Where in MD outside of Baltimore can you get by without a car? (Silver Spring: crime, homes)

[pacman23]

Is it possible to get by without a car in places like Bethesda, Rockville, Fort Washington, Frederick or Gaithersburg?

And are there any other cities or towns in MD where I can live car-free? Please let me know.

If crime is high in these areas, I would definitely want to keep my car. So I'll amend my question to : Where in MD can I live without a car and also be relatively safe?

Thanks in advance!

[md83]

Downtown Silver Spring

[RamblingMan]

Fort Washington has a lot to offer, but a convenient car-free or walking lifestyle is not part of the package. In my opinion, there are very few places in the DC area in which a car-free lifestyle really orks. I'd look at a few neighborhoods in DC as well as Old Town Alexandria, Ballston, Clarendon, and a few other places on the orange/blue line. Among Maryland towns near DC, you might look at Bethesda. When you start to look at specific addresses, try www.walkscore.com

[westsideboy]

Do you mean all of Maryland, or just the DC/Baltimore metro area?

[pacman23]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

Do you mean all of Maryland, or just the DC/Baltimore metro area?

All of Maryland.

[westsideboy]

You can live without a car in Cumberland. Everything is within walking distance, even from the nice neighborhoods. Granted, you are separated by the nearest city of equal size by about 70 miles of mountains and forests, but inside the city, it is very walkable.

[pacman23]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

You can live without a car in Cumberland. Everything is within walking distance, even from the nice neighborhoods. Granted, you are separated by the nearest city of equal size by about 70 miles of mountains and forests, but inside the city, it is very walkable.

Thanks! How about places like Bethesda, Rockville, Gaithersburg or Frederick? Do they have good public transit systems?

[qjbusmaster]

Originally Posted by pacman23

Thanks! How about places like Bethesda, Rockville, Gaithersburg or Frederick? Do they have good public transit systems?

all the places u mentioned except fedrick have good systems well connected ones. Federick is isolated!!!! click here http://wmata.com/pdfs/bus/MD.pdf and here http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/co.../SystemMap.pdf if u must know federick here http://www.frederickcountymd.gov/documents/Transit/08RideGuide.PDF (broken link) by the way to get out of federick u will need greyhound which goes to baltimore or DC with several departures also greyhound goes to haggerstown and pittsburg too.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

I visited Old Greenbelt last weekend for the first time. It is a small planned community built by the WPA in the late 30s - built to be walkable. All of the housing is connected via walking paths to a town square of sorts, with a food co-op, a movie theater, bank, library, gym/rec facilities, and a few cafes.

The Metro Green Line to DC is a short bus or bike ride away (about 2 mile).

Greenbelt Homes, Inc.

I liked it. It's also not too expensive for DC. If we ever feel the need to live closer to DC, I will look there first.

[dkf747]

You can easily get around Gaithersburg without a car. Ride-On has plenty of bus routes throughout the city. There are parts of Gaithersburg that seem to scare people, but I have yet to see any reason for it. I went 4 months without a car here without a problem.