Living without a car in Santa Fe? (appointed, school)

[DrinkMagaritas]

Soon I will be living in Santa Fe. I do not own a car and won't be able to afford one before winter comes.

I just got back from visiting and saw they had a couple bus lines and I think for the most part during the warm months a bike will be fine. I am nervous about winter though.

I am moving from the south but originally a New Englander. How harsh are the winters??? Anyone with experiance of living there without a car?

[cynanthus]

Winters here are cold but not nearly as harsh as New England. We get an average of 2 feet of snow spread out from November - March. If the places you want to go are on a bus line, you could make it work - but you'll need to plan your schedule around when the buses run. This is a small city so the buses don't run as frequently as many people would like.

I've lived in cities like Boston and DC with no car and never had a problem. However, I think living here without a car in Santa Fe will be really hard. I've never tried it, so it might work for you. Where will you be living, though? Will you be right on a bus line?

[okgo]

I've lived here for four years and I don't drive (though my partner does and we have a car). Getting around isn't easy, but you can do it. The buses are not great -- they were unreliable to begin with and ran infrequently, and budget cuts have only made that worse, even as ridership's grown. If you're used to a functional mass transit system, you're going to be disappointed, as most lines only run every half-hour or so at best. The schedules are online (sort of -- they're .pdfs and they're annoying); google 'Santa Fe Trails Bus Schedule' and they'll come up. If you haven't chosen a place to live, keep those bus schedules in mind, and try to live as close as possible to school or work.

The good news is that it's a walkable city; depending on what you do and where you live, you might be able to get most places by foot, and buses run past all the grocery stores (TJs, Whole Foods, Albertsons, etc.) and downtown. Biking is another option, though we are on the side of a mountain -- I don't suggest a fixed-gear ride! But even in winter, you can bike. Snow doesn't stick around that long. Even though the road crews take forever to plow, with the sun and the dryness of the climate all but the heaviest snowfalls melt away pretty fast. You can even get snow tires for your bike. My boss hasn't had a car for years and bikes in all weather; it's not so uncommon here, and people at any local bike shop can tell you what you need to stay comfortable, even in winter. Biking in summer can be harder, actually, because of monsoon season. Biking in thunder, lightning, hail and 1"+ an hour rainfall is an adventure!

And since nobody told me this when I moved here: just because it's a desert doesn't mean winter's not cold. You definitely want to bring boots and warm things and a coat. There's not a lot of snow, but it does get cold.