Do we really need a car?

To buy a car or not to buy a car. That is the question. And it's one that I don't have an answer for yet. Or do I? See, I'd lived all over South America previous to moving to Brasilia and I never had a car in other countries, nor did I really need one. I mean, in Peru we could walk anywhere and everywhere; only when we were in a rush and/or lazy did we take a mototaxi for 3 soles no matter the number of people in the "vehicle" or the distance. I was hoping that Brasilia would be the same (I was OK without a car while living in Manaus). The issue is that I kept hearing that Brasilia was not created with pedestrians in mind. That's probably the truth. So does that mean that it'll be difficult to get around and that we'll need a car? Some people say yes; I'm not too convinced.

I've been living here for 3 1/2 weeks and although not a lengthy time, I don't feel that at this time we really need a car. I mean, I live near a major street not far from downtown (or the bus terminal) so buses are everywhere. I live between two subway stations, even though there are superquadras (HUGE blocks) between my apartment and the metro. I also have free daily transportation to/from work that is very convenient. And then there are taxis. And a great thing is that there is one company - Alvorado - that gives you a 30% just because you call them, versus hailing a cab on the street. You won't get the discount if you catch one on the street - you have to call. It's not a bad deal. For example, a friend and I took a taxi to church last Sunday and the price on the meter read R$ 9.78. We paid R$ 7. Not bad. And it's like that each time you call them. And of course the other option regarding taxis is asking E to make a deal with them and agree on a price before getting in the cab. 

So with these four options of transportation, I'm left wondering, do we really need a car? Do we need to pay for (expensive) gas? Do I need to learn to drive shift? Do we want to pay for insurance and maintenance of the car? The answer is no. At least not at this time. Maybe things will change in a year, or two. But for now we're fine. Now, maybe it is easier for me because I have friends in walking distance, because I have a ride to/from work on a daily basis (and it's door to door). E doesn't have any of that - at least not yet. But he doesn't complain. I know it's not  idea to take public transportation to school each night, but he's a good sport. When it gets old then we can talk more about possibly buying a car. I know it can be annoying at times to have to walk to the grocery store, but that's only once a week for us and it's not far. We also live right next to a kind of outdoor shopping center and there's a bakery, drug store, etc. there and then of course there are a number of other shopping centers all within a short walk. You can find fruit, vegetables, a gym, a movie rental, stores-stores-stores, and restaurants all within 5-10 minutes in all four directions. Maybe Brasilia was built with pedestrians in mind...

At this point we have decided not to buy a car and we have no immediate plans to do so. We'll just play it by ear and save all of the money that we would be spending if we owned a car. In the meantime, we'll spend just a little on buses, the metro, and taxis and appreciate being driven around.

Wordless Wednesday: Car sold!

I sold my car!! Yeahhhh!!

(What a relief :)

I'll miss you. You were good to me.

Driving Miss Davis

Moving to a new country means selling your car. Or cars. The latter is our case. We have two automobiles that we need to get rid of - as in sell - before we move. We have made the decision to first sell my car since I'll be out of work in a few weeks and my school is located only 6 miles from our home. This works great for me because my husband takes me to work at picks me up. It's like having my own private chauffeur.


It actually works great because he can take me to work and then can go directly to school from there; he can then pick me up once he's finished teaching his class. I love it because when he picks me up after work the car is cool and I get door-to-door service. When I drive myself I have to get into a steaming hot car after work and then wait for the hot air to escape out the windows while the air conditioner is cooling down. That takes time and makes me cranky. I'm also not a morning person so I enjoy being able to sit back and relax while someone else drives.  PLUS, I can always use the "I gotta go my husband is picking me up" excuse to sneak out of work once the bell rings at the end of the day. Not a bad deal.


So.....if you live in the Orlando are and are looking to buy a used car in good condition, let me know :). I feel like we'll be even more ready to move once at least one of our cars is sold. These things can take time and with everything else we need to do to tie loose ends, whatever we do now to move is less that we have to do later. That's what I'm hoping for. No stress as we reach July. Only shopping and packing. Shopping. Now that sounds like fun.


I think it's good "practice" for us to share a car for the next couple months. I mean, we're not sure how our transportation will be in Brasilia. See, cars are really expensive in Brazil and at the same time I'd love to be a one-family car. I think we can easily make this work. We just have to maybe plan out who will drive when. I mean, unlike Florida, Brasilia has public transportation so if we can't both be in the car one of us can depend on another form of transportation. There are buses, a metro, and taxis. And my school will pay for my transportation to work so we don't need two cars. But we will need one. However, at this time we don't intend to jump into any car purchase. We'll get a feel for things and take our time with buying a car so we can be smart buyers.


Obviously having a driver would be ideal, even though I do enjoy the independence of having my own car. But it looks like I'll only have a driver for the next 3 weeks of school. I'll be sure to milk it while it lasts.