can you get around in Seattle without a car? (Tacoma: 2009, to rent)

[exit82]

It's not so much the transfers that bothered me- it's the wait- -like coming home to West Seattle from downtown on the 54- say I want to stop at Thriftway at Morgan junction to pick up something for dinner- well- it takes me 10 minutes to pick up something- 3 minutes to get back to the bus stop- then either wait for 15 minutes for the next bus (in the rain) or (more often) see it pass in front of me while I'm waiting across the street for the light to change (in the rain)- it's doable- just not fun.

[cheerchix]

I agree, taking public transit is not the problem it's just the getting on and off and waiting in between that is a killer. it turns a 15 min ride into an hour long ordeal

Columbia city sounds pretty decent, i love walkable neighborhoods, like a mini city inside a suburb is perfect for me, and if it has a farmer's market that's even better . North Beacon hill is something i will also check out. How about the Queen Anne and Capitol Hill area?

[Anders15]

Can you get around the Fort Lewis area without a car?

[Ira500]

Capitol Hill and Queen Anne are both great neighborhoods, but you'd need to get downtown to catch the light rail to the airport. Parts of Capitol Hill would be within walking distance to the Westlake station to catch the light rail.
Everyone has different tastes. Capitol Hill and Queen Ane are among the most densely populated neighborhoods in Seattle. There's more to do and they are closer to services, stores, restaurants, etc, but they're also noisier, more crowded, and perceived as being more dangerous.
If you were interested in living outside the Seattle city limits, Burien and Renton are both quick bus rides to the airport. Renton is an old downtown with great restaurants and bars and the Cedar River trail, 15 minute bus ride to the airport, and 20 is bus ride to downtown Seattle and to downtown Bellevue.
Burien is closer to the airport, and has a really charming downtown . Both Renton and Burien also have farmer's markets.

[cheerchix]

i'de be curious to get some feedback about the light rail once it's up and running. it's supposed to be a 34 min ride from first to last stop, which isn't so bad. I wonder how many people are planning on using the light rail instead of driving...

[Ira500]

Some of the bus routes that run along some of the light rail route are being discontinued( The 194 express to the airport, for example). So while they might get some people out of their cars and onto the light rail, they'll also get people off buses and onto the light rail.

[cheerchix]

I bet you it's going to be crowded on the light rail. Everyone can afford to take their car off the road these days.

[Anders15]

So no one knows about that area I'm guessing.

[M3 Mitch]

If you don't have a car now, you can use ZipCar when you first get to Seattle, so you don't have to rush your car shopping. Step daughter lives in Seattle proper and does not have a car, in some parts of Seattle parking is such a PITA that it's not practical to drive. I mean you can drive to where you want to go, but then you can't park or you have to pay $15-$20 to park.

You'll probably want a car or at least to join ZipCar, but if you select your location well, you can avoid commuting to work in the car anyway.

Good luck with your move.

[cheerchix]

Anders15 - i'm not familiar with the area...whereabouts is it exactly?