Does it really matter if you don't drive a car ?

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Here if your car is required for your work the expenses like insurance, gas, maintenance/repairs, & cost to buy the car could be tax deductions. The amount you can deduct depends on how much the car is used for work. ie, if 70% of the time it's used is work related you could deduct 70% of the expenses. A lot of self-employed people who need their cars/trucks/vans for carrying supplies/equipment to work buy new cars a year before their planned retirement so they can deduct the new car on their taxes before retiring

As has already been said, if the public transport is good then you don't need a car. It can also help if you live within walking distance of the places you most want to go to, as long as there's footpaths. If you're fit enough to cycle and there are suitable tracks, that' very helpful. Buses in the UK these days don't seem to run very much after about 9pm, which obviously doesn't cater for visiting friends for an evening, so you may need to take a taxi home. It's a situation that may get worse in the future. There's no public transport to my sister's house, and the bus to my son's place leaves me with a long walk up a steep hill. The bus to my parents' house was axed.

Public transport doesn't exist in some places. I've seen parts of the USA where you couldn't live independently without driving. Food supermarket (end everything else) too far from house to walk to, especially in extreme weather, and no footpaths.

I suppose driving is often seen to confer a sense of status. It's certainly liberating to be able to go to places when you want to, and to have haulage capacity at your fingertips. I don't hold with "snazzy car snobbery." It's never been a problem for me because I don't readily make friends with people who have that mentality.

I think there is some snobbery in the USA about being able to live in places like Blue Back Square in West Hartford, where a 1 bedroom loft goes for 2300 a month! You live right next to lots of nice restaurants and stores. No need for a car if you live there.

Bus systems are more likely to be developed in poor areas. There is a demand for buses that does not exist in wealthy neighborhoods.

Employers can and often do discriminate against non-drivers in job listings and require a person to have a drivers license, even if it has nothing to do with the job description.

Aside from that, there is a social stigma associated with not driving a car, i.e, people think you may have learning difficulties for not having gone & got a license.

Further, people discriminate and assume that people without a car cannot afford one.

So yes, it does matter, in terms of how other people will treat you, unfortunately.

How are they going to do that unless you make it an issue first? Unless you job duties involve driving a non-company vehicle. It won't be an issue until you don't show up.

I just meant that employers sometimes discriminate against non-drivers from the get-go, on job listings that are advertised, before a person even gets to the interview stage or to a job offer.

So unless you are prepared to lie & say you can drive/have a car, it would be an issue? And would likely put off someone applying in the first place.

In the US yes because every place is made for cars and not pedestrian friendly. Though some cities are making it more bicycle and pedestrian friendly and putting in light rails again. But if you live in a small city or rural area, you need a car. Not driving becomes a burden to other people. Plus when you are unable to drive, you are stuck in your house because you know you can't rely on people to take you everywhere and you only save it for important things like food and appointments and you wait when someone is heading somewhere you want to go to just to tag along. This was how my disabled friend lived and he even walked two miles to work before his disability got worse and was forced to quit his job.

Driving gives you freedom.

Also even if the job description does not mention needing a license or car, some interviewers ask about having reliable transportation & they usually do not consider bus service & walking or riding bikes reliable. Bad weather like lots of rain, sever cold, & snow can stop pedestrians from going out since they don't want to be out walking, riding, or waiting for a bus in those conditions.


That's been my experience living with my parents. Mom b!tched about being forced to bring me places but she also b!tched a lot about me staying home too much when I was not working. She wanted me to have friends to bring me places & for me to move out but I couldn't meet a lot of people to make friends or get a good paying job where I could afford to move out living in that area & relying on my parents to bring me places. It was a catch 22 situation. I had to turn a couple jobs down because both my parents worked & my parents were not available to bring me to work or pick me up at those times. My 1st job started requiring me to stay later at night because they were short-handed & open more hours so I started looking for my 2nd job & luckily got a job that had better hours for me & my parents. I quit my 1st when I got hired at my 2nd. When I was working at my 2nd job I was giving my parents a bit of money to cover transpiration costs to bring me like gas & wear & tear on their cars, plus a little extra for their time on top of paying some money for rent. Since I was on SSI at the time & making just over federal minimum-wage, I only came out majorly ahead financially by working overtime whenever I was allowed to. Plus working longer hours was better for my parents with bringing me & picking me up since I worked nights.