how much of a necessity is it to have a car where you live?

[mjkacmom]

Technically I could get around without a car. I can walk to several bus stops, some which go to train stations. Uber/lyft have a big presence here, day or night. I can walk to the grocery store, restaurants, Starbucks, Dunkin’- we have a Main Street that goes through town with mostly retail (plus numerous bus stops). People do live in my town without cars.

 

[AnnaS]

I can walk to bus stop/local, get to Brooklyn or NYC. I can walk to church, two shopping centers with almost everything you need. They are not huge compared to some - but you have grocery stores, cleaners, some known clothing stores, banks. We have various medical offices, dental, testing sites. An extra 10 minutes, I can walk to the train station.

I have always said if I could not drive for whatever reason or had no license, there are many errands/things that can be accomplished. We do have Uber.

I say "I" now and not "we" - since my DH recently passed (I am devastated/trying to peek on-line a bit for distraction) - I might consider a condo in the near future (15 minutes closer to my sons/my Daughter-in-law's parents bought one and live there now). The only negative thing there is that I don't think there is anything within walking distance (and I would miss some of my neighbors).

 

[#1hoosierfan]

100% necessary

 

[firefly_ris]

I say "I" now and not "we" - since my DH recently passed (I am devastated/trying to peek on-line a bit for distraction) - I might consider a condo in the near future (15 minutes closer to my sons/my Daughter-in-law's parents bought one and live there now). The only negative thing there is that I don't think there is anything within walking distance (and I would miss some of my neighbors).

I'm so sorry for the loss of your husband. I hope you are doing as well as you can.

 

[antmaril]

100%.

 

[antmaril]

I say "I" now and not "we" - since my DH recently passed (I am devastated/trying to peek on-line a bit for distraction) - I might consider a condo in the near future (15 minutes closer to my sons/my Daughter-in-law's parents bought one and live there now). The only negative thing there is that I don't think there is anything within walking distance (and I would miss some of my neighbors).

I am very sorry for the loss of your husband. I have been widowed for almost 16 years. I was 57 when my husband passed (he was 55). I moved into a condo six years after he died. It was a good decision for me. Unfortunately, we now belong to a club that nobody wants to join. Wishing you all the best as you navigate your new life.

 

[Magical2017]

We have a crappy transportation system and no one wants to raise taxes to make improvements. It would be difficult without a car but not impossible.

Our own family is within walking distance of two major shopping areas and small medical facilities. If I worked from home I'd be okay.

ETA: It's not a good place to bike but that form of transportation could also be managed.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Necessary if you don't want to use Uber /taxi or Instacart/ delivery . There are restaurants we can walk to along with a hardware store. The main public transit is PATCO which goes into Philadelphia (Center City). We both used that for work before we retired . But even then we needed a car to visit family & do shopping.

I’ve traveled with SEPTA in Philly but never PATCO. What cities does it go to besides Philadelphia? Might make for a new weekend trip route

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Almost 100% necessary. We have light rail in some areas of the city, but nothing connecting the any of the suburbs. The rail isn't really enough for the people that live near these lines. There is bus service, and some people do utilize the commuter park and ride options...but you still need a car to get to that park and ride lot. Our current house is about a 2.5 mile walk from the closest park and ride. Before we went nearly 100% remote, I'd considered park and ride, but it just didn't make sense. I would normally leave the house around 7am if I was driving myself. For the bus, I'd have to get to the park and ride around 5:30am and would need to make 2-3 bus transfers just to make it to the office at the same time. Getting home was no better. Even for high school, we live just close enough that the kids don't qualify for bus service, but just far enough that walking and biking is a definite no.

 

[kdonnel]

This website will give a Walk Score for your address.

https://www.walkscore.com/

My address gets a 0. I am car dependent.

 

[hertamaniac]

With grocery delivery an option, it does make me ponder the true value of owning my car. I do have a relative about 15 miles from me that I visit regularly so I guess I do need a car. But that withstanding, I guess I could manage without one. I do go to my gym about 3X/week, but I could build a steam room/sauna in my home with the net savings of no vehicle.

It's an interesting question.

 

[clori]

Where I live it is possible to go without a car and some do. We just have 1 car because my dh's job moved away from public transportation. I can walk to convenient stores, some restaurants etc and a bit further to more stores. I can take 1 bus nearby that goes to a few more places such as the library, walking distance to the post office, high school, main st shopping area, city hall and connects to a subway station which has many places to help get you to. However going the opposite direction is not as much on the bus line so having a car is easier though uber/cabs etc are readily available if needed.

 

[Moliphino]

This website will give a Walk Score for your address.

https://www.walkscore.com/

My address gets a 0. I am car dependent.

I got a 3, seemingly because there are some parks and hiking trails within walking distance. It's over 2 miles to any sort of food, further for a grocery store. No public transportation at all.

 

[nighttowll]

This website will give a Walk Score for your address.

https://www.walkscore.com/

My address gets a 0. I am car dependent.

Don't really understand how the score works. It gave me a 4 but then said all errands require a car, no buses, and that it was a 4 hour walk into town. How is that a 4? Maybe because there is a private school that is in the neighborhood? But even the school it isn't walk-able as there isn't a sidewalk, and the main road is too narrow to safely walk on.

 

[kdonnel]

Don't really understand how the score works. It gave me a 4 but then said all errands require a car, no buses, and that it was a 4 hour walk into town. How is that a 4? Maybe because there is a private school that is in the neighborhood? But even the school it isn't walk-able as there isn't a sidewalk, and the main road is too narrow to safely walk on.

I think they detail their methodology behind the various scores.

https://www.walkscore.com/methodology

The score goes 0-100. A score of 4 would be extremely low. It sounds like you agree that your area is car dependent.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Completely car dependent & I really wish we lived somewhere with good publix trans. I grew up in rural Indiana but went to college in Philadelhia & LOVED not having to deal with a car there! Now live in suburban Florida which is just as bad if as Indy.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

I live in the country. We don't have any sidewalks in our town. We don't even have a stop light anywhere

 

[nighttowll]

I think they detail their methodology behind the various scores.

https://www.walkscore.com/methodology

The score goes 0-100. A score of 4 would be extremely low. It sounds like you agree that your area is car dependent.

That makes more sense. Didn't realize it was 0-100. I thought it was like 0-10. I should have paid closer attention.

And, I wish I lived somewhere where I could walk around. I hate driving.

 

[mikehn]

I just bought an electric bike two weeks ago. That thing is the bomb. I dont even wanna drive anymore.

 

[georgina]

This website will give a Walk Score for your address.

https://www.walkscore.com/

My address gets a 0. I am car dependent.

78 for me. When we moved here 3 years ago we specifically chose a walkable area with available public transportation. The place we moved from (suburbs) was listed as 30, which seems a bit high to me.