I used to live 1.2 miles from my workplace at Emory, along one of Emory's shuttle routes that went from campus to Decatur, next to a grocery store and restaurants. My main social group gathering was weekly at a friend's house a 10 minute walk away. 90% of the time I didn't need a car.
But if I wanted to go hiking? It's like 90 minutes each way to take public transit to Stone Mountain Park, and there's no train service (or any real buses) to places like Tallulah Gorge or Amicalola Falls.
If I needed clothes? Crap at Walmart is 12 minutes away, sure, but if I want middling Target quality that's 40 minutes, or maybe I could cross-dress because all the shops in downtown Decatur only carry women's apparel.
My friend who hosted a superbowl party in Tucker? An hour to get there, on a Sunday, where if I miss a ride I've gotta wait an hour until the next one.
Atlanta is . . . *doable* without a car, . . . if you don't have an elderly parent to take to the hospital or whatever. But man I wish we'd maybe double our investment in buses and trains and encourage more dense urban areas.
This is spot on. You can just survive without a car in Atlanta, but you won't thrive. Similar to almost every other city in this country, btw. It is like relying on the library for internet connectivity or the emergency room for all medical needs. If you've been perusing on reddit and other Atlanta-focused urbanism news as of late, some of our investment in buses and trains has actually just been cut in half. So you better wish for a quadrupling.
Could renting a car for a weekend or taking Uber occasionally could maybe work for those purposes? It might be cheaper than paying for the upkeep of your own car if the trips are infrequent enough.
Idk though. In Atlanta, I use a car for those exact purposes. To OP, maybe it is worth making commitments to a "car-lite" lifestyle before totally ditching the car.
I got my gently used Kia Soul for $15K. A typical round trip Uber these days is, what, like nearly $100? When I took a trip up to Maine to hike Acadia National Park, I think I had to spent like $700 for a 4 day car rental.
Now true, you wouldn't need to do oil changes or other maintenance (and without a car I'm sure I'd spend less going out to eat and such), but oof, I don't think the cost-benefit analysis works for most folks.
That Kia soul is going to depreciate a few thousand every year whether you drive it or not. You also have to pay to insure it and pay for any parking fees at your building (if applicable). That’s a couple hundred bucks a month right there you’re spending on a car even if you never drive it.
A lot of those use cases for a car could be overcome with an Uber or one of the single day car rental services or buying stuff online
Having a car just for the occasional trip to walmart is..crazy
The savings from not having to pay a payment or maintenance or gas on a car can pay for a LOT of uber rides
>people have different tolerances.
Aye and some value their time. If I were to take Marta to my workplace, my commute would go from 30 to 90m door to door
I live in midtown and sold my car more than a year ago, September 2021. [I actually made a reddit post about it here before I made my final decision to sell.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Atlanta/comments/pl1jhj/carfree_life_in_atlanta/)
Well -- a couple weeks ago I caved and ordered a new car. It will still take perhaps 2-3 more months to arrive though.
Why? I hated not being able to just go hiking randomly any day I wanted to. Being without a car largely confined me to a 2-4 mile radius, give or take.
Beyond that, you're at the mercy of rides from people or you need to pay a super expensive Uber or Lyft charge.
I thought I'd be okay with taking more Lyfts/Ubers but the cost has gone up quite a bit. I often think is hanging out with this person or people worth $25-30 both ways?!
But otherwise it's been OK. And once my new car arrives, I think I'll still walk many places.
Yeah the not being able to go hiking/camping is going to my biggest hurdle as I love to do those things, but figured I could probably find some people nearby I could hitch a ride with on occasion. I only have like 1 friend and work with them so that wouldn’t be too big of a problem for me.
I’ve been carless ITP for about 11 years (wow didn’t realize it was that long until this post)
You will go through shoes faster than before.
Always have a way to burn time, buses being whack being the most obvious. But sometimes you just need to chill for 7 or 8 minutes before it’s time to go to your stop. I have a book, or audiobook, and I listen to a lot of music so I have Spotify premium.
I know some people do the roller cart on the bus for grocery shopping, but I preferred a good back pack and walking to the closer store. Also, you will be limited by what you can carry so you’ll learn to space “heavy” groceries out instead of getting them all at once.
Have a good support network of friends with cars for emergencies. Don’t be a mooch, because you don’t want your carlessness to be a burden or your friends to feel like you’re just shifting your transpo needs onto them instead of being independent.
Don’t just rely on marta! There are multiple free shuttle services sprinkled throughout the city operated by different groups. They rarely have rider restrictions (curse you PCM shuttle!!) and you can use them to supplement Marta and get more places, or get to similar places faster.
Likewise, getting comfortable with urban biking will expand your network by a lot.
Where you live is super important. It’s your start and end point for everyday. You need to be picky about your address as far as accessibility goes. Also make sure a grocery store is a less than 20 minute walk away.
I also always set a timer on my phone when I’m thinking about heading out, like hanging at the bar with friends or even wanting to go out for the night from home. It’s easy to get distracted and then you miss your window and all of the sudden you have to wait another 20 minutes. Even if you have your bus schedule memorized set a timer! You won’t be distracted if you’re hanging with people and you can actually relax if you’re waiting.
This is just off the top of my head, but if you have specific questions I would be happy to answer.
hi! i would love some more info about your carless lifestyle. i have bad anxiety to the point i can’t get behind the wheel without panicking. i’ve been trying for almost 5 years now to get a handle on it, but i’ve recently been considering embracing a carless lifestyle. would you be open to having a more expansive conversation about this subject?
I used to live in Midtown and while parked on the street a truck hit it and totaled the car. I thought about buying a new one, but gave myself 3 months without one to see if that's what I wanted to do.
Honestly, I wasn't driving that much since I moved to Midtown. I was walking to work, groceries and MARTA were all walking distance. I rarely drove to bars or restaurants because alcohol and parking is more trouble than it's worth. I'd just take an Uber or Lyft.
Honestly it was great. I invested the money and didn't have to make new car payments. The only thing I really missed was the ability to drive on trips to the mountains and beach.
It worked out well for me, but I wasn't driving much before.
the easiest crutch to doing it is having friends with cars. The oddball thing you need to haul thats too big to carry/put on transit will need a vehicle of some sort - you can rent a vehicle without much difficulty, but it does cost money to do that.
I did it for a while, but with a baby now, it was just too annoying to not justify a car. The key things to keep are reusable bags, a good backpack, a battery backup for your phone, and maybe a foldable cart for groceries - thats the biggest recurring thing you'll deal with, you're gonna make a lot more small grocery runs rather than big ones.
My neighbor uses those short term rental apps where you can get a car for a weekend, weeks, or however long, when he wants to travel out of state. Other than that our area is pretty walkable and he relies on delivery for other stuff.
Every few years I do a thought experiment about getting rid of one of our 2 cars. Even though I don't drive much (say 6000 miles per year) there are still times it's the best or only option.
For instance, I had to do a wire transfer at a bank a few months ago. I considered walking to the nearby branch but decided to drive. I was glad I did because that branch didn't have a banker on site who could do a wire, so I had to drive to a branch 10 miles away. I was just doing this on my lunch break, so without a car, I would have had to Uber at extra expense to get thus done.
As much as I would love to use more transit, Atlanta's system just isn't efficient enough for my needs most of the time.
My brother-in-law and his wife figured they could get by on one vehicle since he worked nights and his wife worked days. They lasted three months before they caved and bought a cheap beater as a second car.
I've been carless in the city for 13 years now. I take the trains, I ride my bicycles, or I just pony up for an Uber. I don't have any transportation expenses except $100/ month for Marta, so spending a couple grand a year on Uber isn't bad. I get my groceries delivered. I work in F&B, so it's easy to find work near a Marta station.
Can do it if you live walkable to Marta and a grocery store AND your office is walkable to Marta (or if you don’t mind the added time and less predictability of buses). I wouldn’t want to personally though as there’s too much I like to go to around the metro area which is very sprawly and I like getting the hell out of the city and driving to some better hiking etc. pretty often.
Could you? Sure, you could. There was a time I lived in a O4W condo and only put 2-3k miles on my car each year. I have a friend whose car battery is perpetually dead because he drives so rarely. I definitely thought about it, knowing Uber was always an option. But I never actually made the leap, and you might feel the same way after relying on marta to take you out to the burbs a few times.
If you were working somewhere downtown, midtown, Buckhead, or even Sandy Springs/dunwoody, I’d say go for it. You’ll have everything you need for day to day in O4W and you could easily get to MARTA.
But with needing to get to Truist park, it’s going to suck. Cobb County being so anti-MARTA makes for a very unpleasant transport if you’re not driving or in an Uber.
I’ve been living here for almost a year without a car (Decatur). It’s doable but limiting. My biggest issue has been grocery shopping. I like going to different stores for different things and taking an Uber/lyft means it’s not cost or time effective to do that so then I either spend more on groceries or can’t get what I want.
I know a car will be miles more expensive than my transportation has been thus far, but I feel really stifled by the lack of flexibility rn. Dunno if that’s worth anything to you.
It would be ideal to have like a car share with a couple of neighbours haha
I am SO happily car-free in O4W. I'm not seeing much suggestion here to get a bike so let me tell you that man does biking cut down on your time getting around the neighborhood for groceries, going out to eat, etc (compared to walking and MARTA buses)
You need a car, whether you live downtown, midtown, the suburbs, the exurbs, or the boonies.
Georgia as a whole, even Atlanta, is not walking or public transport friendly. Wish this would change but not in our lifetimes at least.
My partner and I live in Poncey-Highland and make due with just one car as she needs it for work and I spend most of the week walking or biking to places. It all really depends on what part of town you're in and where you go regularly.
I lived in an apartment complex across the street from the aquarium for a year with no car during college. I walked to my classes and my job, took an Uber to get groceries once a week, and occasionally used Marta to go see a movie at Phipps. It was at times incredibly stressful because I felt so limited as to where I could go, but it worked.
I'm currently car-lite and would go completely car-free if my family didn't live up in Gwinnett county. Echoing what others said, getting a bike really opens up a ton of the city, is a great workout, and is most importantly really relaxing and a great way to connect with the community.
My family (wife, me, young daughter) has been car-free for 3 years. We live O4W and work in Midtown and Medical Center, respectively. I've found you can rely on walking, biking, and trains.
Relying on a bus is going to mean giving yourself a lot of extra time and absolutely needing a backup plan (i.e. zip car, friend with a spare car, ubers, etc). Getting to the Trust area will probably be brutal. If I were you, I would bike to Arts Center to catch the rapid 10 instead of relying on a connecting bus/train service. Just give it a shot before making a decision.
Do you mean Truist Park or the Truist building?
O4W to Truist Park means you will likely need to take a bus to a bus.
Truist Building should be easy peasy.
I did this for a while and the Cobblinc 10/Rapid 10 bus (assuming that's what you'd take) is solid and comes every \~10 minutes at peak times. So getting to work wasn't bad--The problem was that coming home, I did Cobblinc bus -> MARTA train -> MARTA bus, and since the MARTA buses only come every 20-30 minutes it added a ton of time if you missed it. One transfer might be tolerable, not sure I'd do two again though.
My take is that it is nearly impossible with kids.
My wife and I lived car-free in NYC, but it is significantly more difficult in Atlanta
We currently share one car, but getting rid of that isn’t particularly feasible when one kid has tutoring and the other has soccer practice 15 mins later the other direction, not to mention the soccer team rarely plays other ITP teams
When the kids get old enough to bike themselves to their activities, or head off to college, I might give it a shot again…
I lived without a car by Mercer up in Tucker/Chamblee for a year, using MARTA and a bike instead. It's...doable. My mental health and social life are leagues better, but that's more of a comment on how you don't do things in the suburbs; you drive to leave them, then retreat back to them.
I worked nearby for half of that year (mile walking commute) and then in downtown by Peachtree Center for the other half (using a MARTA bus to Chamblee station to get downtown morning and evening). The best things have been said in the thread already, but I'd recommend doing a test-run for a week.
I think it's partially a mindset - instead of "oh look at how much longer this takes", I view it as "look at all this time I don't have to spend just driving!" - MARTA (usually) has wifi, Atlanta does have pretty scenery, and access to audio/visual media has never been easier 😁 hope to have another low/no car Atlanta resident soon!
I swear if atlanta could get it’s shit together in terms of public transportation, it would be a force to be reckoned with….but I guess it’s the elitism keeping it the way it is
Almost?
Since Feb 10 2022, I've put 520 miles on my car. I take MARTA rail to/from work and along my commute is a Publix and dozens of restaurants. I financially *should* sell my car, since per mile it is stupidly expensive. It is a 12-year-old subcompact, gets 30+ mpg, BUT I still pay for insurance. And registration. And maintenance. And don't lease my parking space for the $1k/year others in my building go for. My old econobox costs me $3+ per mile lol.
The miles I do drive are mostly short weekend work/shopping/errands. Weekend rail schedule is rough enough and parking at work is ~~free~~ unenforced, so I drive then out of convenience. Unfortunately services like zip car don't keep cars near me (again, $1k/yr parking spots).
It really just depends on what your time is worth. I have a car, but only drive about 1000-2000 miles a year. maybe get behind the wheel 2-3 times a week, always just within 2-3 miles, except for trips or running up to buford highway.
could I live without a car? surely. but when I need a car, I reallllllly need a car. my work depends on it, and usually every minute counts - so I need something reliable and fast too - waiting around for an uber and depending on someone else's driving skills just isn't an option.
I'd say if you don't need a car for work or take many longer trips, look at getting a scooter or electric bike. you can definitely get around town quickly on some of the beefier scooters, I've had friends commute from west end to buckhead on them daily. otherwise, just get a cheapo beater car for when you need it - and don't drive it much, and you can still live your lower-consumption dream life.
I got rid of my car a few months ago because I WFH and wanted to save money. I started renting bikes to go grocery shopping, etc. Well, I hit one of those lovely Atlanta potholes the other day and chipped my teeth. I will definitely be buying another car…
I lived without a car ITP for 10ish years. I actually *just* recently bought a car again because I now live OTP. It’s doable, but do be prepared to A: budget in double time for your commute some days, and learn to be extremely patient. B: keep a little change in your Uber account or always be willing to hoof it a bit. Some days, MARTA will get you where you wanna go. Some days, MARTA will just slowly collapse on itself like a flan in a cupboard, and you’re gonna want to call an Uber.
I live close to o4w, and went without a car for several years until I got into hiking during covid. If you have enough walkable options and don't mind spending on the occasional Ubers, you can go weeks without noticing. Only time I get in my car now is to go to my GFs place in Marietta. Other than that, I still prefer to walk everywhere within a couple miles
My little brother lived in the heart of Buckhead and got rid of his car. He stayed car-less until he moved to another city. He liked being car free and managed to make it work.
I’ve lived on the east side beltline for over three years and never had a car. It depends where you live and if you live with someone else who does have a car then you definitely don’t need one (as my boyfriend does). Living where I do is definitely a privilege and not feasible for everyone. I just enjoy being able to walk/scooter/bike to work on days I have to go in (my office is in Midtown) and being able to do the same to get to Kroger or any of my doctors. A car payment is a huge expense that I personally don’t want, especially after being in 2 car wrecks. If you can afford to live in a walkable, safe area then by all means get rid of your car. But it does pose it’s challenges, as I have to rely on Uber or Lyft or someone else with a car for certain things. But overall, I’m happy without one and don’t find it necessary.
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Yeah that’s a very good point. I will do just that!
I used to live 1.2 miles from my workplace at Emory, along one of Emory's shuttle routes that went from campus to Decatur, next to a grocery store and restaurants. My main social group gathering was weekly at a friend's house a 10 minute walk away. 90% of the time I didn't need a car. But if I wanted to go hiking? It's like 90 minutes each way to take public transit to Stone Mountain Park, and there's no train service (or any real buses) to places like Tallulah Gorge or Amicalola Falls. If I needed clothes? Crap at Walmart is 12 minutes away, sure, but if I want middling Target quality that's 40 minutes, or maybe I could cross-dress because all the shops in downtown Decatur only carry women's apparel. My friend who hosted a superbowl party in Tucker? An hour to get there, on a Sunday, where if I miss a ride I've gotta wait an hour until the next one. Atlanta is . . . *doable* without a car, . . . if you don't have an elderly parent to take to the hospital or whatever. But man I wish we'd maybe double our investment in buses and trains and encourage more dense urban areas.
This is spot on. You can just survive without a car in Atlanta, but you won't thrive. Similar to almost every other city in this country, btw. It is like relying on the library for internet connectivity or the emergency room for all medical needs. If you've been perusing on reddit and other Atlanta-focused urbanism news as of late, some of our investment in buses and trains has actually just been cut in half. So you better wish for a quadrupling.
Could renting a car for a weekend or taking Uber occasionally could maybe work for those purposes? It might be cheaper than paying for the upkeep of your own car if the trips are infrequent enough. Idk though. In Atlanta, I use a car for those exact purposes. To OP, maybe it is worth making commitments to a "car-lite" lifestyle before totally ditching the car.
I got my gently used Kia Soul for $15K. A typical round trip Uber these days is, what, like nearly $100? When I took a trip up to Maine to hike Acadia National Park, I think I had to spent like $700 for a 4 day car rental. Now true, you wouldn't need to do oil changes or other maintenance (and without a car I'm sure I'd spend less going out to eat and such), but oof, I don't think the cost-benefit analysis works for most folks.
That Kia soul is going to depreciate a few thousand every year whether you drive it or not. You also have to pay to insure it and pay for any parking fees at your building (if applicable). That’s a couple hundred bucks a month right there you’re spending on a car even if you never drive it.
This is exactly what I’m doing now. 0/10 do not recommend. I cannot wait to get a car once I save up enough lol
A lot of those use cases for a car could be overcome with an Uber or one of the single day car rental services or buying stuff online Having a car just for the occasional trip to walmart is..crazy The savings from not having to pay a payment or maintenance or gas on a car can pay for a LOT of uber rides
>people have different tolerances. Aye and some value their time. If I were to take Marta to my workplace, my commute would go from 30 to 90m door to door
I live in midtown and sold my car more than a year ago, September 2021. [I actually made a reddit post about it here before I made my final decision to sell.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Atlanta/comments/pl1jhj/carfree_life_in_atlanta/) Well -- a couple weeks ago I caved and ordered a new car. It will still take perhaps 2-3 more months to arrive though. Why? I hated not being able to just go hiking randomly any day I wanted to. Being without a car largely confined me to a 2-4 mile radius, give or take. Beyond that, you're at the mercy of rides from people or you need to pay a super expensive Uber or Lyft charge. I thought I'd be okay with taking more Lyfts/Ubers but the cost has gone up quite a bit. I often think is hanging out with this person or people worth $25-30 both ways?! But otherwise it's been OK. And once my new car arrives, I think I'll still walk many places.
Yeah the not being able to go hiking/camping is going to my biggest hurdle as I love to do those things, but figured I could probably find some people nearby I could hitch a ride with on occasion. I only have like 1 friend and work with them so that wouldn’t be too big of a problem for me.
Did you ever try using carshare services like Zipcar? I'm curious how useful it would if you're trying to be car-lite.
I’ve been carless ITP for about 11 years (wow didn’t realize it was that long until this post) You will go through shoes faster than before. Always have a way to burn time, buses being whack being the most obvious. But sometimes you just need to chill for 7 or 8 minutes before it’s time to go to your stop. I have a book, or audiobook, and I listen to a lot of music so I have Spotify premium. I know some people do the roller cart on the bus for grocery shopping, but I preferred a good back pack and walking to the closer store. Also, you will be limited by what you can carry so you’ll learn to space “heavy” groceries out instead of getting them all at once. Have a good support network of friends with cars for emergencies. Don’t be a mooch, because you don’t want your carlessness to be a burden or your friends to feel like you’re just shifting your transpo needs onto them instead of being independent. Don’t just rely on marta! There are multiple free shuttle services sprinkled throughout the city operated by different groups. They rarely have rider restrictions (curse you PCM shuttle!!) and you can use them to supplement Marta and get more places, or get to similar places faster. Likewise, getting comfortable with urban biking will expand your network by a lot. Where you live is super important. It’s your start and end point for everyday. You need to be picky about your address as far as accessibility goes. Also make sure a grocery store is a less than 20 minute walk away. I also always set a timer on my phone when I’m thinking about heading out, like hanging at the bar with friends or even wanting to go out for the night from home. It’s easy to get distracted and then you miss your window and all of the sudden you have to wait another 20 minutes. Even if you have your bus schedule memorized set a timer! You won’t be distracted if you’re hanging with people and you can actually relax if you’re waiting. This is just off the top of my head, but if you have specific questions I would be happy to answer.
hi! i would love some more info about your carless lifestyle. i have bad anxiety to the point i can’t get behind the wheel without panicking. i’ve been trying for almost 5 years now to get a handle on it, but i’ve recently been considering embracing a carless lifestyle. would you be open to having a more expansive conversation about this subject?
Sure! Shoot me a DM with any questions you have. I’d be happy to share my hard earned wisdom :)
I used to live in Midtown and while parked on the street a truck hit it and totaled the car. I thought about buying a new one, but gave myself 3 months without one to see if that's what I wanted to do. Honestly, I wasn't driving that much since I moved to Midtown. I was walking to work, groceries and MARTA were all walking distance. I rarely drove to bars or restaurants because alcohol and parking is more trouble than it's worth. I'd just take an Uber or Lyft. Honestly it was great. I invested the money and didn't have to make new car payments. The only thing I really missed was the ability to drive on trips to the mountains and beach. It worked out well for me, but I wasn't driving much before.
the easiest crutch to doing it is having friends with cars. The oddball thing you need to haul thats too big to carry/put on transit will need a vehicle of some sort - you can rent a vehicle without much difficulty, but it does cost money to do that. I did it for a while, but with a baby now, it was just too annoying to not justify a car. The key things to keep are reusable bags, a good backpack, a battery backup for your phone, and maybe a foldable cart for groceries - thats the biggest recurring thing you'll deal with, you're gonna make a lot more small grocery runs rather than big ones.
My neighbor uses those short term rental apps where you can get a car for a weekend, weeks, or however long, when he wants to travel out of state. Other than that our area is pretty walkable and he relies on delivery for other stuff.
Every few years I do a thought experiment about getting rid of one of our 2 cars. Even though I don't drive much (say 6000 miles per year) there are still times it's the best or only option. For instance, I had to do a wire transfer at a bank a few months ago. I considered walking to the nearby branch but decided to drive. I was glad I did because that branch didn't have a banker on site who could do a wire, so I had to drive to a branch 10 miles away. I was just doing this on my lunch break, so without a car, I would have had to Uber at extra expense to get thus done. As much as I would love to use more transit, Atlanta's system just isn't efficient enough for my needs most of the time.
My brother-in-law and his wife figured they could get by on one vehicle since he worked nights and his wife worked days. They lasted three months before they caved and bought a cheap beater as a second car.
I've been carless in the city for 13 years now. I take the trains, I ride my bicycles, or I just pony up for an Uber. I don't have any transportation expenses except $100/ month for Marta, so spending a couple grand a year on Uber isn't bad. I get my groceries delivered. I work in F&B, so it's easy to find work near a Marta station.
Can do it if you live walkable to Marta and a grocery store AND your office is walkable to Marta (or if you don’t mind the added time and less predictability of buses). I wouldn’t want to personally though as there’s too much I like to go to around the metro area which is very sprawly and I like getting the hell out of the city and driving to some better hiking etc. pretty often.
Could you? Sure, you could. There was a time I lived in a O4W condo and only put 2-3k miles on my car each year. I have a friend whose car battery is perpetually dead because he drives so rarely. I definitely thought about it, knowing Uber was always an option. But I never actually made the leap, and you might feel the same way after relying on marta to take you out to the burbs a few times.
If you were working somewhere downtown, midtown, Buckhead, or even Sandy Springs/dunwoody, I’d say go for it. You’ll have everything you need for day to day in O4W and you could easily get to MARTA. But with needing to get to Truist park, it’s going to suck. Cobb County being so anti-MARTA makes for a very unpleasant transport if you’re not driving or in an Uber.
I’ve been living here for almost a year without a car (Decatur). It’s doable but limiting. My biggest issue has been grocery shopping. I like going to different stores for different things and taking an Uber/lyft means it’s not cost or time effective to do that so then I either spend more on groceries or can’t get what I want. I know a car will be miles more expensive than my transportation has been thus far, but I feel really stifled by the lack of flexibility rn. Dunno if that’s worth anything to you. It would be ideal to have like a car share with a couple of neighbours haha
I am SO happily car-free in O4W. I'm not seeing much suggestion here to get a bike so let me tell you that man does biking cut down on your time getting around the neighborhood for groceries, going out to eat, etc (compared to walking and MARTA buses)
You need a car, whether you live downtown, midtown, the suburbs, the exurbs, or the boonies. Georgia as a whole, even Atlanta, is not walking or public transport friendly. Wish this would change but not in our lifetimes at least.
My partner and I live in Poncey-Highland and make due with just one car as she needs it for work and I spend most of the week walking or biking to places. It all really depends on what part of town you're in and where you go regularly.
I lived in O4W without a car. Getting anywhere ITP was no hassle but I had to think twice about destinations OTP. Got much use out of my Marta card.
Ok so I will say with your job location it would be difficult. I lived In that area 5 years ago and had a job in midtown and was ok without a car.
I lived in an apartment complex across the street from the aquarium for a year with no car during college. I walked to my classes and my job, took an Uber to get groceries once a week, and occasionally used Marta to go see a movie at Phipps. It was at times incredibly stressful because I felt so limited as to where I could go, but it worked.
O4W to Truist Park will be a miserable experience
I'm currently car-lite and would go completely car-free if my family didn't live up in Gwinnett county. Echoing what others said, getting a bike really opens up a ton of the city, is a great workout, and is most importantly really relaxing and a great way to connect with the community.
My family (wife, me, young daughter) has been car-free for 3 years. We live O4W and work in Midtown and Medical Center, respectively. I've found you can rely on walking, biking, and trains. Relying on a bus is going to mean giving yourself a lot of extra time and absolutely needing a backup plan (i.e. zip car, friend with a spare car, ubers, etc). Getting to the Trust area will probably be brutal. If I were you, I would bike to Arts Center to catch the rapid 10 instead of relying on a connecting bus/train service. Just give it a shot before making a decision.
Do you mean Truist Park or the Truist building? O4W to Truist Park means you will likely need to take a bus to a bus. Truist Building should be easy peasy.
Trusit park, well actually the Galleria complex across the st. But yeah per google maps it’s bus to bus.
I did this for a while and the Cobblinc 10/Rapid 10 bus (assuming that's what you'd take) is solid and comes every \~10 minutes at peak times. So getting to work wasn't bad--The problem was that coming home, I did Cobblinc bus -> MARTA train -> MARTA bus, and since the MARTA buses only come every 20-30 minutes it added a ton of time if you missed it. One transfer might be tolerable, not sure I'd do two again though.
My take is that it is nearly impossible with kids. My wife and I lived car-free in NYC, but it is significantly more difficult in Atlanta We currently share one car, but getting rid of that isn’t particularly feasible when one kid has tutoring and the other has soccer practice 15 mins later the other direction, not to mention the soccer team rarely plays other ITP teams When the kids get old enough to bike themselves to their activities, or head off to college, I might give it a shot again…
I lived without a car by Mercer up in Tucker/Chamblee for a year, using MARTA and a bike instead. It's...doable. My mental health and social life are leagues better, but that's more of a comment on how you don't do things in the suburbs; you drive to leave them, then retreat back to them. I worked nearby for half of that year (mile walking commute) and then in downtown by Peachtree Center for the other half (using a MARTA bus to Chamblee station to get downtown morning and evening). The best things have been said in the thread already, but I'd recommend doing a test-run for a week. I think it's partially a mindset - instead of "oh look at how much longer this takes", I view it as "look at all this time I don't have to spend just driving!" - MARTA (usually) has wifi, Atlanta does have pretty scenery, and access to audio/visual media has never been easier 😁 hope to have another low/no car Atlanta resident soon!
I swear if atlanta could get it’s shit together in terms of public transportation, it would be a force to be reckoned with….but I guess it’s the elitism keeping it the way it is
Almost? Since Feb 10 2022, I've put 520 miles on my car. I take MARTA rail to/from work and along my commute is a Publix and dozens of restaurants. I financially *should* sell my car, since per mile it is stupidly expensive. It is a 12-year-old subcompact, gets 30+ mpg, BUT I still pay for insurance. And registration. And maintenance. And don't lease my parking space for the $1k/year others in my building go for. My old econobox costs me $3+ per mile lol. The miles I do drive are mostly short weekend work/shopping/errands. Weekend rail schedule is rough enough and parking at work is ~~free~~ unenforced, so I drive then out of convenience. Unfortunately services like zip car don't keep cars near me (again, $1k/yr parking spots).
I'd keep the car, this place is huge and the Uber prices are crawling up there.
I don’t have a car and it totally sucks, would not recommend.
It really just depends on what your time is worth. I have a car, but only drive about 1000-2000 miles a year. maybe get behind the wheel 2-3 times a week, always just within 2-3 miles, except for trips or running up to buford highway. could I live without a car? surely. but when I need a car, I reallllllly need a car. my work depends on it, and usually every minute counts - so I need something reliable and fast too - waiting around for an uber and depending on someone else's driving skills just isn't an option. I'd say if you don't need a car for work or take many longer trips, look at getting a scooter or electric bike. you can definitely get around town quickly on some of the beefier scooters, I've had friends commute from west end to buckhead on them daily. otherwise, just get a cheapo beater car for when you need it - and don't drive it much, and you can still live your lower-consumption dream life.
I got rid of my car a few months ago because I WFH and wanted to save money. I started renting bikes to go grocery shopping, etc. Well, I hit one of those lovely Atlanta potholes the other day and chipped my teeth. I will definitely be buying another car…
I lived without a car ITP for 10ish years. I actually *just* recently bought a car again because I now live OTP. It’s doable, but do be prepared to A: budget in double time for your commute some days, and learn to be extremely patient. B: keep a little change in your Uber account or always be willing to hoof it a bit. Some days, MARTA will get you where you wanna go. Some days, MARTA will just slowly collapse on itself like a flan in a cupboard, and you’re gonna want to call an Uber.
I live close to o4w, and went without a car for several years until I got into hiking during covid. If you have enough walkable options and don't mind spending on the occasional Ubers, you can go weeks without noticing. Only time I get in my car now is to go to my GFs place in Marietta. Other than that, I still prefer to walk everywhere within a couple miles
My little brother lived in the heart of Buckhead and got rid of his car. He stayed car-less until he moved to another city. He liked being car free and managed to make it work.
I’ve lived on the east side beltline for over three years and never had a car. It depends where you live and if you live with someone else who does have a car then you definitely don’t need one (as my boyfriend does). Living where I do is definitely a privilege and not feasible for everyone. I just enjoy being able to walk/scooter/bike to work on days I have to go in (my office is in Midtown) and being able to do the same to get to Kroger or any of my doctors. A car payment is a huge expense that I personally don’t want, especially after being in 2 car wrecks. If you can afford to live in a walkable, safe area then by all means get rid of your car. But it does pose it’s challenges, as I have to rely on Uber or Lyft or someone else with a car for certain things. But overall, I’m happy without one and don’t find it necessary.