5 Reasons Why You Should Get a Car, If You’re in Doubt
Posted by Admin at 1 May 2016, at 13 : 31 PM
It’s never been easier before to have a car, and there are probably more cars on the road today, in every corner of the world, than there ever have been before in human history.
That means things have come a pretty long way since the early days of automotive technology, when a car was a major luxury and status symbol, and where every car on the market could quite easily be outpaced by an ambitious horse.
These days, cars are so much of a “given” that certain people don’t really feel very compelled to get a car at all – or, if they do, they are in doubt and are wondering whether it’s worth going through the effort of getting a licence, finding the right car, making a purchase, and so on.
If you’ve been living your life getting around on lifts from other people, then here are a few compelling reasons why you should, indeed, get a car – just in case you were in any doubt.
Road trips
Road trips have always been – and remain – one of the coolest and most life-affirming types of “vacation” out there. There’s just something about hitting the open road and guiding yourself according to your own whims, wherever the journey takes you, that is a world apart from staying by the pool in a resort somewhere.
A road trip is, for all intents and purposes, impossible if you aren’t the proud owner of your own car (or maybe your own motorbike). Tour buses certainly don’t captivate the same great feeling.
A road trip is all about a sense of adventure and autonomy. It’s about being the master of your destiny, and seeing what the unknown has to offer. Whether you’re interested in doing some long road trips by yourself, as a form of self-discovery and “meditation,” or whether you want to get a group of friends together and really connect and create some great stories together on your journey, you will be shortchanging yourself if you don’t try it out at least once in your life.
Autonomy, in general
It’s not really too easy to feel very autonomous in today’s world – never mind to actually be very autonomous. Whereas, not so long ago, everyone would largely be responsible for “micromanaging” the different routines of their lives, today, more and more stuff is getting “managed” by major corporations and highly complex technological systems, that no one really fully understands or can hold accountable.
As psychologists have demonstrated, not feeling, and being, autonomous is a bad thing, and can contribute all sorts of complexes, negative emotions, and other downstream negative effects.
The ability to drive is one of the key areas in modern life where you can still maintain and express some real autonomy. When you have your own car, you can decide where you want to go, and when, and why.
Barring things like roadworks and traffic laws, the world is your oyster. There’s nothing to stop you driving out to the shop at three in the morning, or setting off for an impromptu road trip when you’ve got a free weekend to yourself and nothing better to spend it on.
Without the ability to drive, and your own car, you have to remain largely dependent on other people in order to get around. Either you have to rely on your friends and relatives to ferry you back and forth, or you need to rely on the public transport infrastructure and the ability of your local bus drivers and train operators to turn up when you want them to.
An in-depth hobby
Getting “into” cars, as a hobby, can be one of the most fascinating and fulfilling things that you can do with your time – and it can certainly keep you preoccupied for ages, too.
Whether you are figuring out the intricacies of 700R4 transmission, or are undertaking a new project to rebuild and restore a classic car from the past, learning about cars, working on them, and becoming an active “car hobbyist” is a great entry point to a productive pastime.
If you spend a lot of your time idly surfing the web or flicking between the channels, it can be a really good thing to have something else to do that takes you out of your own head.
More possibilities for your professional life
If you live in a large city, and have worked in that city for your entire adult life, you might not necessarily realise just how significant having a car can be for your professional life, and your ability to progress in your field of choice.
Many potential employers will, as a matter of principle, only consider candidates who have their own mode of transport. Among other things, such employees are just more useful if they have the ability to drive somewhere as and when required.
Beyond that, it’s very likely that, sooner or later, you’re going to discover a “dream job” that is not within cycling distance of your current home, and where public transport doesn’t reach.
Even if you don’t imagine that you’re going to do a lot of driving on a day-to-day basis, having a car and a driver’s licence significantly expands your personal and professional horizons.
Being able to get to out-of-the-way places
This point has already been somewhat addressed in the article, but it’s worth keeping in mind that there are all sorts of amazing places out there, worth seeing, but which you would likely never be able to see if you were only relying on the public transport network.
For every tourist-trap hotspot out there, there is bound to be a half-dozen quaint and beautiful towns and villages with rich histories, that are only accessible by car. Or, maybe, there is a certain gym, or club that you would like to join and participate in, but which you can’t really access without having your own transport.
It’s better to have options than to not have them, and when you have your own car, it is you who gets to decide whether or not you are going to explore your surroundings in-depth.
Never underestimate what hidden gems may be in your proverbial backyard. It’s just a matter of getting out there and finding them.