Over the last decade, owning a car has come in handy.

My little blue hatchback got me to my first job, took me across the state to visit friends and family and enabled me to explore many of Oregon's natural wonders.

But now, as an adult living in Portland with a mortgage and grocery bills, life without a car sounds downright utopian.

OK, not totally utopian. I know it will be inconvenient in ways I probably can't conceive of yet. (I'm looking at you, soggy winter months.)

I didn't use my car much as it was - I ride the bus to work and mainly drove on weekends. Regardless, the decision to give it up for good wasn't easy.

Two weeks ago, I finally took the plunge and sold my car, so now I have no choice but to commit to a life sans-car.

Here are five things to consider if you're thinking about going car-free in Portland:

Cost

Owning a car is expensive. But you already knew that. Even though my car was paid off, it was still my biggest monthly expense after housing and groceries. My monthly insurance bill was $112, and gas and maintenance added about $50 a month, on average.

So I was spending roughly $160 a month on my car, which I drove maybe three days a week - primarily for weekend errands or day trips to the coast or the gorge.

But with the added cost of public transportation and car-sharing services, would giving up my car save me any money?

I already take the bus to work (it's cheaper than parking downtown, even at the cheapest nearby lot), and a monthly TriMet pass costs just as much as four weeks' worth of weekday tickets, so I won't be spending any more for bus tickets.

I'm planning on using Car2go, Uber and Lyft, but only in emergencies, if I miss a bus or I'm running late. Car2go charges about $15 per hour (though fees are temporarily reduced) after a $5 one-time sign-up fee, so a weekly 2-hour trip - plus an Uber ride here or there - would basically wipe out all my savings from going car-free.

So let's say one Uber ride ($20) and a two-hour Car2go trip ($30) for weekend errands and outings every month. That's $50, less than a third of what I would have spent on my car. (This is the plan - though I understand my actual use of car sharing might be a little more.)

On top of that, I'll want to visit family in Kelso and Seattle a few times a year - let's say four - which would cost about $50 round-trip on Amtrak or BoltBus. That's a total of $200 a year, or about $17 a month on average.

According to these estimates, my monthly transportation expenses (excluding my existing commuting costs) will now total $67, saving me more than $90 a month.

In theory, at least.

A note on bikes: I'm planning on buying a bike at some point in the near future, but I want to get comfortable relying on public transportation and car-sharing services first. (I'm also waiting for a slight knee sprain to heal.) I live in Southeast Portland's Westmoreland neighborhood, out of Biketown's system area, so that's not really an option for me.

For all one-time costs, like a bike purchase and gear, I'll use the proceeds from the sale of my car.

Mobility

While cost was definitely the biggest factor in my decision to sell my car, it wasn't the only thing I looked at. Obviously, I thought a lot about how going carless would affect my mobility.

Just before I sold my car, my dad called to talk me out of it.

"It's going to be very limiting," he warned.

And he's right. I won't be able to take spontaneous trips to the coast or even the grocery store. Everything I do will require more planning, more time and more patience.

In past months, I would drive downtown and all over Southeast Portland running errands on weekends. This wide-ranging trip probably won't be a possibility for me anymore, because it would take too long via public transit and cost too much to rent a car for several hours.

Instead, I'll need to do most of my errands in my own neighborhood, or downtown after work.

Liability

One of the best things about going carless? Not having to worry about all the things that can go wrong while owning said car: Accidents, break-ins, tickets, hit-and-runs, breaking down on a deserted highway in the middle of the night.

Of course, pedestrians and cyclists can get hit by cars, and transit users are susceptible to bus and train breakdowns and delays.

According to the Portland Bureau of Transportation, while about 10 percent of Portlanders identify walking as their primary mode of travel, pedestrians make up nearly one third of all traffic-related deaths.

So while I won't have to worry about hit-and-runs or tickets, I do need to worry more about getting killed. I'll be extra careful, and I hope drivers will be, too.

Sustainability

While greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector have dipped since they hit a high point in 2007, they're once more edging upward.

Between 1990 and 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that transportation accounted for 26 percent of the nation's total greenhouse gas emissions. The vast of majority of these emissions were carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion.

According to the EPA's carbon footprint calculator, cutting out my car will slash my annual CO2 emissions from 11,405 pounds to 4,782. Short of living like a hermit in the forest, it's the biggest impact I can make on my individual emissions.

Lifestyle

One of the biggest draws for going car-free was the idea that my life would be a lot less sedentary. With my rose-colored glasses on full-strength, I pictured a European-style, 20-minute neighborhood life in which everything is easy and a car just isn't necessary.

I'm lucky enough to live within a 10-minute walk of a grocery store, a gym and a few bars and restaurants. I'm hoping that giving up my car forces me to shop more in my own neighborhood and to be more active.

I know it won't be without its challenges, but I believe that the benefits of giving up my car will outweigh the costs.

Your thoughts

So what do you think, Portland? Am I a walking (pun fully intended) urban Millennial stereotype? Am I going to regret this?

Have any of you given up your car? What was your experience? For those of you without a car (including those who've never owned a car), what advice would you offer me? Add your thoughts in the comment section.

Over the next couple months, I'll be writing updates about my adventures without a car, so any of you looking to go car-free can learn from my mistakes. Any questions? Send me an email or a tweet!

This story has been updated to reflect Car2go's lower sign-up fee.

-- Anna Marum

amarum@oregonian.com

503-294-5911

@annamarum