I want to live somewhere affordable in the US where I can walk everywhere! What neighborhoods in which cities are the most walkable?

I read this study from last year about the most walkable cities. Washington, Boston and San francisco top the list. I live in San Francisco myself and driving is a very rare occasion. I do take the bus a lot, however. I think for SF it just depends on what neighborhood you live in. Neighborhoods like the Mission or the Castro are very walkable for most things.

@irondavy: I can find an apartment in the mission or castro for less than 600?

Check out Portland Oregon. With the most efficient transportation system in the USA and the many neighborhoods it has to offer it is great. It is also a very easy city to live in.

I live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle, and it is very walkable to everything—and close to downtown. There are buses when you need them. Other Seattle neighborhoods are also quick self-sufficient (have all the stores, bars, etc.) and might even be cheaper, but I think you could find a share in Capitol Hill for 600/mo.

@judochop: I have heard nice things about Portland; which neighborhoods specifically are the best value as far as rent:walkability?

@skfinkel: Thanks for the suggestion, I will look in to Capitol Hill.

I think Portland is your best bet unless you want to live with roommates. Then you could find a room in SF. There are not a ton of options for $600 though.

I am fine with living with roomates.

you can find a room in SF for 600, but it won’t be easy. Also, finding a room to move into in SF can be very difficult because there are a lot of renters, and anyone with a room open has a TON of applicants and they interview everyone like your applying to be their best friend. I live alone, but have friends who have been looking for a room somewhere and have had no luck for months. I love SF though. It is a great city. Expensive though. I have never been to Portland or Seattle and always hear they are great cities. Tow of my friends just moved to Portland, they have a much cheaper apartment than they could find here and can walk to all their favorite bars.

Downtown Frederick, Maryland is a great place to live. It’s beautiful, historic and funky. There are tons of restaurants, bars, shops, art galleries and the like. Banks, other businesses and residential are all represented and everything is walkable. The only downside is that you couldn’t walk to a grocery store. They do have public transit though. It’s about 40 minutes away from Washington, DC or Baltimore, MD.

Portland: check out the Alberta Arts District. My family and I live here and we love it.
SE Hawthorne. Between 45th and 20th.
North Mississippi. Another awesome neighborhood.

I agree with Tessa that it can be hard to find a place. When we had an open $600 room, we got over 100 emails, invited 20 people to look, and of course could only offer to one. You have to be able to be there in person to meet people except in a case where they are desperate and that’s not a good situation to get into anyway. If you want to move here, plan to visit 10 apartments or more.

Pittsburgh, PA (my hometown) is consistently rated one of the country’s most livable cities. It’s very affordable, and just about any neighborhood you live in is very walkable (as long as you’re actually in the city, not in the suburbs). What I love the most about Pittsburgh is that every neighborhood has a very unique personality, so you can find the one that’s exactly the right fit for you. And you can definitely find an apartment for less than $600/month in just about all of the nice, walkable neighborhoods.

The only problem is that the job market in Pittsburgh isn’t great – depending on what you do, it might not be the easiest place to find a job…

Milwaukee’s a livable place for its size (full disclosure: was raised there, but I like a bigger town myself). It’s in the Midwest, so not too expensive, there’s a lot of good food growing nearby, a lovely lake, great summer festivals, a decent bus system and not too far from Chicago. I remember the East Side and the Third Ward being especially nice places to live in. The area around Brady Street was the Williamsburg (like today’s hipster Brooklyn neighborhood) of my high school years.

Plus, you know that scene near the end of The Blues Brothers when their car jumps a bridge? Yup, that was Milwaukee when I-43 was being built. You can see the US Bank Center (known then as the First Wisconsin Building) in the background. My classmates and I incidentally saw that scene being shot while on a field trip in 2nd grade.

And the Violent Femmes are still there. Can’t go wrong with that.

Downton Sacramento :)...in one of the old Victorians…

I was going to say Pittsburgh, PA, but @sdeutsch beat me to it… =)

Big job markets in Pittsburgh are, in no particular order:
– Healthcare & related
– High tech
– Education

If you don’t do one of those, it’s going to be tough to find, but check it out!

You can test any neighborhood here:
http://www.walkscore.com/

Of course, your definition of what’s walkable and what the website says is walkable might not be the same. (For instance, running my address through it gives results as far away as seven miles, but I’m not going to walk that far in a snowstorm, or for something unimportant like a movie.)

Also, it doesn’t take public transportation into account.

Center City Philadelphia, Northern Liberties, West Philly…

The possibilities are endless. It is a very walkable city with all the things you wanted (grocery stores, cinema) and some things you didn’t (the most incredible beer stores, with over 1000 kinds of beer).

It’s very affordable, and it is actually a very friendly city. Worth a look, anyway.

Yeah, Boston is walkable but expensive. Certain areas of nearby Somerville may have some good deals.