Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi, I've been carfree for a long time and want to relocate. Currently in a small city in the Midwest @50,000 pop. and though I like many things here it doesn't have many cultural resources and it's very far from a larger city with more urban amenities.
I'm interested in some new ideas about what place might work well for me now. I'd like to move to a city around 50,000-100,000 pop., with a vibrant downtown area, decent public transport (bus or train), and access to a larger city with museums, theater, etc., within 2-3 hours transit time.
Especially interested in suggestions in CA or Northeast.
Well its a big bigger then 200,000 but its not too big at all and does not have a big city feel or anything. I find Madison Wisconsin to be a very nice place. If you live downtown a car or bus is not neeeded its a really nice place, town with a bit of a big city feel.
The site has a list of "least cars per house." Much of what they list is in New Jersey or the NYC metro, still there seems to be a few others. There's...
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Utica, New York
Albany, New York
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Hemet, California
I'm thinking those don't have other qualities you'd like. They also have lists on people biking to work. Davis, California and Corvallis, Oregon look to have a good number who bike.
Less than 2 hours to Knoxville TN or Asheville NC. Higher elevation of east TN mountains means slightly cooler. less humid weather and a bit of snow in the winters.
I'm going to recommend Santa Fe. It has under 100,000 people. The transit system (bus) is actually very good for a small city, and goes to most all the major destinations. Downtown Santa Fe is full of restaurants, galleries, shops, AND museums. The New Mexico Rail Runner Express provides Rail Service to Albuquerque every day except major holidays, so you don't even have to drive you your bigger city, which is only an hour by car or train. Both cities have lots of museums and culture. Santa Fe can be a little bit expensive. Being carfree isn't terribly common, but i've come across people in both cities that enjoy being carfree. Santa Fe also has a great biking/trail network and is nestled right in the mountains.
Portland, Maine is a city of ~60,000 but has an amazingly extensive system of buses that literally traverse every nook of the city. From my travels to Portland it is a really clean, progressive and has a number of "trendy" areas as well. The downtown is pretty busy for a city of its size but you will find the district near the port to be absolutely vibrant with activity, at least it was when I went. The air is crisp and clean and there are plenty of outdoor activities available in the area; not to mention the museums, historic sites and the miles of Atlantic coastline. Its pretty much a total package.
The metro area overall has about 500,000 people spread out nicely throughout the countryside. If you get bored of the city then you can always hop on the AMTRAK train and head to Dover, or even further to Boston. Overall its about a 2 hour 15 minute ride to Boston and only a $25 one-way ticket.
These are all great suggestions, thanks! Especially interesting about Santa Fe and Portland, I didn't realize they had good bus systems and they have a lot to offer culturally, I'll research them some more. Much appreciated.
These are all great suggestions, thanks! Especially interesting about Santa Fe and Portland, I didn't realize they had good bus systems and they have a lot to offer culturally, I'll research them some more. Much appreciated.
I think Santa Fe even has commuter rail between Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Another great thing about Santa Fe is the Railyard District, where new lofts and apartments, restaurants, and stores are moving in. It's all located right by the Rail Runner station and might be a good area for being car-free. It's also walking distance to Downtown, which is awesome. The local airport also has direct flights to DFW and LAX, I think. If you need a larger variety of airline destinations, the Albuquerque Airport connects to the train about an hour and a half south of Santa Fe and offers a lot more destinations. Buses connecting the train to the airport in Albuquerque only run monday-friday, however (I think...) Overall, Santa Fe is very livable car free, especially if you like your bike. I've met people who live near the Railyards or the South Capitol neighborhood and walk to Trader Joes, Whole Foods Market, and some great restaurants in that area, and they take the train to Albuquerque quite often as it's very affordable ($8 for a day pass, unlimited trips between Santa Fe and Albuquerque for a day, or $100 for a monthly pass if you commuted to Albuquerque, I think $1000 dollars for a year pass, so very affordable)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
