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Curious about communities where having a car is optional. I am fairly young, mid 30's, but on my way to not being able to drive any longer due to health reasons. Having a young daughter means that I must still be able to get around to at least SOME places, even if my husband is not home to drive us. I have always been a very independent person, and this disability is creating a lot of anxiety for me. I don't need to be able to get everywhere, but being able to walk my daughter to a park or to walk to pick up a few basic groceries would be great. Being able to walk to a downtown of sorts would be beyond my expectations, but would be amazing if it existed! We would prefer areas with milder weather, as we much prefer spring/summer/autumn activities over winter activities... I don't fare well in the cold! So basically, some of what we are looking for is this:
* Fairly walkable area (where I won't get mowed down crossing streets!)
* Shorter/milder winters (if there is a winter at all)
* Hopefully a few more sunny days than the PNW
* Kid friendly with decent schools
* Preferably a smaller community (not a big city!!!)
* Decent job outlook for DH in either trades or law enforcement (I'm not sure how much longer I will be employed, but I am currently employed as a hydrologist - not sure how much longer I'll be able to pull off the field work. )
I'm sure I'm forgetting some other important stuff, but that should get me started, I hope? I looked on that WalkScore website, which was cool... but as far as I can tell, you can't really just plug in a state and say "where's the most walkable neighborhoods"...
help? I'm really afraid that I'm going to eventually get mired down here in an area that is completely car dependent. Facing the fact that I may not be able to drive much longer is a very scary prospect, indeed.
Last edited by jayjaybean; 02-23-2010 at 04:02 PM..
Reason: spelling!
You could try Lakeland, Fla. about 94,000 population. Its about 35 miles from Tampa and 55 from Orlando. Its a very self contained city. Shopping, Medical, schools. It has a fairly decent bus system and the city is small enough to get to most of your needs by bus. It has a beautiful downtown and as its name suggest numerous Lakes. Several you can walk around. There is employment in the area, several companies are based there or have large operations there. It is as no place is, an employment Mecca presently. It also puts one in range of both of the two large Metros within 45 min to 1 hour drive. Hope this helps. Being some 50 miles inland it offers a buffer from the hurricanes, but they are far an few to begin with on the gulf side of Fla.
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Huntington on Long Island. My sister lived there for a couple years without a car. There are many places on Long Island you can live without a car since we have trains and buses to take you around; unlike most suburbs of the country.
I imagine that any "town" would be a place where one would need a car. You CAN live anywhere without a car - many people do - but is it a pleasant way of life?
Huntington on Long Island. My sister lived there for a couple years without a car. There are many places on Long Island you can live without a car since we have trains and buses to take you around; unlike most suburbs of the country.
I used my bike almost exclusively on Long Island, unless the weather totally crapped out or if I knew that I would be out after 9pm.
Excellent training device I would routinely ride every morning fro Sound Beach to Oakdale (about 27 miles) to my coaching job, then to my advertising job then back home. I easily put in 70 miles a day.
I frequently rode from Sound Beach to Huntington or to Greenpoint.
For that list, I would suggest almost any major state university's hometown. Places like College Station, Texas (home to Texas A&M University), State College, PA (Penn State), etc.
Most such college towns are inherently walkable for the most part or have bus transit.
college towns in the south will have mild winters
Texas is blessed with about 300 sunny days...you might get tired of the sun if anything! lol
Very kid-friendly; all those profs send their kids to the same public schools, and being small town, the overall atmosphere would mean the schools are pretty damn good
College towns have historically held up strong local economies because education is one of those few sectors that are almost recession-resistant. Your husband will likely get good job prospects.
For that list, I would suggest almost any major state university's hometown. Places like College Station, Texas (home to Texas A&M University), State College, PA (Penn State), etc.
Most such college towns are inherently walkable for the most part or have bus transit.
college towns in the south will have mild winters
Texas is blessed with about 300 sunny days...you might get tired of the sun if anything! lol
Very kid-friendly; all those profs send their kids to the same public schools, and being small town, the overall atmosphere would mean the schools are pretty damn good
College towns have historically held up strong local economies because education is one of those few sectors that are almost recession-resistant. Your husband will likely get good job prospects.
Good luck!
Basically any college town would probably do. You might be able to find work with the public safety/campus police department too. Places like: Clemson SC, Chapel Hill NC, Athens GA, Auburn AL, Troy AL, Tuscaloosa AL, Oxford MS, Hattiesburg MS, Starkville MS, Norman OK, Stillwater OK, Las Cruces NM and Joensboro AR, among others. Here is a list of college towns in the US: College town - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Originally Posted by ckhthankgod
Basically any college town would probably do. You might be able to find work with the public safety/campus police department too. Places like: Clemson SC, Chapel Hill NC, Athens GA, Auburn AL, Troy AL, Tuscaloosa AL, Oxford MS, Hattiesburg MS, Starkville MS, Norman OK, Stillwater OK, Las Cruces NM and Joensboro AR, among others. Here is a list of college towns in the US: College town - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That was my thought, too...many are quite walkable in order to accommodate the student population, many of whom are carless.
I would add Charleston, SC (College of Charleston), Savannah, GA (SCAD), Williamsburg (College of William and Mary) and Charlottesville, VA (UVA).
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