Do we really need a car?

To buy a car or not to buy a car. That is the question. And it's one that I don't have an answer for yet. Or do I? See, I'd lived all over South America previous to moving to Brasilia and I never had a car in other countries, nor did I really need one. I mean, in Peru we could walk anywhere and everywhere; only when we were in a rush and/or lazy did we take a mototaxi for 3 soles no matter the number of people in the "vehicle" or the distance. I was hoping that Brasilia would be the same (I was OK without a car while living in Manaus). The issue is that I kept hearing that Brasilia was not created with pedestrians in mind. That's probably the truth. So does that mean that it'll be difficult to get around and that we'll need a car? Some people say yes; I'm not too convinced.

I've been living here for 3 1/2 weeks and although not a lengthy time, I don't feel that at this time we really need a car. I mean, I live near a major street not far from downtown (or the bus terminal) so buses are everywhere. I live between two subway stations, even though there are superquadras (HUGE blocks) between my apartment and the metro. I also have free daily transportation to/from work that is very convenient. And then there are taxis. And a great thing is that there is one company - Alvorado - that gives you a 30% just because you call them, versus hailing a cab on the street. You won't get the discount if you catch one on the street - you have to call. It's not a bad deal. For example, a friend and I took a taxi to church last Sunday and the price on the meter read R$ 9.78. We paid R$ 7. Not bad. And it's like that each time you call them. And of course the other option regarding taxis is asking E to make a deal with them and agree on a price before getting in the cab. 

So with these four options of transportation, I'm left wondering, do we really need a car? Do we need to pay for (expensive) gas? Do I need to learn to drive shift? Do we want to pay for insurance and maintenance of the car? The answer is no. At least not at this time. Maybe things will change in a year, or two. But for now we're fine. Now, maybe it is easier for me because I have friends in walking distance, because I have a ride to/from work on a daily basis (and it's door to door). E doesn't have any of that - at least not yet. But he doesn't complain. I know it's not  idea to take public transportation to school each night, but he's a good sport. When it gets old then we can talk more about possibly buying a car. I know it can be annoying at times to have to walk to the grocery store, but that's only once a week for us and it's not far. We also live right next to a kind of outdoor shopping center and there's a bakery, drug store, etc. there and then of course there are a number of other shopping centers all within a short walk. You can find fruit, vegetables, a gym, a movie rental, stores-stores-stores, and restaurants all within 5-10 minutes in all four directions. Maybe Brasilia was built with pedestrians in mind...

At this point we have decided not to buy a car and we have no immediate plans to do so. We'll just play it by ear and save all of the money that we would be spending if we owned a car. In the meantime, we'll spend just a little on buses, the metro, and taxis and appreciate being driven around.