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Precisely. I used to live in NYC, and didn't have a car there because it was expensive, inconvenient, and generally not worth the effort. Moved cities, and now

Precisely. I used to live in NYC, and didn't have a car there because it was expensive, inconvenient, and generally not worth the effort. Moved cities, and now I try to walk/bike everywhere locally, only using the car on weekends when I want to go 50+ miles from home. There's issues sometimes (my city's bike and pedestrian infrastructure is... not ideal), but I do prefer this situation to feeling completely trapped in NYC. Curious if you have any recommendations for "old suburbs" like where you live -- that's precisely the kind of environment my partner and I are looking for. I know there are some in the suburbs of Boston, but it's really tricky to try to find those places because in my experience walkability scores don't really mean anything.

mtalantikite 5y ago
I live in NYC, but grew up in one of those old towns north of Boston (Salem). Generally these sorts of old towns were originally built with a very walkable downtown area and over the years may have added areas that were more typical of the post-WWII suburbanization. A town like Salem has also gentrified quite a bit from when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, so it's probably completely possible to live in the downtown center and really not need a car at all. If you live in the newer, more suburban parts then your reliance on a car will increase. Personally I prefer large, dense cities with lots of public transit and the access to international culture you get from being in a place like NYC, but a place like downtown Salem is probably really nice to live in if you're happy being in a small community. Either way, the fully car based living most of the country relies on has always seemed ridiculous to me (I've never had a license or a car).
- dont__panic 5y ago
  Thanks for the tip, Salem is actually on my list of places to check out. Much appreciated. Agreed that fully car based living is ridiculous -- it's so sad to visit family and realize that I literally cannot go anywhere unless I hop in a car. I run for exercise pretty frequently, and find it a fun way to check out neighborhoods, and it is absolutely pathetic that most of my family members suggest driving someplace to run because their neighborhoods have no sidewalks, 60mph speed limits, and not even a shoulder to run on. Traffic, price, and crime issues in big cities have largely turned me off from them since Covid started -- I just don't see the price:performance ratio there. But I also don't really take advantage of cultural things like museums and music venues very much, and I grew up in a rural community so cities have always felt a bit uncomfortable for me. So don't take that as an outright hatred of cities... I just feel they aren't for me. Hoping to find that "walkable/bikeable large town/small city" middle ground soon.
asoneth 5y ago
My partner and I were in a similar situation several years ago. Escaped from NYC and moved to the greater Boston area. We initially looked at places like Arlington, Waltham, Lexington, Watertown, Newton, and Somerville. I agree that walk scores can be misleading, especially in this area. There are places that are listed as "walkable" because they have a lot of strip malls bunched together even though there are no actual sidewalks. On the flip side, we ended up moving to a small town with an abysmal walk score but good sidewalks, trails, and bike paths and a small but hardy contingent of neighbors who walk or bike to our local school and grocery store all year round. I ended up just walking or biking around prospective neighborhoods during weekdays to get a sense of how many people actually get around in the neighborhood. I also ended up chatting with a couple of coordinators from the MA Safe Routes to Schools program to get a sense of which schools had the most kids walking to school. While they didn't have the numbers I was looking for they were friendly and helpful and I got a better sense of the different priorities in different towns.

mtalantikite 5y ago

I live in NYC, but grew up in one of those old towns north of Boston (Salem). Generally these sorts of old towns were originally built with a very walkable downtown area and over the years may have added areas that were more typical of the post-WWII suburbanization. A town like Salem has also gentrified quite a bit from when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, so it's probably completely possible to live in the downtown center and really not need a car at all. If you live in the newer, more suburban parts then your reliance on a car will increase. Personally I prefer large, dense cities with lots of public transit and the access to international culture you get from being in a place like NYC, but a place like downtown Salem is probably really nice to live in if you're happy being in a small community. Either way, the fully car based living most of the country relies on has always seemed ridiculous to me (I've never had a license or a car).

dont__panic 5y ago
Thanks for the tip, Salem is actually on my list of places to check out. Much appreciated. Agreed that fully car based living is ridiculous -- it's so sad to visit family and realize that I literally cannot go anywhere unless I hop in a car. I run for exercise pretty frequently, and find it a fun way to check out neighborhoods, and it is absolutely pathetic that most of my family members suggest driving someplace to run because their neighborhoods have no sidewalks, 60mph speed limits, and not even a shoulder to run on. Traffic, price, and crime issues in big cities have largely turned me off from them since Covid started -- I just don't see the price:performance ratio there. But I also don't really take advantage of cultural things like museums and music venues very much, and I grew up in a rural community so cities have always felt a bit uncomfortable for me. So don't take that as an outright hatred of cities... I just feel they aren't for me. Hoping to find that "walkable/bikeable large town/small city" middle ground soon.

asoneth 5y ago

My partner and I were in a similar situation several years ago. Escaped from NYC and moved to the greater Boston area. We initially looked at places like Arlington, Waltham, Lexington, Watertown, Newton, and Somerville. I agree that walk scores can be misleading, especially in this area. There are places that are listed as "walkable" because they have a lot of strip malls bunched together even though there are no actual sidewalks. On the flip side, we ended up moving to a small town with an abysmal walk score but good sidewalks, trails, and bike paths and a small but hardy contingent of neighbors who walk or bike to our local school and grocery store all year round. I ended up just walking or biking around prospective neighborhoods during weekdays to get a sense of how many people actually get around in the neighborhood. I also ended up chatting with a couple of coordinators from the MA Safe Routes to Schools program to get a sense of which schools had the most kids walking to school. While they didn't have the numbers I was looking for they were friendly and helpful and I got a better sense of the different priorities in different towns.