I will not purchase a car (nor a scooter) whilst living in LA.

I don't want to deal with the hassle of car payments, maintenance, insurance expense, insanely congested traffic, paying for parking, car jackings, and motorists who spend more time text messaging than paying attention to the road.

My co-workers have all scoffed at me, chuckling to themselves as if to say, "Isn't that cute? Tara thinks she can live in LA without a car," but I don't mind. I made my way around Boston and NYC just fine on foot and can do the same here.

In addition to being environmentally conscious, health conscious, and expense conscious, it's also a great excuse not to have to attend events or go places in which I've no interest in going. The only thing I for which I wish I had a set of wheels is my current apartment search, but that's temporary, so still no reason to buy a car.

I'll blithely saunter down the sidewalk as motorists stess themselves out in gridlock, have neither car nor insurance payments, and have the pleasure of smugly telling my well-intentioned co-workers, "Told you so."