It’s useful to have one, but you’ll do just fine without it.
I live in America where an estimated 76 percent of adults own a car. When I tell people I don’t have a car, I feel a little embarrassed. “Oh, you don’t have a car?” they say, a little surprised. I imagine (correctly or incorrectly) that they’ll think I’m less of an adult because of this. “That’s right, I don’t. I have a driver’s license but have tallied the pros and cons of car ownership and have decided I don’t like driving enough to buy one,” I think but don’t say this.
According to Pew Research Center, about 70 percent of Americans are married or in a committed relationship. This means that approximately 30 percent of people in the country are single, which is close to the percentage of people who are car-less. When I was single, I imagined (correctly or incorrectly) that people thought I was less of an adult too.
Many of us crave close human connection, and we’ve gotten it in our heads that we need to be partnered. But some folks are not set up for it, or they just don’t need it enough to be tolerate an intimate partner for life. And that’s OK. Just like it’s OK to not own a car or even know how to drive.
I see a lot of parallels between owning a car and choosing to be married or partnered.
