Managing with one car

For about the last 2 years my DH has had a company car which we have really really come to rely on. We have a car of our own which I use when I need to but mainly we just go in his car.

He's moving to another role within his company that doesn't require a car so he's most likely going to lose it now, so he will be using our other car every day.

We have a baby due in December and now I'm really worried that I'm going to become quite isolated at home without a car to get around during the days. My Mum lives around the corner and is home so she'll help me with things I'm sure, but I had hoped to get out and about and meet new Mums etc and just get out of the house sometimes.

There are places I can walk nearby and I can get on the bus so that's something.

But I guess what I was wondering is does anyone else out there manage with one car and a baby/kids? How do you make it work for you?

We're not really in a position to get another car anytime soon so I do have to get my head around how to make it work

Thanks :)

I was going to suggest that too, he takes public transport to work and you have the car.

We only have one car, but DF just works across the road so it's not a problem... when we were still in town he use to bike and leave me with the car... seemed a waste for him to take it cos it would just sit there all day anyway and I'd be stuck at home... very occasionally I'd drop him off as well...

Where abouts in South Auck does he work? Does he work 9-5 or there abouts as you may find it takes less time and costs less taking public transport too. Depending where you go south there is trains that go frequently and they are alot quicker then a bus and a car! It takes 9mins to get to meadowbank train station where I used to live in rush hour where as it takes 15-30mins. 20mins to GI where as thats about 30min-40mins. The further you go the more the time difference iygwim.

Also the shore now has the bus lanes on the motorway. I really do think it would be worth you guys investigating properly I wish I knew to catch the train to and from work when I lived in Meadowbank as it was only $2.30 and 9mins away. It would take me an hour+ to drive to work in the morning stupid when you think about it. I used to catch public transport alot when I had no car pre kids. Also don't go by how much just one trip for that stage costs as you can normally get month passes etc.

Otherwise you will find walking alot will be what you'll be doing. Being due in the warmer months won't be too bad either as you'll have nice sunny days to do things. You'll need to plan grocery shopping when DH is home so go in the weekend, even better leave DH with the baby so that you get some sanity time away from him. If you find things close to home do do with baby then you'll probably find you won't need the car as much as you think. The only annoying thing is you won't be able to just pop to the supermarket to pick some milk up etc.

Oh if your going to be walking alot then I suggest that you invest in a good buggy with good wheels

Looks like 3 busses and a train and a 2 hr journey so maybe not hehe

We don't have a car at all at the moment, in NZ we had one but DH took that to work, we lived rurally so if I needed to go out I'd ask Mum to take me. We are managing without one here too, we are 2km from the shops so I walk up there for any little bits that we need and do a bigger grocery shop online. I'm lucky that the buses go past the end of my street so I don't have to walk far if I need the bus, and we can borrow SIL's car on the weekends if we need to.

I actually don't mind that we don't have a car now, but it's a pain when DH gets me to drop him at work cause I have to get up at 5.30am to do it (luckily I can leave DS at home cause SIL is here), he normally rides a bike. Not having a car is a good way to get lots of exercise and fresh air, especially when the weather is nice.

How easy do you find it to get baby on the bus in a pram? What age would I think about doing that?

Yeah it will definitely get me out walking a lot and help to lose the baby weight so that's gota be a blessing in disguise.

If I take the MB on the bus I make sure everything is in a backpack so I can wear that while I'm waiting and pack the pram up when the bus arrives (takes 2 seconds) and carry DS on, but that may not work so well with a NB. Other times I just use the Manduca, it is much easier, but I hate having to carry a backpack as well if we're spending most of the day out.

my husband used to take the car to work and i was at home without it... one day a week or if i needed the car i would take him to work and pick him up at the end of the day... now i have the car all the time and he catches the train.

We only had one car for the first few months, actually maybe 8 months! after I had our daughter. It was fine. I got really used to walking to coffee group, music groups etc. It was a bummer some days when it was raining and I wanted to get out but I survived. Girls in my coffee group were great actually and used to pick us up if it was raining on a catch up day(easy with a capsule)
I used to do big shops in the weekends and pick up things if needed while I was out walking.
It was great exercise too
I work now too so 2 cars necessary but the days I'm not working I try not to use the car at all

Edited to say I caught the bus lots too. Found it easy with a pram as we lived on a good bus route and all the buses had a wheelchair area.

Edited by febbabe