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Suppose I'm interested in renting a room for not too much money (under $1200 a month) in a large city, living a car-free lifestyle, and having access to lots of relatively quaint coffee shops and ethnic cuisines. If I'm in the U.S, where should I go?
The only places I can think of would be New York City (probably Brooklyn, as Manhattan is too expensive) or Chicago. Would possibly somewhere like Boston, Philadelphia, or D.C. work, or are they too spread out and car-dependent?
Suppose I'm interested in renting a room for not too much money (under $1200 a month) in a large city, living a car-free lifestyle, and having access to lots of relatively quaint coffee shops and ethnic cuisines. If I'm in the U.S, where should I go?
The only places I can think of would be New York City (probably Brooklyn, as Manhattan is too expensive) or Chicago. Would possibly somewhere like Boston, Philadelphia, or D.C. work, or are they too spread out and car-dependent?
You could do this in the San Francisco area, I know plenty of people who rent rooms with 3-4 other people, and pay $800-$1000.
There's more places than that, to be certain, of course those are probably the best ones (plus SF too) for that type of lifestyle. In regards to under $1200 a month though, and not being in a place that you plain wouldn't want to be in, Chicago and Philadelphia are probably your options.
If you are just looking for a 2 bedroom apartment share, your options are wide open if you have a budget of $1,200 a month. Even NYC. If you want your own place, then your options are much more limited.
You can probably rent a room for that much in Manhattan. If not then in Brooklyn or Queens.
Yeah, really nowhere in the country is out of the question at that price, provided you're okay with living with roommates. It might be hard to swing in San Francisco, but that's about it.
But as others said, Chicago and Philly are the best options for "car free on a budget." You could afford your own place in either neighborhood, albeit not in the most fashionable neighborhoods. Car free is totally doable in not only NYC, but also SF, Boston, and DC, but you would need roommates in all of those cases.
There's a number of other cities where car free is doable, like Seattle, Baltimore, and my own home of Pittsburgh - particularly as long as you locate in a walkable neighborhood and can use transit to get to work. But your style would be really crimped on those random days you want to either socialize or shop in a neighborhood not on a direct transit line from your home, so they really work better as "use a car 1-2 times per week" cities.
You've gotten great, and to be honest very obvious, answers. All of the big 6 are in play if you are seeking a shared accommodation. You can find other gems of opportunity (LA, Seattle to name a couple) but really no need to drop below the big 6. And as others have said, if you want to stretch your dollar farther then Philly and Chicago would be the top 2 choices.
If you are just looking for a 2 bedroom apartment share, your options are wide open if you have a budget of $1,200 a month. Even NYC. If you want your own place, then your options are much more limited.
That can definitely get you a 1 bedroom in Philly or Chicago
Definitely Philadelphia! Portland would probably be a good fit for what you're looking for as well.
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