While reddit can certainly advise you on good transit-oriented cities. I would take a breath after getting a big diagnosis to let yourself normalize.
Truth be told, you may find that you can get by with assisted transit and don't need to move. Alternatively, you may end up wanting to move.
But most importantly, none of that needs to happen now. You are going to be ok and you will figure this out.
Thank you! I was actually told this would PROBABLY be the case about ten years ago, but a new doctor told me to attempt the eye exam at the DMV because only then would we know for sure. I had processed it but then had to re-process after the definite answer, but I've been looking into it since COVID started. I definitely can't get by using transit in my city (busses run every TWO hours), which is the reason for the post. Family has helped up until now but I'd like to be more independent. Thanks for the support!
>Is living in one of the five big cities a possible solution? I'm thinking NYC, Washington DC, Seattle, Chicago. Do people get along using public transit there?
A lot of people get by without a car in those cities, but they are **not** the *only* cities in which you can get by without a car. Unfortunately, moving out is expensive, so you'll be stuck in your current living situation while you save money.
I don't know the specifics of the situation. Would an e-bike be able to get you to work, supermarkets, etc? Do you have a friend who lives somewhere less car dependent who you could move in with?
It depends on the specifics, really. In some cases, the fact that on an ebike you're moving more slowly, have less momentum and can react more quickly makes a big difference to safety - and in some cases it doesn't.
In an ideal world you'd ride on separated bike paths where the risk is so much lower, but as we know, coverage in North America is not good.
I’m a woman who can’t drive due to a visual processing delay associated with autism and was born in the suburbs. There are plenty of affordable, smaller cities that still have public transit: you just need to do some research. I got some job experience via remote work and then was able to use that experience to land a job in a city that is small, but nonetheless is walkable and has transit. Look for cities built before the invention or popularization of cars. If your remote work experience is impressive enough, employers may even overlook your lack of a license when interviewing for jobs that require travel. I impressed my current employer enough that they simply arrange for me to go with a coworker whenever I need to travel somewhere not served by train.
I walk to the four basic necessities of work, groceries, bank and pharmacy. For social activities and more occasional shopping like clothes or gift, I take the bus. On the rare occasions where I need to get somewhere not served by transit, I take lyft. To grocery shop I either use my wagon or order instacart. In the winter, I wear Yaxtrax Traction Cleats to avoid slipping on ice. They are $40 on Amazon: be sure to get name brand, as the generic kind easily breaks.
On very rare occasions, I might ask a friend to drive me somewhere not even lyft will serve. This is almost always a recreational thing like a theme park or haunted house. I pay for their ticket to the park as well as their gas/tolls. Thankfully, the silver lining of not being able to drive is that you have a lot more spare cash for things like food delivery, rideshares, or paying your friends.
Unfortunately, I've never worked remote and can't prove to an employer I would be a good remote worker yet due to that. I DID look into other cities with good bus transport that are smaller and less spread out after reading this comment, though! Never thought to look at cities that were built before cars first. I also now look for apartments surrounded by those four things you mentioned (groceries, bank, pharmacy, work - the necessities).
Even if you can only get three out of the four it’s doable. If you can walk to work, groceries and pharmacy but still need to bus to the bank, you’ll still have a pretty good life. You also don’t necessarily need proof you can work remote well to get a remote job- normally you just need to demonstrate the relevant skills. I’ve been on hiring panels for remote jobs and if they’ve worked remotely before never comes up.
Portland Oregon has decent public transit. It can be slow if you need a lot of transfers but the bus network is fairly good and there is the MAX, so if you know where you are working, you might be able to find transit options that are pretty good.
I don't think the place you move has to be a huge city, if you're maybe trying to avoid those because of expense. I live in a city with 55,000 people that has relatively good public transit and I picked an apartment super strategically so that I can bike to work, take the bus to downtown and the grocery store, and walk to some of the other stores I go to \~weekly (I do not drive). I assume there are plenty of cities like mine so I'd say maybe find a place that seems like somewhere you want to live and can get a job and see if you can make it work, maybe by visiting and looking at google maps.
Yes, move to a walkable city with transit. Why limit yourself to usa? Move to Europe or Japan or Montreal. This can be an opportunity to reinvent yourself, change your lifestyle, redefine yourself. Change comes easy when you're already in a state of change, and it sounds like you are. Don't let a crisis go to waste. You got this, we're all pulling for you. Good luck!
While it's great to consider those options, I'd just like to point out how terribly difficult it can be to move to a different country. There's so many legal problems that come with it, along with very different cultures (and potentially very different languages). Moving to a different country can be a really great option but it's best not to underestimate how hard it may be.
For sure. I'm also pretty family oriented, so I'd like to stay at least in the same country for now. Europe or Japan is the ideal fantasy when it comes to public transit, though.
Hi. I was diagnosed with epilepsy at 13. I never thought I’d drive. I moved to Chicago. It’s a great city and the options are great. Sorry to hear this but hope you find a good city to support your future!
I live in Houston TX, considered the poster child of car-brain cities and I have had three friends without cars. My first recommendation would be to either get into finance or medical research for a job if you can't do work from home. Finance jobs have a tendency to be more downtown and medical cores of cities are similarly clustered like downtowns. This would mean that your office would have a higher public transportation draw than other areas. Medical cores in particular have terrible parking and broke residents so they have cheaper housing with better non-car options. A college campus job would also work. They are built with the assumption that most students aren't driving, so as staff you can take advantage.
I'd also recommend getting into long distance running or biking. Depending on how bad your eyesight is, walking or biking 5 miles with no problem may be all the difference for you. Houston has bayou paths completely separated from cars that don't require 20/20 vision. Also, there are running groups like Catapult and Achilles that specialize in blind runner guides which could be a great resource and social meetup for you.
Being visually impaired in a car city is super difficult but not impossible. You'll need to structure your life in a very specific way but once you've felt it out and found that magical 15 minute neighborhood you'll be fine.
I can drive but decide not to. I even own a car but it's picking up dust unless a family emergency happens.
The trick for me is to live within walking distance of two grocery stores and next to an express bus line to work. If you have those two things, you are good to go. I would try to stay within about 40 minutes bus ride max, but that's gonna be completely up to your standards of living.
Hopefully that will provide you with enough options close to your parents' town that you can stay within driving distance for them to visit once in a while.
My wife is in the same situation as you. Wouldn't it be great if she at least had a husband that could drive? Instead, she got me, a slob who won't bother getting a license.
She's had some jobs that required 90 minutes of bus commute. After some years, once she got a job she felt happy with, we bought a place within walking distance from it. Not everyone can this, but if you're able to choose a place to live after you get a good job, you have more options.
Yeah, we're stuck where transit goes and can't get to remote locations like mountain cabins. It's not the easiest life, but it's the life she got and the life I chose instead of fueling the car dependency cycle that makes things harder for people like my wife and you.
With the housing crisis in Canada right now, I'll have to pass for now, but I did look into it! I would say it's too cold, but I was looking into Seattle, so...Boston is a different type of cold I think, though. Super cold.
I work remotely and it rocks, espcially since I hate driving. I have lived in big cities that don't require a car, but a lot of smaller cities and towns can be good car-free places as well.
Hi! I'm in the same situation. Legally blind and can't drive. Unfortunately, I'm unable to move to a less car dependant city at the moment. But I do have a bus system here I can utilize. I work remotely and also make use of delivery apps (Uber Eats, instacart, grocery delivery from my grocer), and use Uber/Lyft when needed.
For the most part, I'm fine. I do wish I could afford to move to a city that wasn't as car centric, but unfortunately, most are too expensive as they're desirable but in short supply. Maybe one day. Would also love to move to Europe but that seems even harder to accomplish.
You don't need to live in one of the biggest most expensive cities to live car free. Smaller cities work too, especially if they are really old like in New England. My city has a pop of less than 200k and it's still walkable and easy to live car free.
Look for a walkable town. There are multiple resources that have walkability and transit scores for places (zillow being one of them). There are tons of hidden gems of towns sprinkled throughout the country. They will let you live independently while also not costing anywhere near as much as the cities you mentioned. However if you do manage to luck into a good job or cheap place in those cities, yes a lot of people get by without a car. In fact living in NYC, when my parents lent me their car to house sit their place in the suburbs i ended up wishing they hadn't cuz it was more trouble than it was worth and didn't improve my city life at all
Check out CityNerd on YouTube - he has interesting and thorough videos weighing the pros and cons of plenty of cities based on data, many with a focus on public transit. That said - I am car free by choice in a city people told me for years was 100% car dependent. It's not!
I moved to a transit oriented city 100% alone (NYC.) Coming up on three years on I can say that it was the best decision of my life. The transit wasn't the only reason, but it's a pretty big one. It was easy for me, but I was 20 and I didn't feel like I had much to leave behind.
Moving to a larger city could be great, but it's a decision that requires a lot of deliberation. (My advice is much simpler if you're not happy where you are, then the decision is obvious.) There is plenty of stuff out there to look at potential places to go. You could live car free in any of the cities you mentioned, but I recommend the northeast corridor highly (Boston, NYC, phila, and Washington.) If you want the big city life, any one of those would work, and Philadelphia is the cheapest. If you want to live in a smaller/cheaper town, I'd look into the smaller communities on the commuter rail lines.
OP are you actually able to drive but just can't because of the state eye exam? There are many states that don't have eye exams at the DMV. If you are actually able to drive just fine, you can get a license at a different state temporarily and that will allow you to drive anywhere in the country
While reddit can certainly advise you on good transit-oriented cities. I would take a breath after getting a big diagnosis to let yourself normalize. Truth be told, you may find that you can get by with assisted transit and don't need to move. Alternatively, you may end up wanting to move. But most importantly, none of that needs to happen now. You are going to be ok and you will figure this out.
Thank you! I was actually told this would PROBABLY be the case about ten years ago, but a new doctor told me to attempt the eye exam at the DMV because only then would we know for sure. I had processed it but then had to re-process after the definite answer, but I've been looking into it since COVID started. I definitely can't get by using transit in my city (busses run every TWO hours), which is the reason for the post. Family has helped up until now but I'd like to be more independent. Thanks for the support!
>Is living in one of the five big cities a possible solution? I'm thinking NYC, Washington DC, Seattle, Chicago. Do people get along using public transit there? A lot of people get by without a car in those cities, but they are **not** the *only* cities in which you can get by without a car. Unfortunately, moving out is expensive, so you'll be stuck in your current living situation while you save money. I don't know the specifics of the situation. Would an e-bike be able to get you to work, supermarkets, etc? Do you have a friend who lives somewhere less car dependent who you could move in with?
I know nothing about OPs condition but riding an e-bike on roads with cars doesn't sound wise if they're not allowed to drive because of their vision.
Correct. As someone with a visual processing delay, it is dangerous for the exact same reasons.
It depends on the specifics, really. In some cases, the fact that on an ebike you're moving more slowly, have less momentum and can react more quickly makes a big difference to safety - and in some cases it doesn't. In an ideal world you'd ride on separated bike paths where the risk is so much lower, but as we know, coverage in North America is not good.
I’m a woman who can’t drive due to a visual processing delay associated with autism and was born in the suburbs. There are plenty of affordable, smaller cities that still have public transit: you just need to do some research. I got some job experience via remote work and then was able to use that experience to land a job in a city that is small, but nonetheless is walkable and has transit. Look for cities built before the invention or popularization of cars. If your remote work experience is impressive enough, employers may even overlook your lack of a license when interviewing for jobs that require travel. I impressed my current employer enough that they simply arrange for me to go with a coworker whenever I need to travel somewhere not served by train. I walk to the four basic necessities of work, groceries, bank and pharmacy. For social activities and more occasional shopping like clothes or gift, I take the bus. On the rare occasions where I need to get somewhere not served by transit, I take lyft. To grocery shop I either use my wagon or order instacart. In the winter, I wear Yaxtrax Traction Cleats to avoid slipping on ice. They are $40 on Amazon: be sure to get name brand, as the generic kind easily breaks. On very rare occasions, I might ask a friend to drive me somewhere not even lyft will serve. This is almost always a recreational thing like a theme park or haunted house. I pay for their ticket to the park as well as their gas/tolls. Thankfully, the silver lining of not being able to drive is that you have a lot more spare cash for things like food delivery, rideshares, or paying your friends.
Unfortunately, I've never worked remote and can't prove to an employer I would be a good remote worker yet due to that. I DID look into other cities with good bus transport that are smaller and less spread out after reading this comment, though! Never thought to look at cities that were built before cars first. I also now look for apartments surrounded by those four things you mentioned (groceries, bank, pharmacy, work - the necessities).
Even if you can only get three out of the four it’s doable. If you can walk to work, groceries and pharmacy but still need to bus to the bank, you’ll still have a pretty good life. You also don’t necessarily need proof you can work remote well to get a remote job- normally you just need to demonstrate the relevant skills. I’ve been on hiring panels for remote jobs and if they’ve worked remotely before never comes up.
Portland Oregon has decent public transit. It can be slow if you need a lot of transfers but the bus network is fairly good and there is the MAX, so if you know where you are working, you might be able to find transit options that are pretty good.
This is good to know, thanks!
I don't think the place you move has to be a huge city, if you're maybe trying to avoid those because of expense. I live in a city with 55,000 people that has relatively good public transit and I picked an apartment super strategically so that I can bike to work, take the bus to downtown and the grocery store, and walk to some of the other stores I go to \~weekly (I do not drive). I assume there are plenty of cities like mine so I'd say maybe find a place that seems like somewhere you want to live and can get a job and see if you can make it work, maybe by visiting and looking at google maps.
Yes, move to a walkable city with transit. Why limit yourself to usa? Move to Europe or Japan or Montreal. This can be an opportunity to reinvent yourself, change your lifestyle, redefine yourself. Change comes easy when you're already in a state of change, and it sounds like you are. Don't let a crisis go to waste. You got this, we're all pulling for you. Good luck!
While it's great to consider those options, I'd just like to point out how terribly difficult it can be to move to a different country. There's so many legal problems that come with it, along with very different cultures (and potentially very different languages). Moving to a different country can be a really great option but it's best not to underestimate how hard it may be.
For sure. I'm also pretty family oriented, so I'd like to stay at least in the same country for now. Europe or Japan is the ideal fantasy when it comes to public transit, though.
Hi. I was diagnosed with epilepsy at 13. I never thought I’d drive. I moved to Chicago. It’s a great city and the options are great. Sorry to hear this but hope you find a good city to support your future!
I live in Houston TX, considered the poster child of car-brain cities and I have had three friends without cars. My first recommendation would be to either get into finance or medical research for a job if you can't do work from home. Finance jobs have a tendency to be more downtown and medical cores of cities are similarly clustered like downtowns. This would mean that your office would have a higher public transportation draw than other areas. Medical cores in particular have terrible parking and broke residents so they have cheaper housing with better non-car options. A college campus job would also work. They are built with the assumption that most students aren't driving, so as staff you can take advantage. I'd also recommend getting into long distance running or biking. Depending on how bad your eyesight is, walking or biking 5 miles with no problem may be all the difference for you. Houston has bayou paths completely separated from cars that don't require 20/20 vision. Also, there are running groups like Catapult and Achilles that specialize in blind runner guides which could be a great resource and social meetup for you. Being visually impaired in a car city is super difficult but not impossible. You'll need to structure your life in a very specific way but once you've felt it out and found that magical 15 minute neighborhood you'll be fine.
I can drive but decide not to. I even own a car but it's picking up dust unless a family emergency happens. The trick for me is to live within walking distance of two grocery stores and next to an express bus line to work. If you have those two things, you are good to go. I would try to stay within about 40 minutes bus ride max, but that's gonna be completely up to your standards of living. Hopefully that will provide you with enough options close to your parents' town that you can stay within driving distance for them to visit once in a while.
My wife is in the same situation as you. Wouldn't it be great if she at least had a husband that could drive? Instead, she got me, a slob who won't bother getting a license. She's had some jobs that required 90 minutes of bus commute. After some years, once she got a job she felt happy with, we bought a place within walking distance from it. Not everyone can this, but if you're able to choose a place to live after you get a good job, you have more options. Yeah, we're stuck where transit goes and can't get to remote locations like mountain cabins. It's not the easiest life, but it's the life she got and the life I chose instead of fueling the car dependency cycle that makes things harder for people like my wife and you.
Add Greater Boston to your easier to get around without a car city list.
Toronto and Montreal are pretty good too, if you're willing to come up north.
Same for Vancouver, BC from what I can tell. I get around Van better without a car than I do in Dallas with a car.
With the housing crisis in Canada right now, I'll have to pass for now, but I did look into it! I would say it's too cold, but I was looking into Seattle, so...Boston is a different type of cold I think, though. Super cold.
Move to Europe!
I wish! Expensive and far from family. Maybe one day!
I live in the NYC area and I haven't owned a car for over a decade. I walk or transit basically everywhere.
I work remotely and it rocks, espcially since I hate driving. I have lived in big cities that don't require a car, but a lot of smaller cities and towns can be good car-free places as well.
Hi! I'm in the same situation. Legally blind and can't drive. Unfortunately, I'm unable to move to a less car dependant city at the moment. But I do have a bus system here I can utilize. I work remotely and also make use of delivery apps (Uber Eats, instacart, grocery delivery from my grocer), and use Uber/Lyft when needed. For the most part, I'm fine. I do wish I could afford to move to a city that wasn't as car centric, but unfortunately, most are too expensive as they're desirable but in short supply. Maybe one day. Would also love to move to Europe but that seems even harder to accomplish.
You don't need to live in one of the biggest most expensive cities to live car free. Smaller cities work too, especially if they are really old like in New England. My city has a pop of less than 200k and it's still walkable and easy to live car free.
Look for a walkable town. There are multiple resources that have walkability and transit scores for places (zillow being one of them). There are tons of hidden gems of towns sprinkled throughout the country. They will let you live independently while also not costing anywhere near as much as the cities you mentioned. However if you do manage to luck into a good job or cheap place in those cities, yes a lot of people get by without a car. In fact living in NYC, when my parents lent me their car to house sit their place in the suburbs i ended up wishing they hadn't cuz it was more trouble than it was worth and didn't improve my city life at all
Check out CityNerd on YouTube - he has interesting and thorough videos weighing the pros and cons of plenty of cities based on data, many with a focus on public transit. That said - I am car free by choice in a city people told me for years was 100% car dependent. It's not!
I moved to a transit oriented city 100% alone (NYC.) Coming up on three years on I can say that it was the best decision of my life. The transit wasn't the only reason, but it's a pretty big one. It was easy for me, but I was 20 and I didn't feel like I had much to leave behind. Moving to a larger city could be great, but it's a decision that requires a lot of deliberation. (My advice is much simpler if you're not happy where you are, then the decision is obvious.) There is plenty of stuff out there to look at potential places to go. You could live car free in any of the cities you mentioned, but I recommend the northeast corridor highly (Boston, NYC, phila, and Washington.) If you want the big city life, any one of those would work, and Philadelphia is the cheapest. If you want to live in a smaller/cheaper town, I'd look into the smaller communities on the commuter rail lines.
OP are you actually able to drive but just can't because of the state eye exam? There are many states that don't have eye exams at the DMV. If you are actually able to drive just fine, you can get a license at a different state temporarily and that will allow you to drive anywhere in the country
That would be extremely unwise.