【英会話NOVA青森ドリームタウン校】✨小学生向け【NOVAバイリンガルKIDS夏期講習】✨

Hello, everyone!!
みなさま、こんにちは(*’▽’)
英会話NOVA青森ドリームタウン校です😆

いよいよ7月！夏本番ですね🌞
冬にドライブを楽しめない青森では
夏にドライブを楽しむ方も多いのではないでしょうか(*’▽’)/

というわけで、今回Germaine先生にはアメリカの車事情を聞いてみました🚗

Driving in America

As someone with a license, I think I’m done with driving at least for now. It’s hard to afford in America if you’re not making much money.
I started driving legally at 19, though I used to sneak short drives in my mom’s car before that. My first car was a broken non-drivable Toyota truck from my dad, but I sold it for $900 (129,563 yen) instead of fixing it. With that, I bought a 2006 Jeep Patriot for $1,000 (143,959 yen). It smelled weird and was old, but it was mine, and I styled it with a bunch of sticker decal.
Unfortunately, it broke down a lot. With poor insurance, I had to pay for most repairs myself, which is sometimes about $320 (46,066 yen) at one point. Four years later, in university, the car finally gave out.
I used my tax return to get a similar, slightly older car. It ran better, but my income dropped and I couldn’t afford insurance, so I had to cancel it. Insurance in the U.S. is expensive—$100–$700 (14,395 yen–100,771 yen ) monthly. I paid $200–$300 (28,791 yen –43,187 yen ), but when you’re earning just $800–$1,200 (115,167 yen –172,750 yen), that’s tough. After some legal issues at home, I had to sell the car.
I do miss it, but I’m okay with walking and using public transit for now. If I stay in Japan permanently, I might get a license here. Until then, I’m taking a break from driving.