best US cities without a car

[AccessGranted]

On 3/8/2017 at 6:26 AM, clowy2000 said:

I think the hardest part of not having a car in LA would be that its is so counter-cultural. The assumption is that everyone drives, so of course your friends will make plans 45 minutes away without thinking about public transportation options. Public transport in LA is better than it once was and depending on the university, for day to day life and where you live, you can probably get away with it. Part of LA's over-dependence on cars is that most people live really far from where they work because of housing costs or being wealthy enough to live in the beach cities and work downtown/Hollywood. I would say if your housing works out go for it, but expect everyone in LA to think you are crazy.

This is so true! if you don't have a car in L.A. county you can get around but it is very time consuming. I somehow managed to get around growing up here without a car. Most cities surrounding L.A. like Burbank and Pasadena have local buses that pass through main streets. But its difficult to get to more remote parts of towns like mountains unless you use ride sharing apps. The cost of living is not worth it though for students, maybe those with careers already!

[poliscibi]

On 1/30/2018 at 4:30 AM, AccessGranted said:

Interesting topic! I asked my classmates a similar question last week, they recommended the twin cities for decent public transit. It might also depend on your cost of living, SF has BART but is costly like NYC. Maybe Florida has some decent transit systems in the mid-small cities?

(Native) Floridian here! There is no public transportation here at all. We all Uber everywhere. Lol 

[wordsurfer]

Bellingham, WA works well without a car

[jamierenna]

San Diego is definitely a city you would want a car in. Generally, anywhere in Southern California it is best to have a car. You'll be fine in Northern California's bay area (San Francisco, Berkeley) though without a car. Public transportation is amazing there. 

[nickel28]

Hello, does anybody have an update on Rochester, NY? Thanks!

[marcomr]

As a UCSD student with a car, I actually wish I didn't have one. La Jolla is pretty dense and there's literally everything you could possibly need here (beach, great mall, restaurants, bard, ALL kinds of grocery stores incl. trader joe's and whole foods). My first quarter I made the mistake of living in Hillcrest which is one of the more trendy neighborhoods closer to downtown but the commute was awful and I ended up spending the overwhelming majority of my waking time at school anyway, so I ended up moving to La Jolla. Now most of the time I go to "proper" San Diego it's mostly to hit the bars in North Park/Little Italy/Downtown so I just end up taking a lyft anyway. Plus, as someone mentioned already they're currently building a light rail extension which will have two stops on campus and will take you directly to Little Italy, Downtown, and all the way down to the San Ysidro port of entry from where you can walk into Mexico (and ubering in Tijuana is super cheap). 

So, I would rather save all the money from car payments, insurance, and on-campus parking ($61 for undergrads, $81 for grads) and just use lyft/uber whenever public transit is not a great option. Granted in order to pull this off you should live in LJ, where a bus ride should take less than 15 minutes to campus.

[imaad1703]

For those of you going or planning on going to Virginia Tech, Blacksburg is pretty small and for the very fit amongst you, walkable in its entirety! Most of the student housing is a 10-20 min walk from campus, but keep in mind that the campus is itself quite large. The bus service is actually quite good with very cheap monthly passes ($8 I think) and is very VT-centric. Most, if not all the routes start from the heart of the campus and make multiple stops throughout the campus and go over the major residential areas of Blacksburg. There is even a bus service to the nearest Walmart! 

Depsite all of the conveniences offered within Blacksburg, do keep in mind that Blacksburg itself is in a relatively remote part of eastern USA and travelling outside Blacksburg can be a challenge without a car. Even the nearest airport is only a regional one and while there is a bus service to Blacksburg from there, it doesn't operate on nights and maybe even Sundays. An Uber can cost a good $60-$75. 

[Dansir]

I recently graduated from Stony Brook University in Long Island, the campus is only really walkable if you live close by, otherwise you have to have a car or Bike but I really wouldn't recommended biking. But if you commute from NYC or other parts of Long Island you can take the train (very long though). Their is always parking in South P on the campus. The actual area around the school is really sucky but luckily the train stops right on campus, and we used to have a commuter bus to the city, plus the ferry to Connecticut is close by.

I'm attending graduate school up in Albany, New York in the fall. Arguably I think the transit in Albany is second after NYC (where I currently Live). I have heard you have to have a car in Buffalo even though they have a train line which doesn't really go anywhere (buses don't either apparently). Especially in Albany the transit is very accessible and free with a SUNY Albany ID. Getting to other cities may take awhile in the capitol region but certain bus lines even go up to Saratoga Springs which is like an hour away. The transit just got an award in 2017 for best regional transit system in the U.S. and has been making improvements to the system, even though albany is smaller compared to other upstate cities their seems to be more investment and care into it. Biking seems to be easier here especially in Albany!

I couldn't imagine being in Binghamton without a car, apparently it also rains a lot in binghampton so theirs that also. Buffalo may be the hardest because of the winter weather and higher crime rates.

 

[HTM18]

Philly and State College based on my experience

 

[Sigaba]

FWIW...

https://www.walkscore.com/

[WilliG]

I just returned from trip to Seattle, Washington. I found cheap flights and decided to explore this city.  I think it's easiest to live without car in this city. I think in the U.S., there are two categories of cities for carless travel. First, there are the larger, older U.S. cities like New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco, and second are cities such as Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, Denver, and even Los Angeles, which have begun building or enhancing public transportation systems and bike lane networks in the last decade

[Sigaba]

7 hours ago, WilliG said:

I just returned from trip to Seattle, Washington. I found cheap flights and decided to explore this city.  I think it's easiest to live without car in this city. I think in the U.S., there are two categories of cities for carless travel. First, there are the larger, older U.S. cities like New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco, and second are cities such as Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, Denver, and even Los Angeles, which have begun building or enhancing public transportation systems and bike lane networks in the last decade

FWIW, Los Angeles was established in 1781 (before Chicago), is the second largest city in the U.S., had an electric streetcar system three years before New York opened its subway system, and L.A. has been enhancing its public transit system since 1993.

[samiamslp]

Does anyone know anything about living without a car in Milwaukee, Urbana-Champaign, or Memphis?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sigaba]

On 11/4/2018 at 2:28 PM, samiamslp said:

Does anyone know anything about living without a car in Milwaukee, Urbana-Champaign, or Memphis?

Thanks in advance!

 

https://www.walkscore.com/

[babykoala]

On 11/4/2018 at 2:28 PM, samiamslp said:

Does anyone know anything about living without a car in Milwaukee, Urbana-Champaign, or Memphis?

 Thanks in advance!

 

Re: Champaign-Urbana, you probably need a car unless you live on campus or in downtown Champaign. Public transit is decent for a smaller city (by U.S. standards, at least), but I'd still recommend bringing a car.

[klf565]

Chicago is excellent without a car -- lots of buses, trains and car-sharing options. I moved here with a car and eventually got rid of it, because the transit system is so high quality. 

[wannabeschoolpsych]

Does anyone have any info on Memphis?

[marvel2375]

Which UC schools are the most accessible without a car? I'm specifically thinking of applying to UCLA and UC-Irvine this coming year, but wanted to get a sense of how realistic it would be for me to live there without having a car...

[trollsloot]

15 hours ago, anthrobserver said:

Which UC schools are the most accessible without a car? I'm specifically thinking of applying to UCLA and UC-Irvine this coming year, but wanted to get a sense of how realistic it would be for me to live there without having a car...

Depends on what you want to do in Irvine/OC. IIRC, there aren't any trains like LA. Buses are crappy in Irvine. Wanna go to Newport Beach from UCI? Takes the same time to get there if you rode a bike. 

UCLA and the surrounding areas (West LA, Santa Monica, Hollywood) are pretty accessible without a car though. Still a slog to get anywhere though (hope you're aware of the traffic down there). You'll be taking a bus and then transferring to the Metro Orange Line usually.

Edited December 14, 2018 by trollsloot

[Crucial BBQ]

16 hours ago, anthrobserver said:

Which UC schools are the most accessible without a car? I'm specifically thinking of applying to UCLA and UC-Irvine this coming year, but wanted to get a sense of how realistic it would be for me to live there without having a car...

I grew up in Sacramento, so UC Davis for sure--even if you live in Sacramento. UC Berkeley as well for nearly all of the Bay.  For UCLA, not sure, but imagine it will depend on how close to campus you live and/or how close to a transit line.  Not sure about Irvine. 

[futcounspsych]

Hello!! I have aspirations to attend grad school next Fall in Boston. I wanted to hear from other car-less folks what it is like to navigate that city (especially in the winter). I visited Boston this past summer and I did not have too much trouble navigating. 

[Ciboney]

On 12/15/2018 at 5:52 PM, futcounspsych said:

Hello!! I have aspirations to attend grad school next Fall in Boston. I wanted to hear from other car-less folks what it is like to navigate that city (especially in the winter). I visited Boston this past summer and I did not have too much trouble navigating. 

It is the same as the summer. The only trouble --and that was major!-- was during the historic winter with absurd accumulation of snow. The metro and the system in general is most probably the best in the US, but perhaps a bit poorer that most western European areas. People use the bike a lot here too, even in the winter. 

[julissareads]

On 12/13/2018 at 11:27 PM, anthrobserver said:

Which UC schools are the most accessible without a car? I'm specifically thinking of applying to UCLA and UC-Irvine this coming year, but wanted to get a sense of how realistic it would be for me to live there without having a car...

Idk about any of the other UCs, but I’m currently completing my undergrad at UCI & have commuted to school by bus & train all 4 years. If I want to go off campus in Irvine, I’ll use the buses, & it works out fine.  The buses usually come every 1/2 hour - 1 hour, & the buses vary in which time they stop running. Also, UCI actually has their own free buses on campus, & they even have special ones that go to the Irvine Spectrum & the beach (I think these off-campus buses you pay for), but idk if grad students have to pay for these buses. Overall, I’ve gotten really used to public transport, so I do think it’s doable. Certainly, life would be easier with your own car, & perhaps the other UCs have better public transport. Hope that helped!

[historygeek]

Does anyone have any experience with Philadelphia's public transport?

[DevoLevo]

Who knows how many of them are just hanging around this forum, but worth a shot: People who have lived/are living car-free at Stanford: How do you get by? 

How useful do you find public transit?

How easy is it to get to/from a reasonably-priced grocery store?

How trapped do you feel in the Palo Alto bubble (and how do you deal)?

How often do you get out of the city - by public transit or by bumming rides off friends?

etc..

I am heavily considering accepting an offer from Stanford but am not a huge fan of Palo Alto. I also don't drive now and would like to keep that up in grad school, but as great as Stanford itself if, I imagine that Palo Alto gets real bubble-like if you don't have a car to escape now and then. Would love to hear perspective from people already getting by without a car.