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Growing up, my family lived in an apartment for several years, and didn't have a car until I was 6 or so. This isn't unusual in urban cities, though yes it's more common to go car-less when there's one or two of you.
Growing up, my family lived in an apartment for several years, and didn't have a car until I was 6 or so. This isn't unusual in urban cities, though yes it's more common to go car-less when there's one or two of you.
I mean, it's fairly easy when you have 1 child, but more than that and good luck living in a 2 bedroom 1k square foot apartment. A 3 bedroom in Seattle runs about what? 2.5-3k a month especially if you're trying to live in or near downtown.
It's the economics like that why families don't really move to the urban core en masse like singles and couples do and why metro areas like Dallas or Houston are booming.
I mean you still can live in Dallas without a car. I live in a "generic boring" suburb of Dallas and get around easily without a car, mostly by walking and the DART. I imagine it is a lot easier within Dallas itself and if you use things like Lyft and Uber if you have to use a car.
I live in victory park (in Dallas) and my roomate doesn't have a car and I litteraly never use mine on the weekends unless I'm going out of town. I would have no interest in owning one if I didn't need mine for work. Cars are nothing but money pits.
That area is much less urban on the ground than at a 10 degree angle from a distance. Lots of parking garages, not very dense. Many buildings have setbacks. Many even have driveways to their front doors, which screams "suburban."
I don't think there are any buildings built in the last 10-15 years in VP & Uptown that have setbacks. Anything built post-WWII until about 2000 in Dallas and most sunbelt cities have setbacks. I know the Crescent does, which was built in the 80s. They actually did a bit of remodeling in the front and side of the building to open it up to the street more. Obviously this won't move buildings up to the sidewalk, but within the setback, they can build a large patio extending to the sidewalk or perhaps a park.
This used to be a closed off courtyard - Now they opened up it more so when a pedestrian walks by, he/she may be curious to check out what's there:
Across the street, is a strip mall most likely built in the 90s. The New Urbanism boom didn't really hit Dallas until probably around the late 90s/early 00s, with the development of West Village in Uptown. From that point on, buildings began to focus on the pedestrian. Many buildings built before that point have been trying to figure out ways to become more pedestrian oriented without necessarily having to demolish and start over. The Crescent is one example.
I mean, it's fairly easy when you have 1 child, but more than that and good luck living in a 2 bedroom 1k square foot apartment. A 3 bedroom in Seattle runs about what? 2.5-3k a month especially if you're trying to live in or near downtown.
It's the economics like that why families don't really move to the urban core en masse like singles and couples do and why metro areas like Dallas or Houston are booming.
There were two of us kids actually. We shared a room until age 7.
Agreed though on price being a factor in the growth of some cities vs. others. Seattle's population is booming right now but that's due to booming companies, and families are probably a small percentage of our growth compared to Dallas. Employers routinely tell the media that they find it easier to hire singles. Portland is probably somewhere in the middle.
There were two of us kids actually. We shared a room until age 7.
Agreed though on price being a factor in the growth of some cities vs. others. Seattle's population is booming right now but that's due to booming companies, and families are probably a small percentage of our growth compared to Dallas. Employers routinely tell the media that they find it easier to hire singles. Portland is probably somewhere in the middle.
From friends and family, they say Seattle is really only booming in the technology sector (ie Amazon). If your not a highly skilled programmer or IT related function, the economy is not nearly as good, and people outside that sphere are really struggling to keep up with the COL.
From friends and family, they say Seattle is really only booming in the technology sector (ie Amazon). If your not a highly skilled programmer or IT related function, the economy is not nearly as good, and people outside that sphere are really struggling to keep up with the COL.
Well Seattle has one if the least diverse economies in the US. Statistically its actually a much less diverse economy than Houston. But with tech booming, Seattle is booming.
On the flip side both Dallas and Portland have far more diverse economies than Seattle.
Well Seattle has one if the least diverse economies in the US. Statistically its actually a much less diverse economy than Houston. But with tech booming, Seattle is booming.
On the flip side both Dallas and Portland have far more diverse economies than Seattle.
I would have to disagree with you that Portland has a far more diverse economy than Seattle. Portland actually has no Fortune 500 companies in the city Proper. There is Intel and Nike, but they are in the suburbs. The only reason Intel is in Hillsboro is due to a cost cutting strategy but Intel Silicon Valley made during the 90s. Despite it's name, Portland doesn't really have a lot of cargo and shipping industry anymore, and it pales compared to Seattle. Seattle-Tacoma has a deep water port and ships/receives some of the largest tonnage on the West Coast. Because of this, it spills out to other industries like logistics and the like.
From friends and family, they say Seattle is really only booming in the technology sector (ie Amazon). If your not a highly skilled programmer or IT related function, the economy is not nearly as good, and people outside that sphere are really struggling to keep up with the COL.
Also true of Portland. It's also difficult to live car-free in Portland these day. The best public transportation services are in the most expensive neighborhoods. Same for walkable areas and entertainment where rents are very high even for tiny studio apartments While Portland isn't as expensive as Seattle (yet).
From friends and family, they say Seattle is really only booming in the technology sector (ie Amazon). If your not a highly skilled programmer or IT related function, the economy is not nearly as good, and people outside that sphere are really struggling to keep up with the COL.
Or you could be in construction like I am! Or an architect, engineer, developer, material supplier, whatever. Or any other industry that's part of the "multiplier effect."
We're expensive if you want 800 sf and a parking space in a core district, or a 2000 sf house. But housing is 1/2 the price of San Francisco. Portland would be 1/3.
And many people make up for that by taking less square footage and skipping the car. A recent Seattle Times article showed that the average parking per new apartment was 0.6 spaces. This is related to that point about singles and couples being more likely to take jobs here. Seattle builds lots of new apartments, but not so many parking spots | The Seattle Times
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