best US cities without a car

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I guess my perception is a little different because of where I've lived. I grew up in New York City where it's actually more inconvenient to have a car than not. And I've been living in Miami for the past 4 years. Miami is way too spread out for me and it's impossible, in my opinion, to live without a car. It's also unbearably hot year round.

[Usmivka]

I hate temperature extremes too.

"Washington [DC] is not a place to live in. The rents are high, the food is bad, the dust is disgusting and the morals are deplorable.

Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country."

-Horace Greeley

Edited June 21, 2012 by Usmivka

[OregonGal]

Well those are pretty much the two extremes for urban transportation! It also depends on what you count as in the city. Like I said, Portland's transit extends to the far edges of the counties that the city sits in--the transit authority is called Trimet for the three metropolitan counties. However, in other places the buses stop at the city limit and aren't a regional system. I would say that as long as you're not averse to buses (I know some people who refuse to take buses but are fine with subway) you'd be fine in Seattle. I've heard good things about Minneapolis and Madison as well, but I've never been so I couldn't speak to the public transit experience there.

And yeah.. the heat index today in DC is predicted to hit 105. Go West!

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Well those are pretty much the two extremes for urban transportation! It also depends on what you count as in the city. Like I said, Portland's transit extends to the far edges of the counties that the city sits in--the transit authority is called Trimet for the three metropolitan counties. However, in other places the buses stop at the city limit and aren't a regional system. I would say that as long as you're not averse to buses (I know some people who refuse to take buses but are fine with subway) you'd be fine in Seattle. I've heard good things about Minneapolis and Madison as well, but I've never been so I couldn't speak to the public transit experience there.

And yeah.. the heat index today in DC is predicted to hit 105. Go West!

I'd definitely want to go to Portland but they don't have anything in my field. I'm doing linguistics. The closest place is UO in Eugene. Some of the schools I'm looking at are UWas-Seattle, UWis-Madison, UMinn-Twin Cities, Pittsburgh, Georgetown and Berkeley. Colorado-Boulder has a good program in linguistics but I don't know about a town like Boulder; might be too much of a small town for me. There's a good school in San Diego too but that's probably a little too hot down there and too crowded.

[OregonGal]

I'm headed to UC San Diego; it's actually not all that hot there because it's right on the coast. Along the lines of 60-80 year round, with little humidity and lots of sun. The heat is when you head inland.

UO is my alma mater, so I can speak to the transit situation there. While weekday transit is decent--shuttles from the common student apartment areas, etc-- it sucks on the weekends. Also, there's not all that much to do in Eugene proper but a lot of stuff is within a 2 hour drive: beach, mountains, high desert, Portland. If you went to UO and wanted some independence I'd say take your car. The only reason I got by without one is that I lived 4 blocks off campus.

[Usmivka]

...San Diego; it's actually not all that hot there because it's right on the coast. Along the lines of 60-80 year round

Agreed, San Diego is very little like Miami weather wise, it is a very pleasant place to live. But it is more car-centric than many of the other cities you mentioned. Berkeley is in the SanFran metro area, also very pleasant, but super expensive. Boulder certainly feels small if that is where you stay, but is anything but if you plan on some outdoor recreation. Pittsburgh is smaller than many of the cities you mentioned above, and I've not heard anything good about public transit there.

Also, it sounds like you are not fixed in anywhere yet, so it may make more sense to figure out which programs are a good fit (not just "good") before worrying about transit. You can use it as a tiebreaker after you get into programs, but deciding about it now seems premature.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Agreed, San Diego is very little like Miami weather wise, it is a very pleasant place to live. But it is more car-centric than many of the other cities you mentioned. Berkeley is in the SanFran metro area, also very pleasant, but super expensive. Boulder certainly feels small if that is where you stay, but is anything but if you plan on some outdoor recreation. Pittsburgh is smaller than many of the cities you mentioned above, and I've not heard anything good about public transit there.

Also, it sounds like you are not fixed in anywhere yet, so it may make more sense to figure out which programs are a good fit (not just "good") before worrying about transit. You can use it as a tiebreaker after you get into programs, but deciding about it now seems premature.

If San Diego is very much like Miami whether-wise then that's definitely a "no." I can't stand the Miami weather. I'm definitely not a heat guy. I hate it when it gets over 70 degrees any time of year. But yeah I'm definitely going to start looking into the programs. I just want to find about 10 or so schools that were in areas I would want to live, then when I narrowed it down I would start looking into which school is the best fit.

[mandarin.orange]

San Diego weather/climate patterns are very different from Miami. Florida is surrounded by warm ocean currents and has that gawd-awful humidity. Coastal California has cold currents from the north, and a good bit of upwelling, producing ocean breezes and a significant cooling effect, esp. at night. Can you tell it's my favorite climate? ;-)

If heat is not your thing, you need to rule out Davis.

[Usmivka]

If San Diego is very much like Miami whether-wise then that's definitely a "no." I can't stand the Miami weather. I'm definitely not a heat guy. I hate it when it gets over 70 degrees any time of year. But yeah I'm definitely going to start looking into the programs. I just want to find about 10 or so schools that were in areas I would want to live, then when I narrowed it down I would start looking into which school is the best fit.

I'm afraid you didn't read my post: I wrote "very little like Miami." See above.

And I agree with the above, no Davis if you are really that temperature sensitive. You should probably also cut out DC, Boston, New York, Philly, Pittsburgh, and Chicago too, as all of these frequently exceed your ideal temperature for much of the year. I'm not sure how you survived your childhood in NYC. Even Madison, Minneapolis, and Seattle exceed 80-90 for parts of the summer. Have you considered someplace farther North, say Saskatoon or Nome? Because short of the Arctic Circle, you are more or less out of luck.

Edited June 22, 2012 by Usmivka

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I'm afraid you didn't read my post: I wrote "very little like Miami." See above.

And I agree with the above, no Davis if you are really that temperature sensitive. You should probably also cut out DC, Boston, New York, Philly, Pittsburgh, and Chicago too, as all of these frequently exceed your ideal temperature for much of the year. I'm not sure how you survived your childhood in NYC. Even Madison, Minneapolis, and Seattle exceed 80-90 for parts of the summer. Have you considered someplace farther North, say Saskatoon or Nome? Because short of the Arctic Circle, you are more or less out of luck.

Sorry. When I read it originally I misread and thought you said very much like Miami. Summers did get pretty brutal in New York, but fortunately the temp dropped a good amount at night time for you to not feel miserable. In Miami it drops a few degrees but it's even unbearable sometimes to go for a walk at midnight. Also, Miami it's hot about 11 months of the year. And even during winter, it'll be 45 in the morning and jump back up to 85 in the afternoon. Of course there are going to be unbearably hot days almost anywhere you go, but with cooler nights and more seasonal variety, almost anything, in my opinion, would be better than Miami. I don't know from personal experience, but I have heard some places out west, like Seattle, Portland, for example, rarely ever get hot. Even summer days are about 70-75. Only problem there, I've heard, is the rain. However, Miami has torrential downpours, so living here for a few years makes you scared every time you hear the word rain.

[mandarin.orange]

It really sounds like the west coast may be your thing. Asheville and perhaps UK/northern Europe come to mind. Have you explored these possibilities? Southeastern climate is brutal; I lived in NC for 7 years and hated the summer heat, humidity, bugs and allergies. I escaped north or to the west coast for the summer at every available opportunity.

Now, despite being sympathetic to climatic preferences, I read (esp. in your last post) a whole lot of energy spent overthinking weather nuances - disproportionately so to the amount of thought/research you should be putting into what program is the best fit for you. I think you are going to be hard-pressed to satisfy ALL quality-of-life parameters (small city + transpo friendly + climate) AND be in a program that is helping you towards your research interests and professional goals...the latter being what grad school really is all about.

Yes, quality of life is important, but so is being jazzed up about your work. You're going to spend the majority of your time in grad school doing your research, interacting with the people, and tailoring your specialities for the career you envision. And if you want to ultimately be a TT prof, that goal is always going to be at odds with geographic preference. So decide which of your quality of life (QOL) requirements are non-negotiable, and which ones you may let slide a bit. If you have ideal climate + awesome program, are you okay with a car commute as part of your routine, or being in a small town or huge metro area? I applied to one school that was all about the QOL I envisioned for myself (and it was strikingly similar to your ideal of cool climate + no car + largish town), but fitting into their research program was a massive stretch for me...and I was rejected.

If you're more of the QOL mindset and place these above the grind of work (YOLO and all that), then determine your ideal area and consider ALL avenues of how you're going to get there and support yourself (job, internship, barter, crash with friends, etc) with grad school as just one possibility among many. I have a couple friends who essentially did this with Portland, and others who moved to a small NC beach town and eventually worked their way into ideal jobs.

This may be helpful: http://www.findyourspot.com/

Good luck!

ETA: I just realized findyourspot won't give you an answer unless you enter your personal info. That's been changed from when I first heard of the site a few years ago.

 

Edited June 23, 2012 by mandarin.orange

[OregonGal]

The "average" summer day in the Portland area is in the 70s and sunny to partly cloudy. However, we do get hotter, especially in late July and early August--80s during the day isn't uncommon, and there will be a few days in the 90s and stretching towards 100 (a couple years we had a horrible heat wave of like, 8 days straight reaching into the 90s with 3 100+ days in the middle). It cools down at night into the 50s-60s and isn't humid so it's a lot more bearable than an 80-mumble day on the East Coast.

The final point to remember: on average, there are 200+ cloudy days in Portland every year. It rains from October to May, and then there is a drought from June-September. Half the rain falls in the winter (November-February), another third in the spring. I'm not talking about occasional torrential downpours here, either--I'm talking about cloudy days, with a near-constant drizzle that randomly amps up to actual rain. The situation in Seattle is very similar, just even more rain and a bit colder in the winters. If you don't like the rain, or need a lot of sunny days, don't move to the Pacific Northwest; just visit in the summer

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

OregonGal,

I had no problem with rain when I lived in New York. I mean, sometimes it got bad. In Florida, however, when it rains your whole day is basically cancelled. And it'll start pouring out of nowhere. It doesn't rain often, but when it does it really does. Sometimes you have to pull over to the side of the road and wait, other times you have to stand under cover for 20 minutes outside of the supermarket when your car is literally only 30 feet away. I hear that it rains a lot in the Northwest but never about the rain itself. As long as I can still get around I'm fine with a drizzle and no sunshine. It's when I can't leave the house that bothers me.

[comp12]

Haha, can you tell the OP has one big case of East Coast bias when it comes to perceptions of cities?

The point of precipitation certainly has a big affect on how walkable or bikeable a town is. Also, even if Portland is a good "smaller" town, UO is in Eugene, so you'd have to investigate shuttle and public transport options. sometimes, these options seem good at first, but upon closer look, many don't run late at night, on holidays, etc.

Also, you've expressed concerns of being too "crowded"? Seattle is fairly urban in that sense. It is a lot like Boston in terms of vibe and culture, but not as hot during the summers.

On the SD point...SD has the best weather on the continent hands down, 75 degrees and sunny year round. Depending on whether you're looking at UCSD or SDSU though, the actual environment of the town will differ. La Jolla is an affluent enclave by the beach, while State is more in the city, in a noisy partying part of town. But as far as the city goes, yes it is one of the top 10 cities in America, bigger than DC, Boston, and Seattle; but like any other SoCal city, is rather sprawling. That means it is not very crowded, however, most people do have cars to get around.

[laura_b]

Fayetteville, AR. The Razorback Transit bus system goes all over town and it's 100% free. There is also Ozark Regional Transit which goes out to the other cities in the area. Plus there are lots of bike and walking trails combined with nice weather and low crime. Just don't rent housing from Lindsey Management.

[michigan girl]

Ann Arbor is a small city with a decent public transportation system. Whenever I had to drop my car off at the auto repair shop, I could get around the city via the public bus system. There's a bus stop near my apartment complex with various routes that can take me to my workplace, the mall, library, and post office. I like that aspect about Ann Arbor -- you can study and work and get around the city without a car most of the time. I still recommend bringing a car to Ann Arbor.

Edited December 28, 2012 by michigan girl

[Two Espressos]

I think there is a growing number of people who, like myself, despise the idea of living in suburbia and being dependent on the personal automobile.

 

This.  Count me among that "growing number": I live in a rural/quasi-suburban area now, and I cannot wait to live someplace where I don't need my car.

 

I should probably contribute something to this thread, so I'll say that Pittsburgh supposedly has pretty poor public transit.  I've never lived there, but I have friends who have lived or currently live in the city who say that the bus system is less than adequate.

[TakeruK]

My MSc was at a small town where we needed (and had) a car to get around. Now I'm in a big city with a great public transportation system and we didn't move our car. We get by without the car (groceries are only a 10 minute walk away) but we're really missing it now. But we're definitely NOT missing the insurance payments, frequent car repairs, gas, etc. Overall, I think the extra hassles is worth the savings in car costs, but we don't see ourselves continuing to live this way once we can afford to have a car again (our last city was way cheaper than our current home!!)

 

Having a car would also save money by allowing us to live further away from the city's core / school area, which usually means a large reduction in rent (or increase in quality for the same rent). It also gives us a lot more options for grocery shopping -- we're currently limited by whatever is available in the nearest store. A car also allows for buying in bulk to save money (and time). 

 

Don't get me wrong -- I'm enjoying this change of pace without a car and I really do like biking everywhere. I also feel healthier that I'm walking or biking a lot more and I feel good about not contributing to air pollution. However, not having a car usually really limits your options and even the best public transportation system means you're depending on bus/train schedules and traveling outside of your area might take hours. So, for us, while I'm glad that we don't "need" a car right now, I'll be happy to have one again in the future! It just gives you so much more freedom since I don't really know of many cities that were specifically designed for not needing a car.

Edited December 31, 2012 by TakeruK

[eco_env]

Use Google Maps Public Transit to get an idea for how long it would take to get from point A to point B with and without a car. For example, it takes me 45+ mins to get to campus by bus/walking, and it would take 10-15 min by car. I can get to some places ~2 miles from my apt faster by walking than taking the bus. That's what I call a bad public transportation system. But I've managed to make it work, at least for everyday purposes, not so much if I want to get out to neighboring cities. This will probably be true for most cities with a bus system.

[AKCarlton]

I think that this is of interest to many of us, especially the international students. What are the best and worst college cities for getting around without a car?

 

Boston. I ended up selling my car before moving out here and have not regretted that decision. The T is pretty reliable most of the time and you can even take day trips or multi-day trips to places like Maine and New York City and Rhode Island when you need to get away.

[elf11]

Boston. I ended up selling my car before moving out here and have not regretted that decision. The T is pretty reliable most of the time and you can even take day trips or multi-day trips to places like Maine and New York City and Rhode Island when you need to get away.

Thanks for this! I was worried, since I don't drive what would happen when I get over there, since I've hear USA is pretty bad without a car.

[rsteve388]

Denver is great, Light Rail, B cycle, Buses, Zip cars for easy renting. Lots of great ways to get around and lots of great shops, food and other needed stores within easy access of  CU Denver/Metro or University of Denver. 

 

Edit: Boulder is a 1 hour or 45 minute Bus ride ( depending on which bus you get)  which has great opportunities for hiking, rock climbing, floating down boulder creek etc.

Edited April 29, 2015 by rsteve388

[VirtualMessage]

 

Boston. I ended up selling my car before moving out here and have not regretted that decision. The T is pretty reliable most of the time and you can even take day trips or multi-day trips to places like Maine and New York City and Rhode Island when you need to get away.

I second Boston. I sold my car when I moved here. Even getting around to the schools where I adjunct isn't so bad.

[avflinsch]

I have lived in/around Boston - perfectly doable if you are living in town or Cambridge. It is also pretty easy if you are in the suburbs AND live near a commuter rail/express bus/t station, it could be difficult if you were not within an easy walk on a mas transit connection.

Currently I am working / schooling in New Brunswick NJ (Rutgers), the RU bus system is usually ok, but can get crowded at times. If you are living on campus or within walking distance, you should be OK there also.

 

[mbennett]

Well those are pretty much the two extremes for urban transportation! It also depends on what you count as in the city. Like I said, Portland's transit extends to the far edges of the counties that the city sits in--the transit authority is called Trimet for the three metropolitan counties. However, in other places the buses stop at the city limit and aren't a regional system. I would say that as long as you're not averse to buses (I know some people who refuse to take buses but are fine with subway) you'd be fine in Seattle. I've heard good things about Minneapolis and Madison as well, but I've never been so I couldn't speak to the public transit experience there.

 

And yeah.. the heat index today in DC is predicted to hit 105. Go West!

I agree with your comments about Seattle. I have a couple of friends who moved from Chicago to Seattle without a car, and they have no problem getting around. If you're concerned about transportation in the city and you prefer trains, just try to find a place near a train stop, and you'll be good to go for getting around most places.