I Survived Houston Without a Car
3 surprising challenges that made it harder than you think
Life without a car
From September to December this year, I lived in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, TX without owning a car.
For a full 12 weeks, I was challenged with depending on public transit, ubers or lyfts, and my trusty bike. While there were some positives (incredibly toned thighs from constant biking), and many negatives (hitting potholes every 3 feet), I have certainly learned a lot about commonsense urban design that I’d like to share.
I should preface this post with a couple of caveats.
First, I can assure you that I did not perform this experiment on purpose. I am in and out of Texas due to my girlfriend living in Europe and had no intention of buying or renting a car for the time I’m in the US. I thought it would be interesting to live life outside of the car, as it’s so easy in Europe, and wanted to save on cash. Frankly, doing so in a city like Houston is a general health hazard, and I was taking a risk that I wouldn’t survive long enough to catch my flight to Amsterdam.
Second, I am lucky to have family in Houston who could help me on longer rides that an Uber wouldn’t suffice for, but this post is more about moving in the urban…
