I do not miss driving at all...

I live in Brighton, on the south coast, where the buses are superb and it is a main hub for trains. So, it is pretty easy to get around BUT there are still lots of destinations around here that are truly accessible only by car.

Having grown up in the Motor City and consulted for General Motors, there were zero options other than to drive (besides the whole area is built for the car).

It is so refreshing to walk and hop on the bus and have none of the hassles of car ownership.

Anyone else in this situation? I am not even that keen to drive anymore when I visit Detroit.

Yeah, I was like that for the first few years I was here also. However when my career choices and lifestyle started to suffer because I didn't drive, well, that wasn't fun. Once I did start driving here, everything changed for me. So I have been on both side of that one.

I didn't drive for the first 10 or so years that I was here, and I didn't miss it.
But as Racheeeee said, my lifestyle changed, and a car was needed.   I wouldn't want to be without my car now, despite living in a city with great transport.  I  do use public transport a lot, but still enjoy having the option of driving if I want.

Yesterday was the first time I really connected with driving here, I think. I had a nice country drive alone listening to some good tunes and I felt so free. I absolutely loved it. It was the first time I wasn't nervous at all and I really enjoyed going fast on the windy country roads! I'm really glad I went through the effort to get my licence. However, we do live in a very rural area, so I really had to embrace driving here sooner or later. If we lived in the city, I might not have bothered.

When I first moved here, I could have got by without driving. I lived in a very very rural area but we had a village shop and good bus links to nearby towns with other shops and supermarkets. However, I would have missed being able to get out and about and get a real feel for the countryside. And now that I live in a more built-up area, a car is absolutely essential.

The buses in my area are pretty good, but taking one and half hours to go five miles is not.  I just walk it in the summer, but it goes through a rough area, so in winter I have to take the bus. 

Or one of my co-workers gives me a ride home.  It takes 10 minutes. 

If we have kids I will need to have a car.  Often the buses will only let 2 people on with strollers, so you had better hope no one got on before you if you need to get into town.

That said, there is no point is using the car to get into the city on a normal basis.  Parking in the lot in town is 15.00 for anything over 4 hours!

We live in London and before that we lived in New York City.  We haven't owned a car in ages.  We've been almost totally reliant on public transportation and the occasional taxi.  We certainly don't miss car payments and insurance payments! 

I am on both sides right now.  I have found it really freeing to not have a car over the past 5.5 years but now I am starting to find it soffocating.  The BF and I are now seriously looking for a car.  Just the thought of going to the grocery store for a proper shop or hopping into the car on a Sunday to just get out of the house.  Or hopping in the car on a Saturday morning for a day trip out or an overnight trip.  It sounds like bliss at this point.

I'm from LA and I love driving. I can cut across a 5 lane freeway without even flinching and can manage in the craziest city traffic but I just cannot drive here. The first year we lived here I drove occasionally and never felt comfortable. After hitting a parked car, I stopped.  For the past 4+ years it's the bus or riding with my DH. The minute I get off the plane in LA, I'm back behind the wheel, Starbucks in hand. 

I'm from LA and I love driving. I can cut across a 5 lane freeway without even flinching and can manage in the craziest city traffic but I just cannot drive here. The first year we lived here I drove occasionally and never felt comfortable. After hitting a parked car, I stopped.  For the past 4+ years it's the bus or riding with my DH. The minute I get off the plane in LA, I'm back behind the wheel, Starbucks in hand. 

That was just how I felt driving in Dallas. I loved it. Weaving in and out of heavy traffic on the freeways is just so much fun. But, after some lessons and a bit of exploration on my own, I'm really starting to love driving here, too. All the bends in the roads now are starting to feel exciting! Maybe you should try again and take a few lessons! I tried to do it on my own or with DH, but that didn't help me really overcome my feelings of anxiety. I wouldn't have traded those expensive and time-consuming lessons with a lovely, patient man for anything! 

It's funny that many of you miss the weaving and the "game" of driving.

I agree with some that a nice, tuneful Sunday drive is a good way to relax and one day when I am rich and famous I am sure that I will look into that option. Ha.

Thankfully, I have a couple of friends that drive so I can hit them up for necessities and the occasional road trip.

Jules, et al,

Now (if you haven't already!) see how the driving feels in a car that's got some serious spirit and soul along with excellent dynamic and feedback characteristics!!

Add in a dose of healthy torque and power, coupled with an exhaust and engine note and it'll magnify the effects of enjoyment ALOT!

I love driving, I can't have a plain A to B car, it has to be something with all of the above elements to an extent. When the roads are good here in terms of surface, location and 'twisties' alongside the resulting scenery and views, driving is awesome and even better with a 'good' car. Not so much when there's potholes and traffic jams of course!

My recent second jaunt out to Las Vegas and I drove from LV to Los Angeles and back in two days (business meetings!) and although much of the road is very straight, during daylight and late mornings when I set off, the view going through the Mojave was simply spectacular for me! the car could've been better and I really wished I had my own car to have done the drive. Plenty of pictures along the way and for me as I had to stay driving slowly at 70 mph I thoroughly enjoyed those drives!

Daviisnotmy name - my initial reaction was 'dam, you must've had to have driven lots of mediocre cars to have given up on driving'!!

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Oh how I miss driving!  I am so jealous of anyone who is ok with public transportation. I just came back from the States and I LOVED driving again - it made me stupidly happy to confidently get behind the wheel and know exactly what I was doing and where I was going.  I would be 500x happier if I could drive here, but have developed such a mental block that its an uphill battle.  I actually have "call driving instructor" in big block letters on my calendar today and am avoiding it... I am scared to death to even make another appointment.  Its such a personal disappointment and I am so embarrassed everytime someone asks me "hows the driving going?" and I tell them I still cant do it.

Ugh now I'm depressed and need a cookie...

Oh how I miss driving!  I am so jealous of anyone who is ok with public transportation. I just came back from the States and I LOVED driving again - it made me stupidly happy to confidently get behind the wheel and know exactly what I was doing and where I was going.  I would be 500x happier if I could drive here, but have developed such a mental block that its an uphill battle.  I actually have "call driving instructor" in big block letters on my calendar today and am avoiding it... I am scared to death to even make another appointment.  Its such a personal disappointment and I am so embarrassed everytime someone asks me "hows the driving going?" and I tell them I still cant do it.

Ugh now I'm depressed and need a cookie...

Awww... don't give up! Believe me, when I drove 2 miles to a nearby village by myself the first time (well, I drove back home by myself) and was completely terrified, and then broke our wing mirror and cried my eyes out, I had some serious issues with learning to drive here. I absolutely HATED it at first. I dreaded my lessons most of the time, even though I was doing ok, just because I hated feeling so nervous behind the wheel when I was so confident driving in the states - even in cities I had never been to before in the states, I never felt nervous driving around.

It's definitely hard to get past the mental roadblocks - I felt so sorry for myself, I moaned on constantly about how much I missed driving in the states, I spent a lot of time cursing the country roads here. I cried during my first lesson and was completely humiliated. But I forced myself to do it all again the next week and the next week for a few months. Now I really love driving on the country roads and I am starting to get more confident about driving in the city, as well. I know it will take at least a year or two or more before it happens, but I can see now that driving here will be just as easy as it was to drive there if I just keep practicing. I completely freaked out when faced with having to drive an SUV for a work trip the other week, so I still have some confidence issues, but I am getting there. I managed to swap for a smaller car and made the journey and got lost a time or two, but it all worked out. Just having that experience boosted my confidence even more and last weekend I was enjoying my country drive so much I was cursing a taxi in front of me for driving too slow!    You can do it!!!! Having a good, patient instructor really helped me so much. It's hard to suck it up and feel like a teenager all over again with the driving lessons, but I am so glad I did it. So give that instructor a call already! 

Thanks Jewlz.  I'll call Monday!