Do I need a car to live downtown silver springs? (Bethesda: neighborhoods, buying)

[haa62500]

I'll be moving there in a few weeks and was wondering if I needed to buy a car if I wanted to live downtown SS? I'll be working in Bethesda. Also, can anyone give me their thoughts on the downtown SS area?

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by haa62500

I'll be moving there in a few weeks and was wondering if I needed to buy a car if I wanted to live downtown SS? I'll be working in Bethesda. Also, can anyone give me their thoughts on the downtown SS area?

No, you won't need a car in downtown Silver Spring; I got by fine w/metro, buses and Uber. If you like to get from A to B via bike, that's also an option via bikeshare. Zipcar is also available if you want to take day trips to otherwise inaccessible parts of the region, too. Easiest way to downtown Bethesda is the J-bus (at least until the Purple Line opens in a couple years).

I enjoyed living in dTSS. It's certainly the most vibrant and lively part of the county and has great access to DC. It can be loud in the core w/nightlife and the train line, so live along East-West if you prefer a quieter, more suburban feel. The hallmark of the area is its diversity. You can eat a different cuisine every night of the month and if you walk a block then you'll hear 3 or 4 different languages. If that interests you, then great. If that scares you, then living in downtown Bethesda makes more sense.

There's a moderate amount of petty crime, so don't leave your laptop sitting in your car. But that's good advice for anywhere in the DC area.

[Tallie225]

Nope. Plenty of busses, cabs, uber.

[908Boi]

if its paid off i would recommend it

[Flamingo13]

It's one spring (not plural) - I would suggest a car as well.

[RTB12]

You don't need a car to get around Silver Spring, but you will want a car unless you want to be limited to the areas that public transportation goes (unless you're prepared to travel by Uber/Lyft/cab everywhere else). There's so much of the greater DC area that you'll want to explore that you'll need a car to truly be able to make the most of living here. You don't need a car right away. But I expect you'll end up buying one in the not too distant future.

[seanlax]

If you don't make frequent roads trips, you don't need a car in Silver Spring. You can quickly Uber, Metro, Bike anywhere you need, including to the train and airport. And if you do need a car every week or two, consider a carshare like Zipcar.

[MidValleyDad]

How are you getting to-from Work in Bethesda? If Metro that will be a long ride since they are on opposite ends of the Red Line.

[Turnerbro]

Yeah probably. Honestly carless living isn't ideal for most people. Despite what you may hear on CD.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by Turnerbro

Yeah probably. Honestly carless living isn't ideal for most people. Despite what you may hear on CD.

I owned a car and went out of my way to dump it. There are a number of dense neighborhoods inside the beltway where it's more pain than it's worth to have a car. Now that I'm outside the beltway again I purchased a new car, but before it was burning $150/m in parking fees alone just to have the pleasure of maintenance and gridlock anytime I wanted to use the dam thing. At least when I was forced onto the road in an Uber or bus I'd be fiddling on my phone or reading rather than paying attention to the traffic. If OP's job is in downtown Bethesda it's far, far easier to just grab the bus rather than deal with driving and parking.