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I live in a small college town, and everything is in easy walking distance from my house. Some things are significantly cheaper or greater choice in town, but we basically have all the necessities (grocery store, movie theater, plenty of doctors, dentists, chiropractors, couple of gyms, big library, restaurants, bars, clothing shops, toy store, music/dance/martial arts classes, tattoo parlor, chocolatier, etc.).
We have a local "errand runner" who acts as a taxi for car-less folks who need to get into town. Primary reasons for this are specialist medical care, travel (airport, train/bus station), and specialist shopping. The main in-town services that I miss are dry-cleaners (you can send it out from the local men's shop), children's clothing, shoe store, and shoe-repair. We do have an ambulance service, so for emergency care you would have a ride.
We do have cars, but I've known a number of young singles who got by without. The only one I know of who was very unhappy with this was because there was not a place of worship for her in town (all major and many minor Christian denominations are covered, but basically nothing else).
This thread caught my eye. My husband is planning on retiring this year and I would love to live somewhere walkable and with great public transportation. As we age, it concerns me that at some point we won't be able to drive anymore, so being someplace with great public transportation is a must.
I would love to live in NYC for that reason alone. However, I'll have to win the lottery to make that a reality And that's the rub---any place with excellent public transportation plus is walkable will cost quite a bit of money. So, I do understand that finding such a place and making it work (if possible) means making lots of compromises, such as a very small living space that doesn't have all the amenities that one would like to have...
Does anyone live in an area where you literally don't need a car to get around?
The last town I lived in, Vienna Virginia, I could walk or bike or metro train to anywhere I needed to go. Three grocery stores, restaurants, merchants for any possible need, a huge mall, 5 gyms one of which was my place of work. It was great.
Now I live in an area where I am literally stranded without a car. The only places within humane biking distance are two shopping centers, and it takes almost 2 hours round trip.
]The East Lakeview area of Chicago has a walkability score of 95. There are several full service grocery stores (Jewel-Osco and Whole Foods) plus a small WalMart, various convenience stores, etc. Several bus lines and access to multiple el stops within 3 blocks.
Many, many people forego cars as parking is quite limited (especially during Cubs games!) and there's lots of food, shopping, and entertainment options available close by.
Unlimited CTA passes are pretty reasonable:
1-Day CTA Pass for $10
3-Day CTA Pass for $20
7-Day CTA Pass for $28
7-Day CTA/Pace Pass* for $33
30-Day CTA/Pace Pass* for $100
I like taking two or maximum three days trips to cities where I don't need a car, to walk and smell the streets. My father would roll over in his grave if he knew: he was a car guy through and through, with his heyday in the late 1940s through early 1960s.
Though in his last years, dad loved to walk the streets of San Francisco when he'd visit me there, twenty years ago. He learned to love mass transit in the last years of his life, to both save money and experience life in his twilight. He knew it, too. I think at the end he was a bit disappointed the mass transit where he lived, where I grew up (where I was a kid, with mom and dad) was abysmal. I had no idea such a thing existed until age 16. That being metro Detroit, btw: NOT transit friendly, unless they've upgraded.
I used buses and trains often as humanly possible in San Francisco. Driving into that is a truly dumb idea if you don't have to, from anywhere outside the city and county of SF. I would, however, often take my motorcycle in which is actually an order of magnitude easier than via car.
I live in Seattle. Your summary seems accurate enough. The bus system is OK, the train is indeed only that one line at the moment which is weird for a city of 750K and metro of 3 million (source: Wikipedia).
I have hopped into most cities you mention with no car and done great for a couple days. Getting lost...just for a few minutes...is even fun to get me out of a comfort zone. "Lost" is meaningless these days, with a Smartphone and credit card deep enough to buy me out of damn near anything. Exception is Paris, I've yet to do that.
London is astounding, and of all the cities mentioned other than Manhattan is definitely the best for getting around with no car. The French national I knew in London had no car, lived on the East End, and we got around great with her flat mere blocks from the train station, then from there to anywhere in town.
I found San Diego interesting without a car. Three days on foot and using the trains and buses there was OK. I'd personally rank it in there with Seattle: decent, though nothing great. The trains seemed to be bum taxis, to me, with fares unenforced. Something for you to think about. I got around well indeed on the trains and buses for modest fares, including a dirt-simple trip to Tijuana (get on downtown, exit at San Ysidro (end of the line), walk into Mexico and take your chances!).
That lax fare collection thing seemed a bit odd in San Diego, but then again they're not exactly enforced in Seattle, either: wave your pass over the reader, board the train, though the reader is not a gate per-se. The buses all have card readers, as of roughly four years ago, so you've got to pay to play. My firm gives us ORCA cards (all-access, all-systems more-or-less including the ferries), which I use wherever possible so I really don't pay attention to fares.
San Francisco. Not all neighborhoods are easily accessible, but you absolutely don't need a car to see 50% of the city and 90% of the things that you want to be around. I lived for 2 years without a car and never had any issues.
Trust me, Boston's train system is not "great." Unless you consider taking 1 hour to travel 6 miles "great." That's at least how my public transit commute would be- on a bike, same trip takes me 30 minutes. Luckily, in my neighborhood (Brighton Center), I can easily walk everywhere.
Trust me, Boston's train system is not "great." Unless you consider taking 1 hour to travel 6 miles "great." That's at least how my public transit commute would be- on a bike, same trip takes me 30 minutes. Luckily, in my neighborhood (Brighton Center), I can easily walk everywhere.
All the years we lived in Boston, and later in Chelsea, we never needed a car. I miss the car free life!
The last town I lived in, Vienna Virginia, I could walk or bike or metro train to anywhere I needed to go. Three grocery stores, restaurants, merchants for any possible need, a huge mall, 5 gyms one of which was my place of work. It was great.
Now I live in an area where I am literally stranded without a car. The only places within humane biking distance are two shopping centers, and it takes almost 2 hours round trip.
You can't live a car free life in every part of Vienna. It all depends on where exactly you are living. What about going to the doctor? Was your doctor's office within walking distance?
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And that's the rub---any place with excellent public transportation plus is walkable will cost quite a bit of money. So, I do understand that finding such a place and making it work (if possible) means making lots of compromises, such as a very small living space that doesn't have all the amenities that one would like to have...
