Car-less in Harrisburg
March 18, 2012 10:13 PM   Subscribe

Is Harrisburg, PA a decent place to live without a car?

I see some bus routes, but those don't tell the whole story. Is this a place where a person can live for a few months while working around the capitol without a car and not feel hugely inconvenienced?

Bonus: Is there any good way besides Craigslist to pick up a cheap summer sublet from a local student or whoever.
posted by Winnemac to Travel & Transportation around Harrisburg, PA (4 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I used to live in the Harrisburg area and I would strongly recommend having a car. You gotta be able to get to the various things in the area that are fun to visit and do, and you won't be able to take public transit to do it. For example, Wegman's for groceries! (oh how I miss Wegman's!)

I have only used Craigslist for apartment hunting, for renting a condo out, and for even selling my condo there. It worked great. You can always check in with the various local schools and see if they have a housing webpage or bulletin board you could get info from.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 10:21 PM on March 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I grew up about ten miles from there and have spent more than my fair share of time in downtown Harrisburg.

For a very, very short period?

Maybe.

Otherwise, most definitely not.
posted by valkyryn at 2:49 AM on March 19, 2012 [2 favorites]


I lived on 2nd St. a few blocks north of downtown and never found a decent grocery store on the east side of the river. You might be able to swing it with corner market places, but I'm not sure.

I used Craigslist to find my apartment and it was fine. Do you have particular concerns about using Craigslist?
posted by quiet coyote at 4:44 AM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]


I was born in Harrisburg, and lived in the area for decades (though it has admittedly been some time since I lived there). By contrast, for the last 15 years I haven't owned a car, living mostly in NYC but also for a while in San Francisco.

Harrisburg, even at its best downtown, is nowhere near walkable enough to compete with dense cities where a car is truly optional. It may be theoretically possible, especially if there's the option of something like a Zipcar, but the short answer is: No. You need a car to live in Harrisburg.
posted by anildash at 5:10 PM on March 19, 2012


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