My wife and I live in The City of Jersey City, don’t have a car, and for the most part, are pretty happy about it. Where else in US/Canada is this possible?
To be specific, I am asking that either you or someone you know has actually lived in this place without a car, and not desired one. I could speculate that it’s possible in a bunch of places, but I’m looking for real experience here. Of course, I’ll start:
New York City
Jersey City, NJ
Hoboken, NJ
Highland Park, NJ
Montreal
Pittsburgh
Chicago
Flagstaff, AZ
The 'burbs have annoying to decent local bus service and scattered interregional bus service; and a few favoured locations have trains (mostly commuter). I’ve lived in Oshawa, Whitby, Mississauga, Oakville, Brampton and Bramalea, and seldom have the buses been less frequent than once an hour, but the routes can be winding (Oakville route 21 from Maple Grove to the Clarkson train station, I’m looking at you!).
Agreed. For ten years after I got my license in Toronto, I lived in the city and did not own a car. Between the regional transit service (GO Transit); and Toronto’s own network of subways, streetcars, and buses, I got where I needed to go.
I lived in downtown Vancouver for about four years without a car, and never wanted one. Running errands on foot was fine because I was two or three blocks away from just about everthing. Transit was bearable for when I had to leave the downtown area, and I generally hate taking transit. Rent is high there, though, so it offsets what one saves on gas, parking, insurance, etc.
Davis, CA. I want to bring a car there because I want to be able to go on road trips to the mountains, wildlife refuges, etc., at a moment’s notice, or go ride a horse if I find a place to ride, but not everyone has this wanderlust. UC Davis has a gorgeous arboretum and there are lots of public parks, so it’s not like you are stuck in an urban jungle if you don’t have a car. It’s a relatively small town (bikeable from one end to the other in less than an hour, and that’s for the far-flung residential neighborhoods). Of course, most white-collar employment within the town is probably related to the university, and I don’t know how easy it is to take public transportation to Sacramento or SF on a daily basis.
Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton (but Luzerne Lines was better then), Harrisburg, Point Pleasant NJ, Saranac Lake New York, Buffalo NY. The only place I can think of where I lived and really wanted/needed a car was Altoona and I left there after a couple weeks basically for that reason.
I may not be a fair subject for this though; I’m just not a “car” person. I lived in some real dinky little places, rural places, without a car and no real desire for one. I often had a motorcycle and I was on my own back then so it was no biggie at all. And the times in my life when I had a car, rarely did I start the motor for less than a 100 mile trip. Even today its rare for me to start a motor for much less than that. Pittsburgh to Greensburg I use the bus; Pittsburgh to Virginia Beach I will probably drive.
Another vote for Vancouver. I live in south Van (outside of the downtown core) and rarely have a use for the car. Everything I need is close to the house. The suburbs are easily accessible by bus, SeaBus or SkyTrain. Both ferry terminals and the airport are all connected to transit as well. The really distant 'burbs can be reached by the West Coast Express if I ever have a burning desire to visit Mission.
Tangent question, probably more suited for GQ, but I’m feeling rebellious today. If you live in a city where you don’t own a car, what do you about driver’s insurance on the occasions you must drive, say for a business trip or renting a truck to move something heavy?
I bicycle commuted 9 months of the year when I lived in Hampton VA, but I switched jobs, then moved, and that’s not possible anymore. I miss it.