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I just read a book titled "how to live well without owning a car" It descibed
in detail how to live without a car. I was wondering what cities in
the U.S can you live well in without a car? The reason I ask I will be graduating
from college in a year and I want to continue to live car free as I do
in Minneapolis.
Not Minneapolis.....not without the expansion of the rest of the LRT lines (2nd halves of the Green and Blue Lines). If you are car free you live in one of a very very small % of the metro where you could get away with that, because it's not easy. Even Chicago can be tough to live car-free unless you live in JUST the right spot. The ONLY city I'd consider moving to without owning a car would be New York City, specifically Manhattan. You could also make a case for D.C. or San Francisco, and yes, Chicago, but none of those would be as easy as NYC. In NYC a car would be a luxury or a burden, whereas in those other cities it's borderline necessary/unnecessary.....IN the city.
It doesn't have to be a big city. I live in a city of 70,000, which has a decent public transportation system (daytime only), and I get along fine without a car. Most things are in walking distance, and those that aren't are on a bus route. This would be a very bicycle-friendly town, flat terrain with a uniform street grid that would keep you off busy streets going cross town. 70,000 iand far from a major metro is large enough to have all the amenities, so you'd never need to go to the city for anything.
I've lived quite nicely here in Philadelphia, car-free, since 1990. I've always lived in Center City, South Philly, or West Philly and it's very easy. The neighborhoods are dense and there's plenty within walking distance. When I say plenty I literally mean all of your daily necessities, restaurants, bars, corner stores, etc. The public transit in these areas is extensive. Also, there are taxis that you can hail on any busy street. Finally, there are two car sharing services that you can utilize to get a car for a few hours for occasional trips.
The key is to live in a core neighborhood, NOT an outlying part of the city.
Full confession, I am buying a car next week, but only because my next job opportunity will require it. I'm actually annoyed that I have to buy one.
I think you could technically live car-free if you live in Atlanta. The MARTA does a decent job in my opinion and if you live in the right area, everything is within walking or biking distance. I only drive maybe once or twice a week to get groceries.
It depends on where exactly you live within a city. Most cities have at least a bus system and if you live close to a bus stop it is do-able, even in more car-dominated cities. I lived in Milwaukee without a car for over a year. Of course, you are somewhat limited in which areas you can move to.
You can live in just about any city without a car. I think the better expression is, for the average person when does owning a car become more of a hassle than riding PT?
I think the only clear city that fits that bill is NYC, and only in Manhattan. Queens or Staten Island, people would probably find a car more convenient.
I can see people making some sort of argument for Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, or Boston.
It doesn't have to be a big city. I live in a city of 70,000, which has a decent public transportation system (daytime only), and I get along fine without a car. Most things are in walking distance, and those that aren't are on a bus route. This would be a very bicycle-friendly town, flat terrain with a uniform street grid that would keep you off busy streets going cross town. 70,000 iand far from a major metro is large enough to have all the amenities, so you'd never need to go to the city for anything.
I do the same (and our towns are even similar in size). Getting by without a car here, while obviously not as easy as in a much larger city, is really no big deal.
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