 Since June 6th, 2021, I haven't owned a car. Why? Well, one of the biggest reasons was to cut expenses, as it's way cheaper not to own a car, but it was also a challenge to see if I could in fact get by without one. I left my family and car behind in Sydney, New South Wales to move up the coast to Queensland where I was to study marine conservation and restoration up here on the Gold Coast. Since then, I haven't owned a car. Before going car-free, I still took the bus, rode my bike and walked, but I would jump in the car simply because it was there and so much more convenient. 17% of Australia's energy-related greenhouse gas emissions come from transport. In 2021 alone, there were over 20.1 million registered motor vehicles on the road. Having biked and bused as much as possible over the past few years, I still predominantly travelled by car. It wasn't until I moved that I decided to actually commit to a challenge of going car-free, and here I am, 8 months on, still committed to this car-free lifestyle. It was really hard at first. I've stayed home more often than I would like, less hikes, less catch-ups with friends, less road trips and more time spent waiting for the buses. It hasn't been ideal, but like all habits you work at continually, it is now something that comes second nature to me. To share my experience of living without a car, I'm walking through the last 8 months. Until June, I owned a car and drove it constantly to work, gym, cafes, the blue mountains, pretty much everywhere. In June, I packed up all my things and moved to the coast to where the sun surfed and sand is. I thought this will be a great opportunity to ditch the car and try riding everywhere. I saw a bike that was coming, I was like, ah, yeah, the way! I always liked the idea of owning a bike with a little basket on the front and riding it along the coast. That dream became a reality when I bought my second-hand bike from Facebook Marketplace and found a beautiful place to rent a few kilometers away from the beach. The first month was the hardest to adjust to. I was super unfit to start out with, so biking took way longer than Google Maps said, and I felt tired all the time because of my lack of fitness. I was frustrated with biking, everything took so much longer. Shopping on a bike became unmanageable because I had too many grocery bags and they all wouldn't fit in my tiny little basket, go figure. So I had to carry them on both arms and in a backpack, so my already unfit body was straining under the extra weight. Whenever I wanted to go somewhere, I had to plan my trip a week prior, searching bus and train routes, mapping out any changes or considering if the trip was really worth it. Because of the extra time and energy it took to get places, I started not going out as much. I became a bit of a hermit. I saw friends less, said no to more and spent most of my time at home. Not fun. This wasn't good for my mental state as I'm quite an extrovert and gain a lot of energy from experiences and interactions with others. I started thinking that the car free life just wasn't going to work for me long term. By month, too, my fitness level had somewhat increased and biking became a little less tiresome. I stopped shopping on my bike and instead used the bus and this was such a game changer. The world started to look a little brighter and there was a little light at the end of the tunnel after all. Riding alongside the main highway was still a huge fear of mine and every time a car wished by me, I'd have a mini heart attack. They say habits take anywhere from 21 to 90 days to form and by September it had been 90 days and I was starting to gain some confidence on the roads alongside my fellow man and his car. More importantly, Google Maps' estimated time to my arrival slowly got closer and closer to my actual arrival time. It was becoming slightly easier to get places so I was becoming more motivated to get out and about. By October I'd made it four months so I treated my well worn bike to a much needed service at 99 bikes using the money I'd saved from not owning a car. As my bike was second hand when I got her, yes, it's a shoe. She was already a little worn so by the time four months came around the chain needed tightening and oiling, the basket needed refitting, the tyres needed pumping, and the bike needed a serious clean. By November night rides would become a regular thing. This meant I needed to fit my bike with some lights so that I would be seen by cars on the highway. I love watching sunsets and started making it a regular part of my week to go and watch at least one sunset. I also started visiting the Miami night markets, a laneway full of food vendors selling cuisines of all nationalities, clothing stores selling second hand clothes as well as new, live music and a few bar selling cocktails and beers. I was starting to venture out and explore my surroundings a little more by this point. It's been eight months since I took up this car free challenge and I rarely miss having a car. I am so much fitter, more tanned because it's summer and I have the biggest hand lines from my shirt and have figured out the routine that works best for me. My bus card is looking very worn and I know some bus routes off by heart now. I've also gotten the time down to pretty much the exact arrival time on Google Maps when riding my bike, which is a huge win for me. Once I get a surfboard, I plan on buying one of those racks that hang off the side of the bike and take it with me in the morning to the beach. I still miss the freedom of being able to hike and explore the mountains as freely as I did when I owned a car, but I'm learning to embrace the carpooling life and treasure those moments in the mountains even more. Overall, I really enjoy biking as it allows me to see things that I wouldn't usually see and taking public transport means I can work or read while commuting. Riding everywhere improves my fitness and health and I love how pretty my bike is, priorities, I know. Carpooling allows more quality time with friends and biking is totally free to run as my legs don't need petrol to work. And that is my experience so far of living life without a car. I will keep you guys posted on how I go throughout the next few months as I finish up my course on marine conservation and restoration. Otherwise, I really hope you guys enjoyed today's video. Do let me know your situation with a car or if you have a bike or if you use other transport like me too. I'd love to hear about it. Otherwise, thank you so much for watching. I really hope you enjoyed today's video and I hope to see you guys again in my next video. Bye.