Moving to Phoenix - No Car (Scottsdale, Tempe: home, neighborhoods, to buy)

[e602043]

We are looking to relocate to Phoenix area in the near future and we would like to know if there are any nice areas in downtown area which you can get around be walking and not needing a car. We are looking for a area that we can do all our activites by walking. For example being able to walk to local restaurants, or to buy groceries. Any information would be greatly appreciated!!!

[exit2lef]

I'll be blunt: Don't do it.

I'm a big advocate of walkable neighborhoods and expanded public transit, and Phoenix is making steady progress in those areas. Nevertheless, we are years away from the point where one could be carless without significant hardship.

At this point, there is no neighborhood in which all daily needs are accessible on foot. Anywhere you choose to live -- Downtown Phoenix, Downtown Tempe, Old Town Scottsdale, etc. -- might offer walking access to some amenities but not all.

Using public transit for daily commuting is often possible, and in some cases two people living together might be able to share a car (My wife and I did for a few years.), but complete carlessness is never a condition one should enter into voluntarily in Phoenix. You'd just find yourself cut off from too many things.

[fcorrales80]

I live downtown along with many friends and co-workers. I am among the few that actually have a vehicle. When are you planning to move to Phoenix? By next December, the light rail line will be working and you will be connected to EVERY amenity a city has to offer. Access to SUPERTarget at 15th Ave. and Montebello, multiple grocery stores and pharmacies along the line, Walgreens, and CVS. If you are planning to work downtown then you are set. Walking to work from late late September until early May is a breeze. The other four months may be a little hot to walk long distances unless you love the heat and enojoy the excersize, which I do.

[Steve-o]

No car in Phoenix? Yikes. Its pretty apparent that youve never done any research on the area. Im not trying to harp on you, but its clear that you REALLY need to reconsider. Not only is everything spread out in the Valley (thus requiring a car), but public transportation is a laughable joke, even if its trying to get better. And the area experiences 5-6 months of 100 degrees and up. Youd be suicidal to want to move to the area w/o a car. Er, at least I would never attempt it. You do whats best for you.

[MaikeerinWA]

That's interesting, but overall I can't think of many major cities in the U.S. that require a car more than Phoenix.

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

I live downtown along with many friends and co-workers. I am among the few that actually have a vehicle. When are you planning to move to Phoenix? By next December, the light rail line will be working and you will be connected to EVERY amenity a city has to offer. Access to SUPERTarget at 15th Ave. and Montebello, multiple grocery stores and pharmacies along the line, Walgreens, and CVS. If you are planning to work downtown then you are set. Walking to work from late late September until early May is a breeze. The other four months may be a little hot to walk long distances unless you love the heat and enojoy the excersize, which I do.

[exit2lef]

I love living relatively close to Downtown and have used Valley Metro for commuting at various points in my 20 years here. I look forward to using the light rail when it is operating. Nevertheless, if I were completely carless, I would have a hard time doing any of the following:

-- Accepting an invitation to a social event at my boss' house. (He lives in an outer suburb.)
-- Attending my employer's annual Christmas party. (It's held at a resort on the outskirts of town.)
-- Doing my weekly shopping. (When you have a family to feed, there's too much to carry on a bus or train.)
-- Getting together with some of my closest friends from work. (Many of them live in places like Gilbert and Ahwatukee.)
-- Hiking at Spur Cross or the Superstitions. (Both are too far out to be served via public transit.)
-- Holding my current job. (My current work site is .75 miles -- without sidewalks -- from the nearest bus stop.)

I think that fcorrales80 and I probably agree more than we disagree, but I still think that for most residents, carlessness in Phoenix would be severely limiting. I'm an urbanista (a term I got from Ponderosa on this board), but I'm also a realist.

[wit-nit]

Without a car in downtown Phoenix in the middle of summer; how are you going to get those frozen food items and milk home on the light rail, or walking without them melting and spoiling. For an average family you'd have to have a pretty good size cooler on wheels.

[azkylady2]

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

I live downtown along with many friends and co-workers. I am among the few that actually have a vehicle. When are you planning to move to Phoenix? By next December, the light rail line will be working and you will be connected to EVERY amenity a city has to offer. Access to SUPERTarget at 15th Ave. and Montebello, multiple grocery stores and pharmacies along the line, Walgreens, and CVS. If you are planning to work downtown then you are set. Walking to work from late late September until early May is a breeze. The other four months may be a little hot to walk long distances unless you love the heat and enojoy the excersize, which I do.

that is simply not good information, 100 degress plus is not a little lot, its dangerously hot! walking for an older person would not be adviseable at all. NO car here in the summer is unrealistic, as you can barely stand to even climb into the extremely hot car let alone atempting to walk, no way!

[amatrine]

Its bad but doable. When I was in my early 20's , I lived near the college, and would catch the bus , had no car. I got groceries, and was in walking distance to my bank.
It is possible, if you do not plan on commuting very far.

Ama

[Synergy38]

Yeah to me that's a near impossibility. It's just not that kind of town. San Francisco, yes... Phoenix no.