Should I Continue Learning To Drive?

[abbeylee90]

I do and I don't want to learn to drive as I live right by my work and when I move out I can't afford a place by work and thinking about the winter

[lankeela]

I would be worried if you were allowed out on the road on your own - how would you decide which colour traffic light to take notice of?

[scorpiojo]

:-)

[barry1010]

It's a useful life skill, opens up more job opportunities, so yes.

[barry1010]

Think about learning in an automatic although it means you will only be able to drive autos if you pass your test in one.

[Canary42]

Continue - it's a useful skill (I miss it terribly now I'm banned)

[abbeylee90]

Well I never got put forward for my test on manuL

[Neveracrossword]

Abbeylee, ypu've spent an awful long time faffing about with learning to drive. If you give up now, you've wasted all that time and money. If you did learn to drive, it might help your chances of getting ... better jobs. It's up to you - so go on, have a little talk with yourself, have a think... and make up your mind!

[Redhelen72]

No

[Buenchico]

You need to decide just how important having a driving licence would be to you. For example, when I lived on the edge of Sheffield, there were 17 buses per hour into the city centre within a 5 minute walk of where I lived. There were good evening and Sunday bus services too, together with buses running all night within a reasonable walking distance from my house. I just couldn't see any point in learning to drive while I lived there and using buses (plus occasional taxis when needed) was far, far cheaper than owning and running a car.

However when, at the age of 37, I moved down here to semi-rural East Anglia, I immediately started learning to drive because both my employment and leisure opportunities would have been severely restricted without the use a car.

So the question that you have to ask yourself is do you actually need a car?

[Barsel]

To be honest with you Abbey, I don't think you would be able to afford a car.
Find out and then add up the cost of the road tax, insurance, petrol, M.O.T repairs, new tyres etc even without the cost of buying a car.
Do you really think you can afford it?

[Canary42]

////when, at the age of 37, I moved down here to semi-rural East Anglia, I immediately started learning to drive ////

When I lived in East Anglia (1950s), it was well-described as cut off from the rest of the country on three sides by the sea and on the fourth side by British Railways. Car ownership in Norfolk (in spite of low average salaries) at the time was way above national average.

[Soz abbey for threadnap]

[jourdain2]

Driving is a skill which could enhance your job prospects. I don't know where you live, but you obviously have good local transport links.
You've faffed about (as someone said) for long enough. Make a decision.
Mine would be to learn to drive - even in an automatic - because automatic cars have just edged ahead in the production stakes, so it will soon become normal to just have a licence for that.
You do not know what life will bring. None of us does, I did not expect to live in very rural France, for instance. All skills are a help.
There's my honest answer. Learn to drive - concentrate on it and make it a MUST in your life (even above new outfits every verse end - you can re-use old ones you know).

[Barsel]

One of the skills of driving is to be decisive.
You can't sit waiting at the traffic lights until a colour you like comes up.

[jourdain2]

Fair point, Barsel.

[Hazlinny]

Indecisions again, Abbey ... I thought you had got quite far with your driving lessons so why not see if you can pass the driving test before you even think about a car .. an expensive item these days.

[Hopkirk]

Cars are ridiculously expensive. If you can survive without a car, then do.

[johnny.5]

why not take flying lessons ?

[smurfchops]

Where are you working now Abby? Can you afford a car? Read what Barsel says, I seriously think, forget it, use public transport.

[smurfchops]

And how can you save up to buy a car on £888 a month? Abby if you are seriously thinking about buying a car, and all the payments you will have to make, forget about false nails and buying lots of clothes, you won’t have the money. Unless you have a very well paid job which you don’t. Will you be able to decide what car to get? What colour to get? How does it work? Shall Imout my foot down? Indicate? Should I turn left or right or go straight ahead? Shall I stop, the lights are red? Shall I go, the lights are green? Shall I get some petrol? What shall I wear when I am driving.? What nails should I have when I am driving? The list is endless.