In a moment of clear-headed decisiveness, we sat down and calculated the cost and necessity of having a car, now we’re ensconced and happy in Norwich city centre. The financial savings were immense as the Hyundai Kona N was on a weighty PCP, plus with petrol costing more per litre now than San Pellegrino, the timing felt right.
And yet.
I passed my test at 23 years old in 1988 at the start of my teaching career, in Royton, Oldham, though I’m fairly sure the test centre and route was around Chadderton. I bought a terrible first car at 28 years of age – a Y reg Nissan Sunny 1.3 in lurid Durex beige before I hit the big time with various Fiestas, before graduating to BMWs, Minis and VWs in recent years.
I’ve wasted loads on cars over the years – but I enjoy driving, the prestige of a new premium car and the convenience it allows.
10 days ago though, the car went – to Hot Hatches in Beaconsfield and I did feel like grieving actually. But I’ve got over it now. I realise I can buy a replacement car, or hire one, any time I like but in Norwich city centre, even with allocated parking at home, a car felt superfluous to our needs. So it went.
Luckily the east of England is fairly dry and mild all year round and we have everything close to hand to where we live now.
Nuffield Health is next door to us, on Barrack Street, for treadmill and swims. The river Wensum meanders almost at the foot of our balcony and we’ve rekindled a love for swimming in it every Saturday and even bought paddle boards (SUPs) for exercise and pleasure.
All three of us have nice hybrid bikes, securely locked in the apartment’s cycle store and a 5 minute walk takes us to the brutalist Anglia Square, awash with discount shops, and Norwich’s answer to Manchester’s Rusholme – Magdalen Street, a multicultural heaven of shops and restaurants.
The car, an expensive car, was gathering dust and only used to travel to Tesco in Sprowston, Morrison’s on Riverside, Waitrose (once only) in Eaton and Asda in Hellesdon. Lockdown though made supermarkets step up the home delivery game and we’ve now set up a weekly order for food with Tesco.
My point is this.
We wouldn’t use the car to go into the city centre – we live there.
We don’t have a commute to work – we work from home.
If we want to travel abroad, Norwich station (a 10 minute walk away) has direct lines to Stansted, which I’ll use for a business trip to Lisbon, all being well, in November 2022.
Our border collie, Cassie, hates the car with a passion.
We can cycle everywhere and car users in Norwich seem remarkably tolerant and chilled with cyclists.
It therefore made absolute financial and logistical sense to get rid of it.
I did, and do, though feel some occasional pangs of regret.
Not having a car to me for the first days felt like losing a limb – until I got a grip and realised we don’t need one. I won’t lose the ability to drive and forget clutch control when I hire one – I’ve been driving for 34 years.
As with the loss of anything, you feel it acutely at first but, as time has progressed, over the past 10 days, not having one and having to rely on walking and cycling everywhere has been somewhat liberating. But don’t get me wrong. I love driving and cars. But: our current urban circumstances make driving a pointless expense.
I’m typing this though in mid September when temperatures are still at 15 or 16 degrees in Norfolk – perhaps in February, I’ll feel differently?
