Life without a car? (condo, public schools, to live)

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by STLCardsBlues1989

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.

Here's a little chart of MetroLink Image:STL MetroLink.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From St. Louis Union Station you can easily walk to Scottrade for Blues games and concerts.

[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.

Nice Information. I did not realize the St. Louis has such a extensive system of public transportation. I was exploring the website and it seems that bus system is quite large and the rail has a fairly nice start. It is really impressive that the system was built and is governed by two states--Missouri and Illinois.

Though St. Louis is smaller then Denver--I think the metropolitan area, including, Illinois, is larger. I have only driven through; never explored the city.

Livecontent

[wickedripeplum]

Hell you might be able to get around Canton pretty well without a car. I've only been there once, but SARTA did a good job of getting me around Canton and environs.

[JR_C]

Thanks again for the replies. I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to stay local, or make a big leap to a place like Denver. St. Louis is certainly another possibility.

SARTA is a great county wide system. But, there are other factors that keep me from Canton. I tried working in Canton briefly while still in college. Because I had to transfer, my commute was about 1h 40min each way. I would have to find a place to live that is close to the same bus line that passes where I would work. Unfortunately, (last time I checked) most of the architecture firms in Canton are spread across the city. In Youngstown, there are several firms clustered downtown.

[Katarina Witt]

I have to say, JR_C, there are a few cities you have been surprised about when reading posts from their residents such as Denver and Minneapolis. I'd like to say, give up your preconceived notions. I am from Beaver Falls, PA, I'd guess you've heard of it. Near Youngstown. Lots of people who've never been very far from home. (I catch h*** from the Pittsburghers whenever I say that, but it's true. Some of them will even acknowledge it.)

Anyway, back to my point, lots of people there w/preconceived ideas about what the rest of the country is like w/o ever having been there. Denver? Tons of snow (not true), rampant suburban sprawl (maybe a little true, but lots of people do commute suburb to suburb as someone mentioned in this thread, or as I do, work in the same burb where I live), in the mountains (not true), and of course they wouldn't have any public transportation b/c they are all married to their cars b/c they all live in suburbs and commute two hours each way every day (def not true). OR, we are all riding horses to work! I wish! I would visit different cities' websites, look at their public transit systems. There may be a few more surprises in store for you.

[JR_C]

That's why I asked the question; to open my eyes to other possibilities. I was expecting to be surprised. I'd rather hear from people with personal experience before I start searching for every city's public transit website.

[Katarina Witt]

My point is it shouldn't be surprising that a major city like Denver has a public transit system. I mean, you might not know what kind of system, but you should expect a system, even in, say, Omaha. BTW, we got tired of cleaning up horse**** out here, that's why we voted in Fastracks! That is a joke!

[jonjj]

I could live without a car in Baltimore but I still have one for emergencies and to get out of town. I walk to work or catch the metro on a bad-weather day. The key in any city is to live where mass transit is convenient. There are neighborhoods in Baltimore that only have bus use or are quite a distance from work. I chose to buy a home that is convenient to work and the downtown area. If I didn't, a car would be a necessity.

[Katarina Witt]

I think it should be the goal of a transit system that everyone lives within, say, 1 mile of a stop.

[Chicago60614]

Chicago is very easy to live in without a car, but I suppose most people would assume that anyway.

We have 11 subway/EL routes radiating out from downtown in all directions, and another 11 commuter lines that go, in some cases, over 50 miles into the suburbs.

About 620,000 rides are given on the subway/El system on an average weekday, 310,000 on the commuter lines, and 1,000,000 bus rides.

There are something like 154 bus routes, and 18 of them are 24 hour routes that never stop running. 2 of the subway lines run 24 hours a day as well.

Subway/El system:



Suburban railway map:



There's also PACE, which is a suburban bus system with 240 routes, but they don't run as often, sometimes only once an hour.

In the city the trains usually run an average of 2-5 minutes at rush hour, 5-8 minutes during non rush periods, and 8-15 minutes later at night. The buses in the city run anywhere from 2-10 minutes at rush hour and 8-20 minutes at slow periods.

[JR_C]

Katiana, I do expect that most cities have some kind of mass transit. But just because they're there, doesn't mean they're easy to use, or a suitable replacement for a car. This is hard to know without first-hand experience.