Day 2 without a car in Miami

My bike still has a flat tire. So to get to the Arsht Center, where I volunteer as an usher some nights, I took the metro mover. It wasn't as convenient as a bike - with 8 stops and a transfer, it took me double the time it would take on my bike - but it it a good alternative given the situation, or when it is too hot or rainy outside. 

On the ride home is when it gets interesting. And since the Ultra Music Festival is this weekend, it got real interesting this night. It wasn't too crowded, since the 2 weekends-long EDM festival actually starts Friday, but there was a group of 8 white young people (teenagers even?) wearing minimal clothing, sunglasses, neon and gold everything and anything. The guys were putting on a show, hanging onto and flipping off the poles in the train showing off to no one in particular because let's be honest, everyone was in their own world. Even me. I turned up my podcast to hear over the Ultra fans acrobatics and the metro mover lady's booming voice announcing our arrival to each station.

Example of Ultra festival attendees, via musicfestivaltrends.com

Day 1 without a car in Miami

The day I sold my car, my bike got a flat tire. Since I was less than one block from my apartment, I tried to spin it as an auspicious start to my carless life in Miami.

Why did I decide to sell my (only) car in Miami? Anyone who's spent more than a spring break here knows that no one [who can afford not to] takes public transportation. For me, yes there were are the financial reasons. But it was more than that. As much as I deny it, I am a part of a generation that likes to do things the difficult way, go back to simpler times maybe?

After living in D.C. and then abroad for 8 years, when I moved to Miami and learned I would need a car was like learning I had a cavity (financially painful and personally humiliating, or so I imagine, I've never had a cavity). I then felt quick electric shocks each time I discovered the toll amounts (there are tolls to get to the mall?!) and parking fees (4 quarters gets me just 30 minutes??) to mobilize around a 5-mile area within the city. After getting towed and having a boot put on my car within the first 6 months I was ready to get rid of the car. But I stuck with it for 2.5 more years. For the convenience. 

I work in the most urban part of Miami, Brickell/Dowtnown, and chose to live in the same area for the short commute and the proximity to supermarkets and restaurants. So the car was really only necessary on the weekends, and on the occasional weeknight. 

As much as a car is a terrible investment, it's even worse when it is just sitting there, without use. In 3 years I put 25,000 miles on my car. I have a bike, and live 1 block from the metro and the metro mover. A major bus stop is less than 1 block from my apartment. As much as the metro smells and usually only tourists and homeless people take the metro mover, it is dependable infrastructure. 

Yes, Miami is like a steam room in the summer and to walk (let alone bike) for more than a few blocks is pretty much unthinkable unless you'd like to get to your destination in a sweaty haze. And yes, I think how many people work hard with the goal of saving to buy a car eventually. But in 2015 there are many more alternative transportation options than there were even 5 years ago. Miami has free trolleys, car-sharing services, short-term car-rentals, and they're implementing and improving legislation for cyclists. So it takes me a little longer to get places. At least I evade the road rage and stress of navigating US1 and 95 traffic jams.

So to all those who say I'm crazy, come take a ride with me (pun totally intended)!