I’ve been reading Aaron’s posts on (the potential of) being carless in Seattle, as well as the blog of a family who is participating in this experiment. Unfortunately, being carless in SOUTH Seattle is much more difficult than being carless in NORTH Seattle, especially when you work in WEST Seattle.
I say this because the family experimenting with carlessness lives in Ballard. The father searched the phone book for the number of services within 1 mile of their home and came up with 248 businesses! I did the same process online and came up with merely 67.
Yet, here is a short list of businesses or conveniences we frequent within walking distance of our home:
Wells Fargo bank
QFC or Safeway
Video Store
Rite Aid or Long’s Drug stores
Taco Bell
Starbucks
Northbend Nails
Rainier Hair Salon
Tennis and Fitness Outlet (our workout place)
conveniences: mail box; bus lines
unnecessary without a car: car wash, gas station, Priya’s car maintenance, auto supply stores
nearby but we don’t go there: Various Pho Noodle houses, cell phone stores, wedding boutiques, ethnic cafes in which we would invariably stand out, laundromats, corner stores, other fast food places, dentists (ours is awesome and on First Hill), a high school, an elementary school, and ethnic video stores
If we lived only one mile south, we would have more conveniences, such as my chiropractor, a local 1-show movie theater, the library, the post office, great restaurants, the farmer’s market, our other bank, and some great boutiques and coffee shops. Justin is within a bus ride of his school, but it takes me about 40 minutes by bus whether my school is here or in West Seattle (where it is until the renovation is complete). Our car is making funny noises, which is why I am thinking about all of this–we may be bussing it for a couple of days…
