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I understand that it might be a pain in the behind to haul lumber or a couch home or what ever, but people make it tough on themselves.
Living in the suburbs and commuting to the city for work or entertainment is your own fault. No one forced this situation on you but yourself. No one told you that you had to buy a 50lb bag of flour or enough groceries to feed a small army for a week.
I saw your post in the Colorado forum it was directed to a thread that I started about living without a car in Denver. //www.city-data.com/forum/denve...ng-denver.html. Please read this thread, as it can help you make a good decision.
I am also disabled, though I can drive; many times it is difficult and not possible. Also, I am a strong advocate of using a car less. Among, my many problems I have a mobility disorder so I have qualified for the Paratransit Bus in the area called Access-a-Ride. It cost me $3.50 for a ride, door to door. The nice thing about this is that RTD encourages the disabled to ride regular buses when they feel better or able, so all buses and trains are free.
The Denver Metro area has a great public transportation system govern by RTD. The Regional Transportation District Home Page They always had a good bus system but in the past 12 years, light rail lines were completed. Now, Denver is in the process of constructing the largest single buildout project of commuter rail in the nation--adding to the alreading existing rail. It is being funded by a permanent increase in sales tax which was approved by the voters. This is a multi-modal project under Fastracks FasTracks Home. This includes rail, more buses, call and rides, park and rides and Bus Rapid Transit.
Denver is a beautiful clean city that is the right size. I am originally from New York State; grew up near Buffalo which had a terrible transit system for the metro area. I have lived and worked in New York City--I know what a large city is like. NYC has great transit but is just too big. I have been here for almost 30 years and I am stunned by the commitment to public transit that Colorado has made--even back 30 years. Today, Denver is in the process of building and planning Transit Oriented Development (TOD); I am sure you would be familiar, being an architect.
I encourage you to investigate the cities and neigborhoods of the Metro Denver area. Denver has some great neighborhoods that are extremely walkable. Downtown Denver is growing rapidly as a resident community that is attracting exciting venues and stores to service those people who desire to live downtown. In addition, I would also look at areas in the suburbs which have good transit locations. If you are into a younger college town that has wonderful transit, then I would look at Boulder; if you are into a more sedate western town--look at Longmont. I believe you can find a nice neighborhood that is transit friendly to the disabled.
You could try Pittsburgh. It's pretty close to youngstown and has great public transit within the city limits. The city is also very walkable too.
Pittsburgh is a very good suggestion if you want to stay close to Youngstown. There are a lot of great neighborhoods downtown that won't break the bank to live in. Plus, it has LOTS of the older architecture that you are fond of.
Portland, OR (which has been recommended by several posters so far) is a great city, but it is WAY more expensive than Youngstown, as are many of the other west coast cities (SD, LA, SF, and Seattle).
Thanks for the replies everyone! I wouldn't have known about Denver's commitment to mass transportation. I also didn't realize so many in the city of Minneapolis lived without a car.
Staying close to Youngstown wouldn't be that important to me. My family lives in the Canton/Massillon area of Ohio, so I've already been thinking about moving to Cleveland. But, it never hurts to have other options.
I understand that it might be a pain in the behind to haul lumber or a couch home or what ever, but people make it tough on themselves.
Living in the suburbs and commuting to the city for work or entertainment is your own fault. No one forced this situation on you but yourself. No one told you that you had to buy a 50lb bag of flour or enough groceries to feed a small army for a week.
No, of course not. Live AND work in the suburbs, since the city is overpriced. However, some suburbs have public transportation, and some suburbs do not.
Take Florida:
Sarasota and Bradenton do. Sebring and Port Charlotte do not.
I understand that it might be a pain in the behind to haul lumber or a couch home or what ever, but people make it tough on themselves.
Living in the suburbs and commuting to the city for work or entertainment is your own fault. No one forced this situation on you but yourself. No one told you that you had to buy a 50lb bag of flour or enough groceries to feed a small army for a week.
What? I just mean that some cities have better layouts and transportation systems than others. There are plenty of cities I've been to (particularly in the Sun Belt) that have less effective public transportation systems. Often these cities were designed with cars in mind. Parking isn't that tough and public trans sucks, so it makes more sense to drive. I'm not talking about suburbs. I'm talking about cities.
I mean, I hear what you're saying. Heck, I live in Chicago! I rarely drive. Not every city has as many options.
What? I just mean that some cities have better layouts and transportation systems than others. There are plenty of cities I've been to (particularly in the Sun Belt) that have less effective public transportation systems. Often these cities were designed with cars in mind. Parking isn't that tough and public trans sucks, so it makes more sense to drive. I'm not talking about suburbs. I'm talking about cities.
I mean, I hear what you're saying. Heck, I live in Chicago! I rarely drive. Not every city has as many options.
Yes, what you say is true. However, there are glaring exceptions. I grew up in a suburbs of Buffalo, Cheektowaga, just east of the Buffalo City Line. The public transportation to the suburbs was dismal, very few routes, running sparodically. Buffalo is an older eastern city and the second largest in New York state and it could not provide good transportation to the whole area.
Denver is a newer Western City but it had a tradition of providing transportation to the suburbs. It was surprising when I got here, about 30 years ago, how good the system was at the time. There were outlying Park and Rides, Regional Buses, Express Buses--all from the suburbs. This is not what I expected from my preconceived notion of a Western Metro Area. I was even very amazed that they had streetcars running way out into outlying areas, not too many years after the city was founded.
Today Colorado voters have made a commitment, numerous times, for support public transportation. So, we have buses that go way out to the suburbs and out to the mountains and working light rail lines, running from the City to the Southern Suburbs. With the new project, under Fastracks, the metro area will have much more in the future--more rail, more buses.
Buffalo was about the same size as Denver is Today, in the 1950s, when I grew up. It was more dense--yet it failed to provide good transporation to the area. Yes, the city of Buffalo had good buses but I am talking about the whole metro area. Today, Buffalo has less than half-the people with an very small unfinished rail, and buses that are still not adequate to the suburbs.
I live in the suburbs of Denver and I use the transportation often with the frequent buses, park and rides, express and regional buses, call and rides and in a few years a rail station will be within walking distance of my house.
All this in a new Western State that some would consider, wrongly, not as sophisticated than the "Empire State" of New York which cannot see beyond New York City.
There are many cities in the West, the Southwest and all the SunBelt that are building mass transit systems. So, in many areas of the country we can live carfree and
livecontent
By the way, I love Chicago--a great city to live carfree.
I can't think of anything else. St. Louis has a pretty good metrolink and metrobus system, but I already posted about that.
I'm not sure it's as good as Denver's, but it's pretty good itself.
And you'd be closer to family in Ohio. It'd be a long drive still, though. According to Google Maps it's like 9 hours from St. Louis to Canton. But I'd think a plane ride (if you/they would want to do that) wouldn't be as long. The weather from St. Louis to most of Ohio is about the same I think. St. Louis might be a little warmer.
The city is pretty affordable as well. Usually you can get a decent house for $150k-$200k, or a nice one BR for $750 a month or less. The architecture is interesting as well. There's a community working to restore the city's historic buildings (especially in the Old North) and Blogs like Ecology of Absense and Built St. Louis chronicle parts of St. Louis, though mostly focusing on the bad. Built St. Louis is run by architect Rob Powers, but he lives in Chicago, so he hasn't had a chance to update the site in a while.
I couldn't tell you anything about jobs.
If you plan to stay within maybe 3 hours of Canton, you could try Cincinnati, Cleveland (as you mentioned), Pittsburgh. So, if you want to stay in the area of your family you could check out the public transportation in those cities.
St. Louis is nice, but it's up to you. I've heard the MetroLink is pretty good. It's pretty crowded before/after ballgames, football games, and hockey games, though. I have heard St. Louis MetroLink called clean compared to New York's. And I think it's relatively safe. Just know where you're going.
[LEFT]Practical Info - OPERATION
[SIZE=-1]04:30 until midnight[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Forest Park-DeBaliviere - Emmerson Park: every 5 minutes during peak hours, and every 7.5 minutes at other times;[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]on outer branches very 10 minutes during peak hours, every 15 minutes at other times[/SIZE] - FARES (2006)
[SIZE=-1]All tickets are valid on MetroLink and buses:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Single Ride - $2.00 (no transfer)
2-Hour Pass - $2.25
10-Ride Adult 2-Hour Ticket Book - $20.00 (including transfer)
2-Hour Pass purchased at Lambert Airport stations - $3.50[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]One-Day Pass - $4.50
Weekly Pass - $19.00 (Monday-Sunday)
Monthly Pass - $60.00[/SIZE][/LEFT]
Here's a station list as well
MetroLink Station List (http://www.metrostlouis.org/MetroLink/stationlist.asp - broken link)
Monday-Friday there is also the Metro-Call-A-Ride for the disabled only. Sat and Sun is open to anyone.
Metro Call-A-Ride Overview (http://www.metrostlouis.org/MetroCallARide/CAROverview.asp - broken link) However, it sounds like it would be just as good to walk to a metrolink station. Basically, they'll pick you up within 3/4 a mile from a MetroLink station, take you to the station, and put you on the train. If you can walk to the MetroLink station I don't see any need for this.
Last edited by STLCardsBlues1989; 02-04-2008 at 06:42 PM..
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A Great Place for you--Denver, Colorado
So, in many areas of the country we can live carfree and
