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Stay at Home Moms
WDYT? 1 car or 2?
DH and I are moving to a state far away from home. We are considering trading in both cars and getting just one. I work full time now but will stay at home when we move. I think we will be fine with one car as I'll keep it a few days a week, but I'm worried about if DD gets hurt or I go into labor and not have a car. On the other hand we are thinking I should just call 911 as I probably should not drive and it will take me longer ( then the paramedics to get there) to get the baby/babies ready. WDYT? Good idea, bad? Thanks ladies.
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Re: WDYT? 1 car or 2?
In a true emergency, you are better off calling 911 than driving yourself in. There's an ER nurse on my local board who's told us there have been horrible incidents of someone dying en route to the hospital, when the paramedics probably could have saved them.
Other than that, we could definitely manage with just one car. It wouldn't be ideal, but we could do it.
I personally would do my best to keep 2 cars around. Not even thinking about emergencies or how inconvenient it would be (especially w/ 2 kids... and 1 in the "terrible 2s", getting ready in the morning is hectic enough. Then add nap times, dinner time meltdowns, etc..)...
Plus, I can't even tell you how many times my girls have been sick this winter. I swear DD2 was born and suddenly my always healthy DD1 started getting one ear infection (7 in 6mos) after another and pneumonia, then DD2 got RSV and bronchitis, etc, etc, etc... There were so many days where we'd get no sleep and then I'd decide last minute to call the pedi and take the girls in. I can't imagine how much more stressful that would have been if I had to deal w/ sharing a car w/ DH! Ugh, I don't even want to think about it..
Also, I need to get out of the house every day. The closest park is not in walking distance. So even just for that, I need a car.
But, that's me. DH works 45 mins from home. Maybe if he had flexible hours and he worked 10-15 mins from home... maybe? But I really would do all that I could to have my own car.
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I am a military spouse in Germany. The military only ships one car so there are hundreds of SAHM w/out cars and each and every one of them will tell you the same thing...IT EFFING SUCKS. Even the ones who live ON base, w/in walking distance to the hospital and commissary.
My biggest issue was child entertainment. Moms and kids need stimulation and you run out of new things to do and see pretty quick when you are stuck in the house. Even the park gets old fast.
Now, yes, people survived on one cars before. But those days WERE different. Neighborhoods HAD everything w/in walking distance and all of your and your kids friends were right there. Now people live miles apart.
For me, socializing my daughter as well as allowing her new experiences IS MY NUMBER ONE JOB as a SAHM. I could not do that with one car.
Not to mention, you are moving to a new area. How are you going to meet new people and explore your new home?
I mean, yes you are on sharing, but DH's needs will ALWAYS come first. As it should. So what happens if DH needs to have his car all week?
What if you have plans and he all of a sudden needs it? What if you want to participate in a Baby swim class? You may have to miss a couple lessons.
If the one car thing is a monetary issue, get very small, inexpensive clunker for DH to use for work.
Again, this is all from what I and my friends have experienced. Which is why we paid to have my car shipped over here.
We do fine with just one car. I can't think of one instance where an emergency came up and I just HAD to have a car. I think in that case we'd have to suck it up and hail a cab or something. Day-to-day living is just fine for us with one car, but we also happen to live in a major city where just about anything we need is within walking distance. I also schedule all my doctor's appointments, play dates, etc. for Thursdays- that way I'm only having to keep the car one day a week (I drive DH to work & back then).
However, I totally get your concerns with going into labor- in that case couldn't DH just leave work to come & get you? Or like you said call an ambulance (worse case scenario)?
We only have one car and I feel like i LIVE in it. We sold car #2 when we moved to Seattle, and it worked ok there, my husband took the bus to/from work and I drove my son to school and myself to work. But he works weekends most of the time which meant either I drove him (and had to pick him up late at night with an 8 year old, no fun) or be stuck at home. We just moved to a smaller town in March, and still haven't purchased a second car.
Thankfully, since we moved I have only been working 20 hours a week, and now that the school year is over (for the college where I worked anyway) I am a SAHM whoo hoo!. This morning I had to get up at 5am and drag my 8 year old down to the car to take my husband to work 45 minutes away, then come home, rest for 30 minutes, then get my son ready for school...... Then when he gets off the bus in the afternoon we have to turn around and drive back to get my husband...... DH's schedule varies but our days are often like this, and I feel like all I ever do is drive!