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Depends where you live but generally it is safer and easier to have a car
Pro
If you live in certain neighborhoods, yes, it’s possible, but expect to Uber often if you want a social life.
I lived in Pasadena for the two years I was here without a car. Pasadena is a great place to be careless. As long as you stay south of the 210, the neighborhoods are relatively safe and I never felt unsafe without a car. The Gold Line (metro line that runs through Pasadena) is the safest of the metro lines and goes right in to downtown LA. The problem will come if you want to get to the beach, west side, mid city, etc.
Now that I do share a car, I hate driving. It’s so stressful, there’s too much traffic, drivers are crazy bc you have to practice defensive driving, you’re probably likely to get in an accident/fender bender at least once during your time here, parking is hard to find wherever you go or expensive and have to valet. I wish public transit culture was more of a thing here 😞
Thanks for sharing! Doesn’t sound promising
You might not need a car - but you definitely want a car
It really depends on what you want to get out of the city. Even though I spent the past 10 years living in cities without a car and relying on public transportation, I couldn't imagine not having a car here, even though I live in a very walkable area. LA has a lot to offer, and its all very spread out over 500 square miles. Public transportation is kind of hit or miss because it isn't always accessable to go where you need to in a reasonable amount of time. My friend was here for two years without a car and relied on Ubers and Public transportation, and until she got one she felt very trapped.
So to answer your question, it's definitely possible to live in LA without a car. Is enjoyable? Absolutely not.
It depends on where you live but having a care is more safer and makes your movement easier
I lived on the westside without a car for a few years but That was also when we were traveling for work so I moved here not needing a car. I biked whenever I could (though bike theft is huge in la). Also relied on the metro to get into DTLA for the office. Otherwise, ubered. Or take scooters/e-bikes. I live next to an enterprise and hertz rental so it was also easy for me to rent cars when I wanted to road trip. Not having a car really kept me in my westside bubble though. Now my bf and I share a car so I still do a bit of walking if he’s using the car
Public transit is very inexpensive here. Light rail train (metro) and bus are like $1.25-1.75 per ride and you can transfer once, I think. It’s literally So affordable but I’d say obviously will require a lot of planning ahead and waiting. Or traffic can impact bus times. And I came from the east coast and was used to public transit too.
And FYI I am a woman, I was also very concerned about safety but didn’t really go out late at night