14 years without a car

[KurtNYC]

I moved to NYC 14 years ago and put my last car up for sale -- a 1986 Honda Accord. The transition was easy here. In fact, it would be harder to have a car than not. I still drive about once a year when I visit relatives. Most of my vacations are to non-car places: other large cities, Saratoga/Lake George, Montreal.

The longer I go without one, the stranger owning one seems. And car commercials just reinforce that. How many car commercials say things like " _______ is fun to drive." Now there are a few cars that are fun to drive but they aren't ever the ones they show in the ads. Driving on a country road with leaves swirling behind you looks fun but that isn't the way most people get to work. Driving isn't fun. It is a chore like cleaning out gutters.

The idea that a new car is worth $20K or more also seems pretty remote. And I know it doesn't end there. Insurance, tires, oil changes, parking fees, parking tickets, car washes, wiper blades, etc. How can a car depreciate 25% when you drive it off the lot? I have to think it was never worth that much in the first place.

Watching car commercials only reminds me how much I don't need one and how rediculous their arguments to the contrary are. After the "fun to drive" BS comes the commercials which insist that their car is a whole different creature. These say things like "It's not just a car, it's a ___brand name here____" Yeah sure. And Geico owes me about 3 waking months of my life back. Frickin geckos and cavemen eating duck and mango salsa non-stop for years now. And guess what Geico? I'm never buying your damned insurance so please stop with the un-funny ads and the cutesy cockney crap.

A friend fantasized that some day when we are all gone, done in by global warming and climate changes, aliens will come and sift through the remains of our civilization. The adult aliens will explain to the children aliens that 'those shiny boxes were home to an organism...a little creature used to live in there!" And when the alien child holds the defunct shiny car to his ear, he will hear the roar of the highway.

[madinmaryland]

1. I went from 96-2004 without a vehicle.

Though my wife and I shared one for her use. During the week, I commuted to NYC from CT and had no need for a vehicle. I lived about a mile from the train station and would walk most days, though if the weather was bad, I would catch the shuttle bus down to the station. It was nice not having to worry about a vehicle and the maintenance that it entails.

:hi:

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. I'm in that club!

I first gave up driving in 1987, after an accident totalled my vehicle, and I went more than 14 years without a car. In 2003 I bought a Honda Civic because I needed one for the business I was starting up. The business closed at the end of 2005, and back to the dealer it went (with exactly 3812 miles on it.) I wasn't going to be paying the $5000 a year it was costing me in fuel, maintenance, payments, insurance, licensing and parking if I could help it.

[Drum]

3. NYer here, too

and I concur...going on 17 years without a car of my own, and from the few brief times when I have had "custody" of a car in the city, it does create many more hassles than it solves. Parking in NYC---unless you're able or willing to pay big bucks for space in a lot or garage---is a nightmare, what with the switching sides of the street every other morning and strict ticketing (someone I work with got a $95 parking ticket yesterday on their rented van.)

NYC is fairly unique, though, with the landlocked nature of much of the area, a thriving mass-trans system, and the dense population. The hassles of car-ownership keeps the streets somewhat passable for the rest of us, which is a blessing, and gives the emergency vehicles a fighting chance of getting around to do their jobs better.

All that said, though, I do wonder why more cities don't beef up their mass transit systems to un-choke their centers. I know our taxes are high here, but I think that it's worth it for a safer, and somewhat cleaner, place to live and visit. Other places ought to try harder (where practical.)

Thanks for posting, KurtNYC!

[Avalux]

4. I wish I could get rid of my car.

Unless I move from Texas though, where everything is big and wide, have to have one. x(

[ScreamingMeemie]

5. Do you know I live outside of Detroit Michigan...which has no reliable

means of public transportation? I have long thought the people of Chicago and New York were spoiled. Sometimes the bus shows up here...and sometimes it doesn't. ;)

[EFerrari]

13. I grew up in a suburb that was built from the dirt up.

When we finally got buses, they didn't go anywhere. lol

I feel spoiled because the streetcar stop is one block away and it's not impossible to catch a cab if you need one to hop across this small town. :)

[Book Lover]

22. You are 100% correct - we are spoiled

Obviously, I love cars - look at my avatar. But what I like more is being able to enjoy driving, and to choose public transport for the drudgery of my daily commute, as I could back in NYC. Where I live now, I don't have that choice, and I'm in the SF Bay Area! It would cost more and take more time (for instance, there is no way I could arrive at work before 9!) to take the buses than drive. The county transit board is there as a means of patronage, no more. Very frustrating!

[ScreamingMeemie]

24. It's crazy isn't it? I live about 10 miles north of the city limits...if I

were to try and take the bus, 2 days out of 5 it wouldn't show up and the other 3 it would be wildly off schedule. And It's a straight shot down Jefferson to the main business (what's left of it) district in Detroit. My brother, on the other hand, would walk to the corner and take the Loop when he lived in Chicago. Crazy.

[Gormy Cuss]

35. The bay area mass transit Balkanization makes me long for Boston's MBTA

For all of its limitations the T had one fare structure for a huge multiple county coverage area. I never owned a car when I lived near Boston.

I knew before I moved here that there was an extensive network of public transportation but I was floored at the Rube Goldbergness of the separate transit authorities. The 511 site helps with planning an itinerary but too frequently the schedules are so out of synch that it takes hours to complete a trip that should be no longer than 30 minutes on transit. On top of that it's expensive because one needs to pony up new fares for every new transit company. It's not bad if you live/work within one county or one county and downtown SF or Oak or San Jose, but that's not the pattern most commuters have these days.

[ScreamingMeemie]

38. When we visited D.C. for the Spelling Bee, I was amazed at how efficient

their transit system was. We took a cab from the airport...only to realize our hotel was right above Metro Center. From then on...even back to the airport we took the Metro.

Here in Detroit...we have the "People Mover". You don't want to know what that is.

[Book Lover]

41. I was on the T once, and liked how widespread it seemed to me

I also agree that 511.org is actually helpful. But c'mon, I can't arrive at work before 9 on a weekday? My commute is just under 20 miles!

[Booberry]

6. One does not NEED cars in NYC

Subway does just fine for me. :)

[MrBenchley]

7. Easy to do in NYC...not so easy elsewhere....

[RebelOne]

11. Right. I live in the Atlanta, GA metro area where a car is a necessity.

I live northwest of Atlanta in a suburban area and the public transportation is almost non-existent, so that is not an option for me.

[MrBenchley]

18. In a rural area, it is also a necessity....

Telecommuting is not an option for many jobs.....

[ikojo]

23. I live in St Louis and work in the far western suburbs

I've been car free for 16 years now. I took the bus until the bus system screwed up with the routes and turned my one hour each way commute to a 90 minute each way commute. That's when I got a scooter. I realize it still uses gas but I get 70 mpg so I don't feel so bad

[Ohio Joe]

27. Agreed

When I lived in Worcester, MA I did not own a car and it was easy. Mass transportation was abundant but out here in Ohio you really need to have a car.

[Warpy]

8. I did without a car in Boston

for all but the last 4 years, when I had off street parking and an old jalopy I used to get out of the city and to the suburbs and lower prices for food. And yes, access to a lot of the stuff in the burbs like early warehouse and closeout places like Building 19 had that wreck pay for itself many times over.

I also moved furniture on the subway during off peak hours. The motormen would scratch their heads and laugh. Nobody ever threw me off.

If I had a tremendous amount of stuff to haul (cases of this and that), I just called a cab.

I even went to and from the airport via subway.

I loved that part of the city, the ease of getting around. I spent the first five years out here looking closely at every street corner for the T signs. Surely they must have hidden a subway somewhere in a town this size.

This town now has rail coming in to get us from here to other cities north and south in this state. It's high time, and we're all looking forward to it.

It may eventually be enough to have my electric moped here, use rail to get out of town. I look forward to that day.

[wicket]

40. We miss you in Boston Warpy!

:hi:

[Warpy]

63. Thanks, kiddo. After 15 years in NM, I still miss Boston

but I think my visit back there will have to be next March, when it's spring in NM and 40 degree drizzle in Boston. Otherwise, I might be tempted to stay.

[laruemtt]

9. i'm loving not having one

down here in st. lucia. looking for ways to keep it up back in the states when and if we return.

[EFerrari]

10. Three years and lovin' it.

:toast:

[Initech]

12. I wish I lived in NYC

Mainly because I'm sick of paying $37 for a tank of gas each time, dealing with insurance companies, sitting in six lanes of highway that doesnt move, dealing with all this crap... sometimes I wish I could just sell my car, move to NYC and get it over with.

[0007]

17. I lived there for three years and indeed miss it. Wish I never

left.

[Snivi Yllom]

42. Condos are going for $1200 a sf.

Keep the car, and keep your shirt.

Keeping and operating a car is nothing compared to the cost of living in NYC.

[Initech]

43. Well, I live in LA... the cost of living cant be...

that much more than living in New York.

[Beelzebud]

14. I live in fly-over country. Can I still be a liberal?

[Maru Kitteh]

64. Absolutely not. Please turn in you card and return your bleeding heart to

the nearest major metropolitan area immediately. Didn't you know? Those of us in the plains states and other fly over areas are merely rubes with pitch forks, barely possessed of opposable thumbs.

[Ravenseye]

15. You're lucky

Lifestyle and location go a long way. When i was single living in Back Bay in Boston in my early twenties no car was necessary. My grocery store was a few blocks away and I walked it. I took the T and used the occasional bus or Cab if I was in a hurry.

Now ten years later in Pittsburgh not having a car is simply not an option. The closest grocery store involves a very long walk (about 3 miles or so) crossing a couple very heavily trafficed roads and highly exposed to the weather in a few locations, such as crossing the river over a long bridge. There is a bus that could cut down on about half that walk, which is infrequent (about every hour off peak). Not to mention that involved in the walk either way are two hills that are so steep the sidewalks are actually stairs.

Throw kids into the mix and it becomes a logistical nightmare.

[bikebloke]

16. Got rid of mine in the early 80's.

I haven't been behind the wheel since about 1992. My Virginia license expired while I was living in Seattle. I didn't access to a car to take the Washington State driving test.

After crossing countries on a loaded bike, cars just don't seem like such a vital necessity anymore.

[0007]

19. How do you keep your driver's license current so you can

rent a car when needed?

[foreverdem]

45. DMV sends you a renewal form in the mail

A month or so before your license expires, DMV sends you a renewal form in the mail. You fill it out, write out a check to them and receive your renewed license within a few weeks. I've been doing that for years and I only drive when I'm out of town.

[0007]

50. That's great.

[KurtNYC]

56. I just renew it - there is no driving test

The other thing that struck me when I first got here was how many people read during their commutes. There are 6 major dailies and now 2 freebies that they try to hand to you in the morning. I was waiting for the train once and a homeless guy comes over to ask me a question. I'm getting ready for him to ask me for coins but he says "Excuse me. I'm reading this book and I really don't know what this word refers to." He points to the first word of the title: "Icarus Rising." So we start talking about wings made of wax and flying too close to the sun and how that metaphor plays out in the book. I think the mass transit dynamic reinforces this city's liberal politics. There is no newspaper equivalent of Rush Limbaugh (thank god although The Post comes close).

[MadHound]

20. That's well and good when you live in an urban area

Especially when you live in a place like NYC that has a fine public transportation system. However there are many of us who don't want to live in an urban area whatsoever. Hard to catch the bus when you're down on the farm:shrug:

[subutane]

21. so allowing everyone else to serve you

is being an environmentally sound person?

How many trucks and vans does it take to enable your car-free lifestyle? Who brings your coffee into your favorite place? Who wakes up every morning at 1 am to beat the traffic into and out of the city with your veggie tofu burgers?

And who's watershed brings you water to bathe in and drink? And how far away is the farm that grows the corn you eat? Is that really being environmentally responsible?

[ikojo]

26. You ask many important questions...

regarding the one about the farm growing food and its distance from NYC...many more people are opting to buy directly from the farmer, they know who grows the food and what is put on the food as it is grown. Farmer's markets are very popular in St Louis and I am sure they exist in NYC as well.

Another good argument for buying locally!!

[ComerPerro]

29. Exactly

[KurtNYC]

59. I just wanted to share a different take on driving

I feel fortunate that I am able to get by without a car but I know it isn't a realistic option for most people.

I didn't say that I had no carbon footprint here. But on a realistic basis, I do think that this is an environmentally responsible way to live. There is enormus efficiency built into large older cities. We live here all stacked up and I can see the green hills of Pennsylvannia out my office window. If we were all out there, living off the land I think it would be worse environmentally.

[subutane]

70. sorry

A city is in and of itself a statement of man's domination over nature. By partaking in City Living you are signing on to this belief.

How many times has one heard a city dweller say:
"I love only having to walk a few blocks to get to my favorite restaurants."
"Well I could take the bus but hell the cab is so much quicker."
"Every time I go to the country my allergies kill me so I stay inside."
"That vacant lot over there is a good investment possibility."
"Screw it just have them deliver it."

etc.

[Bridget Burke]

60. The OP emphasized that a car is not needed in NYC.

Yes, there's an environmental aspect. But he/she wasn't acting like a martyr--or a saint. I didn't see the piece as an indictment of those who drive.

We can't all live organically off-the-grid. Most of us realize that compromise is necessary. We do what we can.

I'm sure that you do, as well.

[AllieB]

25. I live in the suburbs and take the commuter rail/subway everyday

The only time we drive is to go to Costco or grocery shopping. I can get most things near my work or, in a pinch, at the mom & pop variety store down the street from my house. Altogether, we drive under 20 miles a week, except when I visit my parents or go down to Cape Cod in the summer.

[Chomp]

28. Good post Kurt

I am becoming more anti-car by the day (despite the fact I think they can be beautiful things).

Cars pollute.

They clog up the city and mean it takes me a long time to get to work.

They kill millions of people in road accidents worldwide annually.

They are objects of vanity and social division.

They suck up the planet's resources.

We'd be better off without them.


(BTW, if someone gave me a Mercedes SL sprts car in the morning, I'd take it. But then, I'm shallow and a bit of a hypocrite).

[Bridget Burke]

61. One thing: If that Mercedes SL is a convertible....

You MUST put the top down on good days.

Houston gets damn hot in the summer. A few weekends ago--on a clear, pleasant day--I saw a cute little convertible WITH THE TOP UP! I try not to tell people how to live their lives, but I wanted to make a citizen's arrest. And then put down the top & take the car for a spin.

[Sammy Pepys]

30. I live in the city and use public transportation a lot...

...if I really wanted to, I could get rid of my car. But I don't think I could ever do it...it's like a security blanket. I try to make a monthly stop at Costco, I like to be able to go out to the country on occasion, and if I ever needed to get to the hospital in the middle of night or to my sisters place in Virginia for some reason I've got the means to do it.

[Alleycat]

31. Lucky you!

Unfortunately, I do not live in an area with reliable public transportation. In fact it is almost non existent! Things are spread out too far to walk. I do ride a bike around but it is so not convenient for hauling any type of items. (food, landscaping materials, children, dogs etc.....) :)

[OneBlueSky]

32. speaking of fun cars to drive . . .

I once met a guy who owned a Delorean, and he asked me if I'd like to drive it . . . of course I said yes, and we went for a long trek around southern New Hampshire . . .

now THAT was a fun car to drive! . . . :)

[LSK]

33. so because the auto industry practically designed America 50 yrs ago

And I was born into an area (suburbs) where walking to work/stores is not practical and public transportation is non-existant, am I supposed to feel guilty about driving a car???

Is everyone supposed to quit their jobs, abandom their friends and family and move to the few American cities that have good public transit?? Is that what you are trying to tell us all to do?

[The2ndWheel]

48. My suggestions

"Is everyone supposed to quit their jobs"

Yes.

"abandom their friends and family"

No.

"and move to the few American cities that have good public transit??"

No, lets start over, and create cities that are on a human scale.

That's all fantasy though.

[Bridget Burke]

62. The OP seemed to be a personal expression....

Of how it is when you live in a compactly built city with a good transit system.

I didn't see any condemnation of driving, just happiness that their circumstances make it unnecessary.

Because of where I live & where I work, I commute by Houston Metro. Many people in Houston can't. A few could, but would rather drive; perhaps gas prices will convince them to TRY the bus!

[originalpckelly]

34. No since '98 and I have been doing A-OK! (n/t)

[Catherine Vincent]

36. It's too bad all of the US isn't set up geographically like NYC.

Then none of us would need a car.

[foreverdem]

37. Another NY'er

Haven't had a car since '93 and don't miss it one bit. Actually, as others have said, it would be more of a hindrance and expense than a convenience.

[Bluebear]

39. That's wonderful, but I live 50 miles from work.

With no public transportation, period. :(

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

44. Another "uncarred" person checking in.

Rio de Janeiro. Another city where not having a car is quite viable. (Actually most cities in Brazil are like that)

[Freddie Stubbs]

46. I didn't have a car when I lived in DC

The metro there is great. I currently live in Miami, and the metrorail is good if you happen to live near a station. Unfortunately most of the stations are in bad neighborhoods.

[underpants]

47. Oddly you owned the almost perfect car

the Accord not necessarily the 1986 model. It is the most stolen and it is the most reliable, efficient, lots of things it is most..... very good car.

I went without a car for 3 years when I was in the Army in Germany. I was a horrible driver before that I am very good now. VERY good.

It wasn't that much of an adjustment because I had lots of things going on (moving 6,000 miles where I knew no one) plus the taxi and rail system was just fine thank you. I lived for a year back in the suburban car required area that I grew up and then I moved to Richmond. Okay not NYC but I have always been able to walk to do most anything I need to do or get....until this time last year. With the baby coming we went and got a place OUT in the 'burbs. I do miss being able to run and get something. We do the BIG LOAD shopping now. Funny with our daughter I have other things on my mind. I do miss it though.

[AngryAmish]

49. Do that in Topeka

[Ariana Celeste]

51. Right on... 2 1/2 yrs without here

My town isn't the best place to not have a car... but everything that's necessary is within walking distance... If I really need to get to Indy I can catch a ride with my neighbor.
I love not having a car.... No insurance bills, no buying gas, no worrying about repairs. No traffic troubles or getting pulled over, lol.

I think people are being a bit defensive in here. I think it's good for those of us who don't have cars to share, because there are a lot of people who drive when they could walk instead- and they just don't realize that it's really not all that difficult to be a walker. Sure it can suck when it's rainy. Or hot. But it's not that bad.

Some people really do require cars as transportation. But there is also a large number of people who don't and yet drive everywhere anyways. Once upon a time I wouldn't have thought I could get by without driving. My parents and my SO's parents still think we are crazy for not having a car and a license. One of them even said we were lazy!! LOL.

[politicat]

52. We're down to less than 20 miles a week in ours.

We live in an area with good public transit, bike lanes and sidewalks/trails/pedestrian friendly spaces, though. My husband buses to work, and I work from home. We've owned the same very small, highly efficient (but remarkably capricious) car since 2000, and it's been paid off since 2002.

There's a grocery about a mile away, restaurants, rec center, coffee shops, etc.

For a suburb, we live in a pretty great place to be minimally carred.

[deaniac21]

53. Those aliens are HUGE!

[Tracer]

54. Zip Cars!

If you live in the city and don't want a car, but need one occasionally, then the idea of sharing a car seems terrific:

http://www.zipcar.com/

P.S. I've got nothing to do with Zip Car at all. In fact, I have a car, and need one -- since the nearest grocery is 4 miles away.

[ronnykmarshall]

55. I know what you mean.

I didn't have a car from 1986 to 1999.

I lived in San Francisco. I did have a little scooter. But no car.

[Jim Warren]

57. and then they gotcha!

Like the Colonel said in Meet John Doe: "First ya git a car and then ya need insurance and ya need gasoline and then ya need repairs and tires and THEN THEY GOTHCHA!"

[WI_DEM]

58. If I lived in NYC or Chicago or some other large mega city I

wouldn't have a car either because it's too hard to find a parking place and also because it would cost an arm and leg to house your car. So it makes sense.

[Gregorian]

65. American cities used to have mass transportation.

This is probably the biggest thing that contributed toward where we are today. The several corporations that took this country from a great one geared toward the people, to one geared toward the corporations. And what they did was illegal.

Take your situation yet another step- get out of vehicles altogether, and get onto a bike. I did that for nearly a decade. Just a short commute of 11 miles each way. Not only does one discover just how much there is to see and hear and smell, but one also discovers exactly how out of touch and how violent and powerful the average American is, whether they know it or not.

All I can say is Mission Accomplished. I'm worried. Because if we don't take the steps to live as a responsible country, it will happen for us, and it won't be comfortable.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

66. Haven't had a car in four years.

And I'm not in NYC, but a small town.

I decided, long ago, to move ten blocks from my place of work, two from a grocery store, and one from the bus line.

Going without a car is not the problem most people like to pretend it is.

[Nebraska_Liberal]

67. You may not have a car...

But you are paying for the conveinence with higher living expenses and not having access to the country. It is a lifestyle choice. I choose to own a house where I can make two house payments with what you pay in rent in one month most likely, in turn I have to pay for a car. I like being able to hop in my car, drive 20 minutes in any direction and have no one around.

[KitchenWitch]

68. Yes, life is a series of choices

I did not sense any air of superiority in the OP's post, but I do in yours.

[Nebraska_Liberal]

71. All I said is that it is a lifestyle choice.

I never said that mine was better or worse, just said it was different. I also brought up the point that he is not consequence free, aka higher housing costs.

[Maru Kitteh]

73. Funny, because I perceive the exact opposite. I sensed superiority in the

OP, but not a bit in NE Liberals response in the least, merely a reminder that most of life is choices and trade-offs.

Us rubes out here in the sticks get a little sick of some of the fancy city folk a lookin' down their noses at us. :dunce:

[Lisa]

69. I'm just entering my 14th year without regular access to a car, too ...

I live in a small city in the Pacific Northwest -- not as much ground to cover as in NYC (I have managed to find housing about 2 miles from work and walk there most days), but my guess is that our transit system isn't as well organized, so it probably evens out ...

Admittedly, if I had kids, had limited mobility, or lived further from work, I probably wouldn't be able to get by without a vehicle. (And if my workplace were downtown rather than out in the boonies, I wouldn't be able to afford rent nearby.) A major transit line runs directly downtown, a block from my place ... and fortunately I'm within a mile of most of the major services which I use at least once a week (grocery stores, bank branches, hardware and department stores, library, post office, video rentals) and others which I need occasionally (pharmacy, dry cleaners).

I invested in a portable hand-cart a couple of years ago -- it allows me to carry an amazing amount of stuff, if I need to -- otherwise I use a small backpack for groceries, etc. (By the way, a hand-cart is a great gift for a baby or bridal shower, or going-away gift for a teenager getting his or her first place. I have given away 3 of them so far, and they have been used for moving everything from garden supplies to crates of vegetables and taking TVs and computers in for servicing.)

I've learned that if there's an emergency, I can always call a cab (e.g. when I had to get to the hospital one night). All 3 of the major cab companies in town are switching to mainly-hybrid fleets, by the way -- they claim it's saving them a lot of money! One driver helped me dismantle a bookcase and fit it into his Prius (the new kind with the hatchback), along with a folding chair, and we still had room.


What you said about the car commercials, Kurt -- they do seem to spend an inordinate amount of time and money on vehicle stuff -- not just the cars and the insurance for them, but stuff for cleaning them and keeping them tuned up, garage kits for housing them, and lawyers to assist with DUIs or parking tickets.

I confess that my major motivation for not buying a car has been lack of funds -- but I also teach environmental science, and a few years ago I was walking along the hallway unobserved, behind three students who were loudly criticizing one of my colleagues. (They ignored me because I was new at that school, and they assumed I didn't speak English, which has a lot of Asian ESL students.) Anyway, they were ripping into the prof because she lives in an outlying area and drives in to teach her classes. (She's also fighting off cancer and hasn't got enough stamina for a 3-hour bus and ferry ride, but they didn't know that.) The ringleader was the type of person who whines at anything, and the other two were going along because they didn't want to seem uncool. But this incident did point out to me that people notice these things -- if you go in to teach about organochlorines or Fair Trade, they notice if you're drinking coffee out of a disposable cup (or drinking coffee at all). So part of why I still haven't gotten a car is just as an experiment, to see how long I can get away with it.

And the money that would otherwise be eaten up by car expenses is coming in very handy. Birthday and Christmas gifts for friends, donations to the local library (where most of my DVD collection has ended up in general circulation), money for peace and environmental groups, DU of course -- and emergency payouts to help people caught by a seemingly-endless parade of environment-related catastrophes like Katrina, the tsunami, earthquakes and droughts. If I had a car, I likely wouldn't be able to afford any of that.

[Jacobin]

72. I don't have any hands, so I don't need gloves

Makes about as much sense as your post.

Not many subways and trains out here in the boonies.

Having a car in NYC is a HINDRANCE and a PROBLEM, not a necessity.

[theboss]

74. Only New Yorkers who feel this way

When I ask my New York friends what they do when they want to leave Manhattan, they say, "Why would you ever want to leave Manhattan?"