City Dwellers

[DarkCloak]

I have lived in several downtowns now. Currently I live in downtown San Diego and went to school in Washington DC. I would not rent or buy a place without a parking spot. The following are my reasons:

1. Car does not freeze over in the winter. Thus you do not have to defrost it in the morning. Avoiding this pain the ass is wise. II know this does not happen at my current spot in San Diego, CA but it is a mega big deal in the northeast).
2. When it snows your GTI can sit safely in the garage instead of getting pushed in by the plow and you having to spend all day trying to free your car.
3. Your car stays clean your round. You do not even get morning dew smearing up the windows. Plus, during the non snow months you can detail your car yourself in the garage with waterless car wash.
4. On street parking is unreliable. You may get a great spot one day but not always. Garage Parking is reliable.
5. Makes returning with groceries and other items more convenient as you do not need to walk down the street with all your bags.

Pro Tip: Get a good bicycle. It can meet a lot of your urban transport needs, takes stress off das auto and is great for picking up chicks. Seriously I have never met a girl in a car but the bicycle seems to just lore them in.
:thumbup:

 

[jnj2455]

I have lived in several downtowns now. Currently I live in downtown San Diego and went to school in Washington DC. I would not rent or buy a place without a parking spot. The following are my reasons:

1. Car does not freeze over in the winter. Thus you do not have to defrost it in the morning. Avoiding this pain the ass is wise. II know this does not happen at my current spot in San Diego, CA but it is a mega big deal in the northeast).
2. When it snows your GTI can sit safely in the garage instead of getting pushed in by the plow and you having to spend all day trying to free your car.
3. Your car stays clean your round. You do not even get morning dew smearing up the windows. Plus, during the non snow months you can detail your car yourself in the garage with waterless car wash.
4. On street parking is unreliable. You may get a great spot one day but not always. Garage Parking is reliable.
5. Makes returning with groceries and other items more convenient as you do not need to walk down the street with all your bags.

Pro Tip: Get a good bicycle. It can meet a lot of your urban transport needs, takes stress off das auto and is great for picking up chicks. Seriously I have never met a girl in a car but the bicycle seems to just lore them in.
:thumbup:

#4 is probably one of my biggest concerns right now followed by potential assholes fucking up your car. The last thing I want to do after a 12 hour work day is to hunt around the blocks for parking. Just another source of stress.

I'm slowly starting to lean towards this place that's a bit farther away from the busiest sections of town which has its own garage. I'm just hesitating because it's "farther" away from the social scene that I desire. By farther, it is a 15 min walk farther and is in a quieter neighbourhood. However at this point, I think I need to put parking ahead of my other interests. And I've been meaning to buy a new bike for the longest of time now. It can even be el cheapo bike from Wally World.

 

[SwiftGTI]

Probably the right decision. I work in a major city and would not daily street park a car I cared about. Way too many careless drivers trying to parallel park, not to mention constant sunlight, rain, winters, salt, etc.

 

[DarkCloak]

#4 is probably one of my biggest concerns right now followed by potential assholes fucking up your car. The last thing I want to do after a 12 hour work day is to hunt around the blocks for parking. Just another source of stress.

I'm slowly starting to lean towards this place that's a bit farther away from the busiest sections of town which has its own garage. I'm just hesitating because it's "farther" away from the social scene that I desire. By farther, it is a 15 min walk farther and is in a quieter neighbourhood. However at this point, I think I need to put parking ahead of my other interests. And I've been meaning to buy a new bike for the longest of time now. It can even be el cheapo bike from Wally World.

That place sounds like it may be the best option. 15+00 is nothing for a walk. A couple of minutes by bicycle. Still within stumbling distance. Also, quiet is not necessarily a bad thing. All my friends who have got condos/apartments by the strip are always complaining about the noise whereas I walk 5-10 minutes down the street to party and dine, sleep in a quiet building a pay a couple of hundred per month less.

On bicycles. I just pulled the trigger on my first name brand bicycle a BMC, Aluminum with Carbon Fiber fork but my old $100 used bicycle worked just fine. Plus you are less terrified of it being stolen.

 

[jnj2455]

That place sounds like it may be the best option. 15+00 is nothing for a walk. A couple of minutes by bicycle. Still within stumbling distance. Also, quiet is not necessarily a bad thing. All my friends who have got condos/apartments by the strip are always complaining about the noise whereas I walk 5-10 minutes down the street to party and dine, sleep in a quiet building a pay a couple of hundred per month less.

On bicycles. I just pulled the trigger on my first name brand bicycle a BMC, Aluminum with Carbon Fiber fork but my old $100 used bicycle worked just fine. Plus you are less terrified of it being stolen.

I should mention that it's 15 mins away up on a (steep) hill. Thankfully there is a public elevator built for that very purpose of bringing people to the top of the hill. And then the apartment is right off said elevator. It's a slight hassle but a good perk of it is that it comes with a more affordable rent because you're away from the centre strip. I've spoke with someone who lived in that very area for 3 years and she told me she loved it.

As for bikes, I just want one with appropriate gearing and that it won't break. I don't need something fancy and want one that I can leave chained to the rack at the PATH/light rail station over a weekend and not think twice about it. Come rain or snow I still wouldn't freak out if it got left outside. So where can I find one?

I'm gonna check out a few more places first just for research's sake and make a decision.

 

[DerEinzige]

Having driven in center city philadelphia, you just assume your car is gonna get banged up on street parking. Between people who don't know how to parallel park and tap you and people driving by and clipping a mirror, it will happen. Years back I parked for 5min as I ran into a building, my buddy was still in the passenger seat. Taxi cab cut some dude off, he swerved and clipped my car while my friend was in there. Luckily he had his DSLR, grabbed a shot of his plate as he sped away.

:thumbsup: awesome for your buddy.

 

[NYCSuits]

I've just accepted that damaged bumpers are a way of life in NYC. My bumper on my GTI is decent but the bumpers on my Tiguan and Element are DESTROYED. Lots of marks on the bumpers from cars parking, garbage cans, people brushing up on it etc. but that's how it is. I'm only in NYC on the weekends for now but when I move back next year I'm going to probably invest in a private spot. They range from 125-300 a month and you can find people posting them on craigslist.

 

[truro]

From the SF Bay Area as well, and you can always tell which car is commuting from the City because their bumpers are always scratched up.

Not sure if your area requires street parking permits, but for SF street permits, its a big sticker that goes on the bumper. Something to consider too for aesthetics.

 

[rich337]

I'm just hesitating because it's "farther" away from the social scene that I desire.

I once moved to a neighborhood because it was where I hung out all the time. What ended up happening was that I got really sick of it, and never wanted to be there. It's weird how living too close to something you like changes your opinion of it.

I guess an analogy is tapping some hot ass for the first time, then you get used to it and just wanna go the fck to sleep.