1477 West Broadway | 124 M | 39 fl | Completed

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by AlessioSBT

I know i'm probably alone in this but i personally think cars are just a bad purchase.
It's not even a matter of "i need it or not". I think that everything has a price limit where the value just isn't there anymore and it makes zero sense to buy it even if you need it. And cars are over that limit now.

If you buy a new car today and you factor all the expenses (and i mean all of them, from insurance to maintenance) you basically get the equivalent of a mortgage for a small condo. At least for me there's no way that makes any financial sense. You are literally better off including that money in your budget for mortgage/rent and just move closer to downtown. I think a lot of people simply still have to realize this.

Now i know that if you live in the middle of nowhere you have no choice. But if you live in Broadway i really don't see the point in having a car.
Again, i know most people don't think like this and cars are just hardwired in the way they see life.

But i can't be the only one and i think more people will realize this in the future.

Right now i would want a parking spot with a condo only for the resale value becasue i know people want it. But i personally don't find it necessary.

That's largely because that's a European and Asian mindset you have (of seeing cars as increasingly not as necessary if you don't need them).

The North American mindset (including Canadians) is still anchored in that 1950's car-centric perception of modern soceity - despite the vast improvements and expansion in mass public transit.

So much so that even when a person lives in a centralized zone with a major transit node and hub like a Commercial Broadway or a Metrotown....or even Downtown itself, we still feel we need a car.

I can understand it somewhat for people that have young families, for example, with kids that need to be shuttled everywhere every time, but even in those situations I've seen some families make it work without a car for the most part (the kids were older, though).

You're right in that most people here (in NA) are just hardwired and conditioned to price in the cost of owning a car (or more) as part of what you have 'need' to have in order to live a comfortable life, or have an acceptable standard of living.