Can you get around well in Charlotte without driving?
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I say it depends on where you live but also very much HOW you live. If some inconvenience (say on a 1 - 10 scale a solid 6) would bother you then buy a cheap car. If you want to pass on where you plan on living and maybe a general idea of what you are willing to deal with then we could certain give you more guidance. Welcome to Charlotte!
Charlotte is pretty good by southern mid-size city standards, since it has the half cent sales tax to help augment service. But the system works best if your bus will take you to the things you need, along a major artery. Most of the connections are at the uptown center, and the wait times can be aggravating for even one connection.
The major streets have busses every 15 to 20 minutes in the mornings and afternoons, so that's not too bad. But the waits can be more like 30 to 40 minutes during the mid-day and weekends ... heck you could probably walk a couple of miles in that amount of time!
Yeah, you can "get by" without a car. But if you're trying to save money, odds are one of the first things you'll want to buy when you've got some saved up ... is an automobile.
Yep, I'll say it for the fiftieth time here - it does depend on where you live, and also where you want to go. I've lived for a couple years without a car here, in the Plaza-Midwood/NoDa area, and while some things are easy, I found I was really limited in what I could reasonably do. I can walk or ride my bike to the grocery store or the library - but in the pouring rain, no thanks. I ended up spending a LOT more on groceries, because rather than getting 2 weeks worth of groceries at a time, I was making more frequent trips, each time buying stuff I wouldn't have otherwise.
If you're living on campus with a meal plan, and you have a bike and friends who'll give you rides when the weather warrants, you're good to go! But if you think you want to explore Charlotte often, plan on it taking a while using the transit system. The SouthPark/UNCC bus only runs during weekdays, leaving your only option on weekends to take the bus into downtown & transfer. I'm a patient person, but after riding the bus for this long, I'm ready to join the driving populace again. I feel like I have a lot more options that way - I could go see an independent film in Ballantyne!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
