What is so terrible about choosing not to drive in Dallas?

[Nylund]

I moved to Dallas after 2 years in Toronto and 8 years in NYC. I never owned a car in either city. I could get anywhere via public transportation. I much prefer it to driving I really hate driving. That being said, I drive everywhere in Dallas. I even get a pass from my employer which allows me to use public transportation for free in the DFW area. That includes DART, TRE, etc. I've only used it once in3 years.

That's because Dallas (and the surrounding area) is a giant sprawling suburb and public transportation simply doesn't get you to many of the place you may want to go.. There are few walkable neighborhoods, and the few that are, really aren't...not by the standards of other big cities.

Personally, I live in the Knox-Henderson area and walk as much as I can. There are a good number of bars and restaurants I can walk to (and often do). I'm also pretty near Katy Trail and can bike to work on that (weather permitting). But anytime I want to meet up with friends, do errands or grocery shopping, I take the car. The bike stays at home and the bus is out of the question. As much as I walk, and as little as I take the car, I can't imagine life without a car entirely. And I say that as someone who spent 10+ years without a car (in other cities). It really is necessary here. I'm glad I listened to the people I knew here when I decided to move here and was debating whether to bring a car here or sell it for extra cash. You really do need one here.

Dallas,while technically a big city, is really just a giant suburb.

[dfwcre8tive]

It depends where you live in Dallas. Living downtown I had no trouble using DART around the city for 2 years. It's not as easy as other cities but it's not impossible. You just have to plan routes, and using Google Maps makes it pretty easy.