Cities that I can live (relatively) comfortable without a car?

[scsm]

Hi guys,
I have done a lot of research on this but I would also like some personal experience from my fellow talkbassers (who are a thousand times more helpful then anyone else on the internet).

Here's my problem, due to some bad genetics I have very poor eyesight and can not drive. Currently I live in a college town so most of the things I need are close by. I soon will be graduating and going to the "real" world and will need to get a "real" job. I have looked at a couple different cities that I will try to relocate to if at all possible. I was wondering if anyone had personal experience with Portland's or Seattle's mass transit.

If you have experience with any other cities bus/rail system that you could give me advice on that would be appreciated as well since I'm keeping my options open. You have to be in this job market...

And yes New York has the arguably the best, but NYC might just be TO big for me.

Also has anyone taken their bass on a bus or train and how did that go for you?

Thanks in advance,
Scott

[ZachOrem]

Good luck man. I know you're not in the club volentarially, but not having a car can save you a whole lot of stress if you let it.

[Stumbo]

Resources for the legally blind in Kansas

[scsm]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

Resources for the legally blind in Kansas

Hehe it's Kansas I want to escape for a little bit!

[warwick.hoy]

You can move to Spokane WA. The transit is pretty good although the city shuts down around 11pm so to do the buses for the most part. I bike to work and live relatively close to downtown and the rent is very inexpensive. I own a car but try to put as few miles on it as possible. Job market sucks unless you like making 9 bucks an hour flipping burgers.

Portland's mass transit is pretty good,...although I have never been on it. It runs pretty much round the clock. It mixes light rail with buses. I've heard lots of good things about it. Seattle not so much.

[arbitrary]

I lived in portland for a bit, but had a car. The buses and the max work pretty well there. I had a friend who lived downtown and didn't have a car. It seemed to work for him.

[Mark Latimour]

London, but you'd have to learn to speak English.

(Actually London is a great city to live in without a car. I have been for 4 years, but its a bit far from the US).

[TheSuzie]

A lot can depend on where you have to go in a particular city. For example, getting from A to B in Boston/Cambridge can be very easy while getting from A to C or B to C can be almost impossible.

A lot of cities I have been to are like that.

London was one of the best I have been to for a visitor until you have to get way out on the outskirts. Then it can just plain be slow.

[scsm]

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

London, but you'd have to learn to speak English.

(Actually London is a great city to live in without a car. I have been for 4 years, but its a bit far from the US).

I went on vacation to London a few months ago and heard that joke all the time!

Its true though, just with slang and the way we pronounce our words there were times in London when I was thinking "I know you are speaking English, but I have no idea what you are saying."

[onewebfoot]

I sold my Jeep two months ago. I ordered my Zon Vinny (made 8 miles away, actually) one month ago. A high-end electric bike really makes the entire thing sweet, as I can do anything except drive a date or deliver gear. But I'm working on both of those anyway. %-)

Look - with a high-end micro amp (like the Genz-Benz 3.0-8T combo), a micro-high-end bass (the Vinny), a lot of options open up for me, and it derives (increasingly) from the Direct Out Interface of the amp, into which I can (conceivably) feed sweet bass to any audience in any house, presuming they have a PA system. I'm not going to blog about it until the Vinny arrives and I'm doing my thing where people can see me, including practicing on Caltrain, but try the San Francisco Bay Area, man.

I live with Caltrain and my electric bike, but now that I know what I'm doing, I could make it work with a normal commuter bike. The electric drive (850 watts) will come in handy when I'm carrying 25 extra pounds of music gear on my back. Right now, it's just my computer back pack and bike.

And I have yet to pull this off in Winter (cold wet months). But hey, if you are in Kansas, the Bay Area is practically the Bahamas. :-) (right? don't know)

[bongomania]

Portland has great public transportation IF you are near one of the train lines. For me for example, to go downtown I'd have to walk several blocks to a bus stop, wait 20 minutes for a bus, and ride that for 15 minutes to get to one of the train lines, and then wait for the train, which then might take another 30 minutes to get near to my downtown stop. If I was near the train line already it would be no big deal.

San Francisco is a good choice--they have a fantastic transit system, and even if you never ride the bus/streetcar, you probably have everything you need within a short bike ride of wherever you are. I was born in SF and I've lived there on and off my whole life, and I never once drove a car. I didn't even learn to drive until I moved here to Portland, in my mid-30's.

[scsm]

Originally Posted by onewebfoot

if you are in Kansas, the Bay Area is practically the Bahamas. :-) (right? don't know)

The joke is if you don't like the weather in KS just wait a few minutes.

Today it was 95, a heat index of 105, and humidity around 80%.
Although around six months ago it was about 3 degrees, we had about 4 inches of snow on the ground and the windchill at one point was -25 for about two weeks.

[superfunk47]

Most west coast cities (Seattle and Portland are the ones I have firsthand experience with) have decent mass transit, but the key is living and working with them. Seems like a lot of complaints folks have about the systems could be alleviated if they learned to work the nature of the system into their lives and routines. If you can do that, they work pretty well. If not, it'll be a major hassle. Only you can decide that, though. But both are pretty friendly cities, I'd recommend both (although I'd lean toward Portland, myself).

[GregC]

Chicago. Good train system, good bus system. And a number of neighborhoods in the city are set up so that just about everything you need is within a reasonable walking distance. I've lived here for 7 years, and although I do keep a car because I like the convenience, I only drive 1500-2000 miles a year. I know quite a few people here who get along fine without one.

It's a big city, but it feels a lot smaller than NYC to me. (I do love visiting New York, but I'm not sure I could live there.) Outside of downtown, there really aren't concrete canyons in Chicago like you find all over Manhattan.

[Simo98]

Originally Posted by scsm

I went on vacation to London a few months ago and heard that joke all the time!

Its true though, just with slang and the way we pronounce our words there were times in London when I was thinking "I know you are speaking English, but I have no idea what you are saying."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK0jFkhta-I

[bassguppy]

I'll give a big thumbs up to the SF bay area. streetcars, buses, BART, Caltrain gives you tons of transit options. Very nice climate too. In SF, doesn't get too cold or too warm probably 2nd best climate after LA & San Diego.

But it's very expensive for housing.

[CultofJay]

Nyc is huge, but you can find everything you need in just one neighborhood. Each one is like it's own small city even though most people just think about Manhattan or Brooklyn when they think of nyc. Brooklyn is pretty great though...

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

Resources for the legally blind in Kansas

Originally Posted by scsm

Hehe it's Kansas I want to escape for a little bit!

My point was that maybe they can assist you in some way in your quest to leave Kansas. Maybe they have connections to other agencies/organizations in the areas you are considering moving to? Maybe you will be able to contact someone who already has done what you want to do., etc. etc?

There's no downside to asking for more information.

Good luck.

[Lowend65]

Boston - the subway there works great.
AND there's actually a live music scene unlike the west coast

[scsm]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

My point was that maybe they can assist you in some way in your quest to leave Kansas

Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as sounding rude; that wasn't my intention.