Can one feasibly live in LA without a car and function (Los Angeles: apartments, condos)

[thatonechick]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I liked taking the bus to go places on my own, but wouldn't advise taking a date on the bus unless the guy is also into the car free life. I was dating this guy and one time I talked him into going somewhere with me on the bus. That was the last time, too. He thought he would be open to the idea but it turned out he didn't enjoy being on the bus, didn't really enjoy having a conversation with me when all the other people on the bus could hear us, hated waiting at the stop and how long it took to get to the museum, hated walking from the stop to the museum, etc.

Whoa! Sounds like a horrible date. I was kiiinda kidding about taking a date on the bus. This is why I travel by bus by myself, because NO ONE else would agree to go with me. Not even my own family! lol.

[Caladium]

Yeah, it was a drag. Until that little adventure, I never really thought about how much social interaction you have while driving or walking somewhere. Or that you get really close to people at those times because you aren't being overheard and can really open up. Although I am a fan of car free living, I have to admit some of the most important conversations I have had with people took place while driving somewhere.

[Mike121]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

Just wondering how a car helps your social life. I get if you live in Venice and want to go to the Getty, or Griffith Park, yeah you're gonna need a car. Or date a girl/guy in the Valley. But for any drinking based activities like nightlife or bars, you shouldn't be drinking and driving anyway.

If you don't mind living in a bubble, which I personally don't, you can go car free. There is also Uber and Lyft which are both getting cheaper.

I did my car-free year before Uber and Lyft. Taxis in this town are not cheap.

But speaking for myself, there are only a few regions in the city that you can actually get to by bus or transit from my neighborhood if you want to stay out late. From my neighborhood, the only real option were the busses that ran downtown, and they might only run once an hour late at night. So any late-night trip took a lot of planning. It killed spontaneity.

But these days, the light rail runs later on weekends, so it wouldn't be as bad.

For reference, these are the late night LA buses.

24-hour Owl Service

[bpeeps]

I did car free living for a bit. I lived at Santa Monica and La Cienega and worked at Wilshire and La Cienega. It would take the same amount of time to walk to work than it would to take the bus to work. Riding a bike was faster than the bus. If you're traveling east or west, the bus is great. If you are traveling north or south, the bus is terrible. Take that into account.

[Chava61]

My elderly mother lives in L.A. off of Wilshire Blvd. and gets around by bus (as she stopped driving years ago) although I do know that is more time-consuming especially when she has two buses to some destinations.

As for grocery shopping, luckily she lives right next to a Ralphs supermarket. But in any case one can always use a shopping cart with wheels instead of carrying large amounts of groceries.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by Chava61

My elderly mother lives in L.A. off of Wilshire Blvd. and gets around by bus (as she stopped driving years ago) although I do know that is more time-consuming especially when she has two buses to some destinations.

As for grocery shopping, luckily she lives right next to a Ralphs supermarket. But in any case one can always use a shopping cart with wheels instead of carrying large amounts of groceries.

I know now the vicinity in which your mom lives. STALKER TIME.

[SportyandMisty]

The real question is, why in the world would you want to?

[The Walking Nobody]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

The real question is, why in the world would you want to?

Because car + gas + parking + insurance = a boatload of money.

And then there's the traffic. I live car-free on the border of East Hollywood and Koreatown. I rented a car for a few days while my mom and brother were visiting from out of town. My morale was crushed by the experience of sitting trapped at the wheel in traffic while we crawled towards destinations where we'd circle a parking garage endlessly looking for a spot. After a few trips, we walked and took transit instead, leaving the driving to someone else. I was much happier, and so was my family.

When I returned the car I felt like a two-ton weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. The ride home on the 720 was elating, even when we hit traffic in Beverly Hills--I just pulled out my phone and started reading.

Then again, I'm pretty weird. Maybe it's just me.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by bpeeps

I know now the vicinity in which your mom lives. STALKER TIME.

That is kind of crazy remark as I was only trying to be helpful to the OP.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by Chava61

That is kind of crazy remark as I was only trying to be helpful to the OP.

It was a joke. Relax. (or was it)