car centric"

Bikes and train

As others have said, walking, cycling, public transport.