Car free lifestyle? advise plz (Seattle, Bellevue: 2015, dermatologist, homes)

[CirculateRX]

I'm hoping to ask people who have 1 or 0 cars and bike/take public transit for pleasure, groceries, work, etc. What do you do during the bad bad winter days/weeks/months. My wife and I live in Phoenix Arizona but are thinking of moving somewhere walkable. She will most likely use the car while I will get work within a couple miles of home. We will sell our second vehicle and get an eBike as a second vehicle but I'm worried about the bad months. What's your experience?

[homesinseattle]

If you are talking about Seattle, there are lots of close in walkable neighborhoods here. Queen Anne, Madrona, Capitol Hill, Phinney Ridge, Green Lake, Fremont, Madison Park are a few.

[CirculateRX]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

If you are talking about Seattle, there are lots of close in walkable neighborhoods here. Queen Anne, Madrona, Capitol Hill, Phinney Ridge, Green Lake, Fremont, Madison Park are a few.

I'm asking what people do during the bad months. Do they ride bikes and take transit even through months of cold rain?

[homesinseattle]

I bike right through the winter, for me the weather just isn't that severe here. Maybe that's because I went to university in Vermont where it gets truly cold. There are a few days each year that it goes below freezing, very rare though. 38F is about my limit for bike riding, I layer, wear gloves and a balaclava when it gets that low. I take a vigorous 6 mile bike ride with hills every other day, that warms me up rather quickly. My wife and I walk pretty much any time of year too, just layer up. There is an extensive bus system here, fine to use in winter. This, walking, and an occasional Lyft/Uber (I do this fairly often) pretty much does the trick. I'm not a scooter guy but they seem to be all over in the Seattle city limits.

[CirculateRX]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

I bike right through the winter, for me the weather just isn't that severe here. Maybe that's because I went to university in Vermont where it gets truly cold. There are a few days each year that it goes below freezing, very rare though. 38F is about my limit for bike riding, I layer, wear gloves and a balaclava when it gets that low. I take a vigorous 6 mile bike ride with hills every other day, that warms me up rather quickly. My wife and I walk pretty much any time of year too, just layer up. There is an extensive bus system here, fine to use in winter. This, walking, and an occasional Lyft/Uber (I do this fairly often) pretty much does the trick. I'm not a scooter guy but they seem to be all over in the Seattle city limits.

What neighborhood do ya'll live in? and would you choose to pick that one over all the others again if you had the chance to change?

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by CirculateRX

What neighborhood do ya'll live in? and would you choose to pick that one over all the others again if you had the chance to change?

We’re in a neighborhood called Madison Park. Pretty central, walkable in the neighborhood, good buses. Although we aren’t going to move because we like this spot for our daughter, I guess my ideal neighborhood would be South Slope Queen Anne, walking distance to almost anything and often great views.

[flyingsaucermom]

I live in the 'burbs. Issaquah. Issaquah Highlands specifically, which has a elevation gain of, like, 300 ft from the "Old Town Issaquah" and the commercial district. For five years I used an ebike for most of our errands. I used it for: Costco, TJ's, Target, Jewelers, library, bookstore, coffee shops, doctor, dentist, specialist (dermatologist), kids' schools, post office, city meetings, various restaurants and probably other things too. I also used it for work as a dog walker/pet sitter. It was far often easier to use a bike than drive between clients.

So what I had to figure out:

1) Best routes. My neighborhood alone has an elevation gain or loss of several hundred feet. Getting to and from Issaquah proper was an additional elevation gain or loss. I quickly figured out which were best for braking, or ideally, not braking.

2) Clothing. I wore rain pants and rain jacket. Best I could afford. You need to make sure your hood can accommodate a helmet. Going down hill... at 30 mph... in the rain... and the dark... I found it incredibly useful to wear a ball cap under my helmet and, most often a mask (not the covid kind!). The kind of face and neck wrap that only exposes the eyes (think ski gear). Good for diverting rain. I also had these waterproof booties that went over my shoes, but I only used them in the worst of conditions.

3) Cold hands. I struggled with cold, wet hands most of all. The best I could find were waterproof mittens from REI. They did the job, but I never found the ideal solution.

4) Rad Power Bikes or a bike with good suppliers. My first bike was from 2015. It was awesome until the battery needed to be replaced and then I got my heart broken because the battery supplier, in China or Taiwan, had gone out of business and there simply were no other way of sourcing that specific battery. Bike was perfectly fine otherwise. Our current bikes are from Rad Power. They promise they will always have the parts and batteries for your bike. I haven't tested this promise since buying them in Nov 2019. I have a service appointment next week and I might have an update on that at that time. Not sure if this is for all brands, but it is taking two months to get my service appointment for the bikes. Blame Covid.

I hope that addresses some of your concerns. It's a great area for ebikes with a little preparation and accommodation.

[Botev1912]

Actually Phoenix has much longer periods of extreme weather when it's dangerous to go outside and you are stuck inside. Seattle has very few of those days.

[Chilkoot]

We live within a 15 minute walk to most services including a Safeway, medical, dental, haircuts, Pike Place Market and a ton of restaurants. Since moving here 3 years ago the weather hasn’t really been much of an issue. Most stuff can be timed around the rain, if needed. Although I’ve never used them, there are eBikes & scooters within a couple blocks if needed. We live in the north end of Belltown and at times haven’t taken the car out for a couple weeks.

[CrazyDonkey]

Why not get rid of both cars? Or just keep one car for getting out of town on weekends? Many, many people here commute Downtown, Bellevue, etc. via transit.

To me the most important factor in living car-less is living within walking distance of a major grocery store (but not too close). Some people want to be near a particular grocery store (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, PCC, etc.) - if keeping a car, you can make less frequent trips to load up at Costco or Walmart. You also want to be within a single transit-ride of the medical clinic/hospital where you get your primary care. Ideally, you also want to be within walking distance of at least one sizable park, and possibly a bike trail. Being within a single transit-ride to shops, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, museums, a movie theater, live music, etc., is a plus.