De-car-ing week: Walk and work it

This week's eco-topic: De-car-ing

Yes, I'm an impatient person. That's why I love walking.

Think walking's slow? What do you do when you run out of (soy) milk? I can walk two blocks to Co-opportunity or five blocks to Whole Foods. I guess I could walk one block to Rite-Aid, but their stuff isn't as yummy -- or as free of pesticides and hormones.

That's why, when I started my de-car-ing project, I began by moving to Santa Monica. I know, I know -- many of you will say you can't afford to live in Santa Monica. But -- in response -- did you factor in the fact that by moving, you'd no longer incur the costs of car ownership?

Walkable neighborhoods often have higher rents, yes -- but usually, those are more than balanced out by the fact that they ARE walkable. If you can't get rid of your car altogether, you will at least be likely to have lower insurance rates -- and spend less money on gas.

And it's not just groceries that are near me. Within five blocks or so, I have two Indian restaurants (one vegetarian and one veggie friendly), two Thai restaurants,  a bagel shop with wifi, eco-friendly restaurants (Rustic Canyon, Wilshire, Melisse), a bunch of coffeehouses (Tazzina, Cafe Zella, and 18th St. Coffee Shop), a bunch of bars (Bodega Wine Bar, Gaslite, the Parlor, BB's, O'Brien's), and all sorts of other important stuff, i.e. emergency rooms and hospitals.

Check out how walkable your 'hood is via WalkScore. It's not a perfect app, but it gives you a basic sense of how walk-friendly your neighborhood is. My ZIP Code's score: 91 out of 100!

Is your neighborhood not up to par? Then ogle the other neighborhoods you're thinking about moving to. Bought a house in the suburbs and can't move? Can't help you, sucker. Just kidding, sort of.... Wait for the other de-car-ing posts.