Anybody in Seattle live without a car? How easy is it? (Bellingham: apartment complexes, rentals)

[tallahasseehero1]

After i graduate college i am considering the University of Washington as a potential law school I would like to attend. It seems to be a very well respected law school. I have never been to Seattle but want to visit soon to see if I could see myself living there for an extended period of time. I would like to go to live in a medium or big city with a good public transportation system. My car broke down and I feel like my cost of living will allready be expensive with tuition, housing, and supplies.

How easy would you say one can live in or around the downtown Seattle area without a car? Is there affordable/nice housing (maybe under $1000) where I can live. Any help would be great, thanks!!

[ryanmm]

Living carless downtown is certainly doable, same with the immediate neighborhoods. The transit system here is biased towards getting people into and out of downtown, and there are many buses to UW as it's a major transit node. Combine transit with walking/biking/zipcar etc and you'll be able to get around fine.

As for housing, yes you can find decent housing for under a grand downtown, though perhaps not to the level of "nice". Depends on how you define that and what you're expecting, and if you're willing to live in another close-in neighborhood.

[SitoUK]

I live in carless in Capitol Hill and it's totally doable. It'll depend on your personal circumstances though. You should probably live in one of the more central neighborhoods and close to one, or ideally several bus lines. It also depends where you need to get to on a daily basis. Going to and from downtown is usually easy by bus. Going from one neighborhood to another can sometimes be tricky. Service can also be less frequent on weekends and tends to stop pretty early at night. If you stay out late and can't walk home you might need to get a cab.

I use zipcars a lot but almost only on weekends, to go into mountains and other excursions. I spend quite lot of money on zipcars but still less than a car would cost me, plus you always drive a new car and don't have any of the hassle of owning one yourself....

I lived in Seattle without a car and without a driver’s license for one year and a half.

I think Seattle’s public transportation is pretty good and decent. Seattle public transportation is mostly buses but they have good coverage over different areas of the city and metro area, and come frequently enough. They also look nice and clean and usually are not that crowded so they are pleasant to ride.

If I gave Seattle public transportation a grade for how good it is, I would give it a B-. If I gave a grade for easy it was for me to live in Seattle without a car, I would also give that a B-.

I like places to have public transportation but I also like the idea of getting around by car too. I feel like this with any place. Even in cities like New York City, there are times where I prefer getting around by car rather than by public transportation and I felt like that with Seattle as well.

Plus, what about when someone wants to go on day and weekend trips from Seattle to other areas of the Pacific Northwest? During those times, a car seems much more preferable for getting around than by bus/train etc.

For the other questions you asked, you can find an affordable 1 bedroom apartment in Seattle for less than $1,000 a month(Even as cheap as $700). But it is much more possible to find those options in neighborhoods a bit further away from downtown.

Also, University of Washington is a great school, including for law.

And Seattle is a great option for a medium sized big city.

Where do you live right now?

[HometoGeorgia]

I was forced to sell my car when the financial meltdown began but frankly I hardly miss it, it sat in the parking garage long enough for the battery to die, I also paid $200 per month to park it (downtown). Complete waste of money.

OP-you'll have no problem getting around by bus unless your conditioned to getting from point A to point B "RIGHT NOW". But if you have time to spare, you'll save yourself some headaches and money in the long run.

In fact when times were good I'd put the money I saved toward a yearly alaska cruise, friends were jealous and always wanted to know how I could afford it, get rid of yer car I'd tell em.

[Malloric]

I sold mine a few months after moving it up from California. I worked downtown and lived first in Belltown and then Capitol Hill. Not at all a problem. Better than paying $300 a month for parking downtown and another $250 ($175 in Capitol Hill) for parking.

There's plenty affordable housing in the downtown area. The nice stuff is more, but most of "nice" is the brand-new luxury condo buildings that failed and turned into rentals.

[aa85]

I'm living without a car right now. You can do it, but it is limiting. If you're willing to accept some downsides (limited grocery store access, wasting $$$ on cabs, etc.), you can manage ok. When you are working and not broke, people expect you to have a car (unlike in NYC, for example) and they schedule/plan things accordingly. It is easier as a student since many of your peers/friends will also be carless.

As for rent, I'm paying just over $1k/mo in Belltown, but I have a pretty good deal because I'm renting a condo. The big apartment complexes are much more expensive.

[ironcouger]

I lived in downtown for 4 years without a car in belltown . I lived in a large 450 sq ft studio for 700 a month was a beautifull apt. I had a great view with large picture windows. I worked as a manager at a taco time in west Seattle. Transportation was not a problem my family lives in auburn and i would just take sounder to visit family. And would take trips on the light rail sometimes. But it was great eveything was in walking distance from my place I could walk to Several grocery stores ,department stores and theaters all downtown. I never took a cab the whole time I lived downtown I just walked alot .

[DTWilm]

We live DT w/o a car. Check out the Metro trip planner to see the actual bus schedules near the apt(s) you consider, and also take a look at the Link and **** schedules to see the parameters of your transit area. Also, keep the ferries in mind for day trips and the clippers to Canada. As others have mentioned, Zipcar can fill the gap for getaway transport and even Amtrak is not a bad option for places like Portland; you can also take it to Bellingham and transfer to an Alaskan ferry. I'm guessing at least half the people in our bldg are carless.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by DTWilm

We live DT w/o a car. Check out the Metro trip planner to see the actual bus schedules near the apt(s) you consider, and also take a look at the Link and **** schedules to see the parameters of your transit area. Also, keep the ferries in mind for day trips and the clippers to Canada. As others have mentioned, Zipcar can fill the gap for getaway transport and even Amtrak is not a bad option for places like Portland; you can also take it to Bellingham and transfer to an Alaskan ferry. I'm guessing at least half the people in our bldg are carless.

Just guessing, but I'm assuming the asterisks are because the popular acronym for the South Lake Union Trolley was used.