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03-23-09, 10:22 PM
Anyone here live car free in Santa Monica? I'm real close to taking a job there, and I wanted to see what other folks' experiences are like.
I currently live in SF, and it's effortless; my wife and I can get anywhere we need to via public transit, bikes, or the odd car-share reservation. I've visited Santa Monica before, and I get the feeling it's doable. My job would be the city, and the school that my wife would attend is about two miles from there. I figure that if we get a place within five miles of either, we'd be good.
What I'm mostly worried about is what I'd call "mid-range mobility." Since we live in SF, we can hop a train/bus/ferry to a neighboring city, and do what we need to do. How feasible is that with LA's transit system? I've been reading about the city's rapid bus system; how hard is it to connect to that from the service on the westside?
What about cycling from the westside to, say downtown LA, or Silverlake? Are there decent routes that aren't too congested?
Finally, what's the car-sharing scene like there? I know there are Flexcars near UCLA. Any other providers in the area?
Thanks for the input, everyone. We're both hyped and nervous about the prospects of this move!
I currently live in SF, and it's effortless; my wife and I can get anywhere we need to via public transit, bikes, or the odd car-share reservation. I've visited Santa Monica before, and I get the feeling it's doable. My job would be the city, and the school that my wife would attend is about two miles from there. I figure that if we get a place within five miles of either, we'd be good.
What I'm mostly worried about is what I'd call "mid-range mobility." Since we live in SF, we can hop a train/bus/ferry to a neighboring city, and do what we need to do. How feasible is that with LA's transit system? I've been reading about the city's rapid bus system; how hard is it to connect to that from the service on the westside?
What about cycling from the westside to, say downtown LA, or Silverlake? Are there decent routes that aren't too congested?
Finally, what's the car-sharing scene like there? I know there are Flexcars near UCLA. Any other providers in the area?
Thanks for the input, everyone. We're both hyped and nervous about the prospects of this move!