Without a car

Without a car

by Garrison Frost

Manhattan Beach will always hold a place in my heart, not just because I was raised their and went to schools there, but because for a brief time in the early 1990s, I lived a truly fantastic life there that I failed to appreciate at the time. Shortly after moving into a small apartment a block from the beach and two blocks from the city’s downtown, my ancient Toyota Corolla blew its second head gasket in as many years. I didn’t have enough money at the time for a new car. Frightened, I decided to see how long I could last without one.

Before too long, however, I realized that at that point in my life, a car was an unneeded luxury. I worked very close by at City Hall, just a few blocks away. I didn’t need a car to get food or shop – there were several grocery stores within walking distance, as were several of my favorite restaurants, even my favorite bar. If I really needed to get to Target, a movie or the mall, they were only about 15 minutes away by bike. I don’t think I used public transportation once in this period -- everything was too close. I ended up going about two years without a car, something few would have thought possible in the greater Los Angeles area.

These days, there is much talk of the new residential development in downtown Los Angeles, and there is even hope that a pedestrian urban environment will soon flourish there. This conversation makes me mindful of those days in Manhattan Beach and prompts me to wonder where in the South Bay it is possible for someone to live with minimal use of a car, where most of your daily needs are a short walk away.

Leave the car in the garage

Downtown Manhattan Beach: I put this among the best for all the reasons stated above. The only real drawback, and few areas on this list will pass this test, is that there aren’t many jobs within a walking radius of Highland Avenue and Manhattan Beach Boulevard that pay enough to support living there. Really, unless you are a department head at the city, work at Skechers, or own a small business in the downtown, you are still going to have to take your car to work.

Downtown El Segundo: While it’s true that Main Street in El Segundo lacks a lot of the amenities one likes to have nearby, the city beats all the others in one important category: high paying jobs. There are thousands of high paying jobs in El Segundo within a bicycle ride of the downtown.

Keep the car keys handy

Downtown Hermosa Beach: If not for the sad shape of Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach, I would probably put this city in the Best category. Downtown Hermosa’s shopping mix offers considerably fewer alternatives than Manhattan’s. But if nightlife is your thing, Hermosa has an edge over its neighbor to the north. Still, there’s no Target, movie theater or shopping mall within an easy bike ride. Unless you happen to own one of those bars or restaurants, you’re still driving your car to work.

Riviera Village, Redondo Beach: Really nice place to live and lots of shopping and restaurant alternatives. Having both a Trader Joe’s and a Bristol Farms within walking distance must be nice. It’s also one of the best quiet pedestrian atmospheres in the South Bay. But, again, not much in the way of high paying jobs.

Old Torrance: Perhaps it’s a stretch including Old Torrance in this mix, but the handful of solid corporate employers nearby – particularly Nissan -- tilt it in. It's entirely possible that one could work at Toyota and live in a cool bungalow a few blocks away, or in one of the new mixed-use developments downtown. The big problem with Old Torrance is that there's not much to do there. The excellent Torrance library is too far away, as are most grocery stores. You'll spend a lot of time in the car.

Downtown San Pedro: While downtown San Pedro is still in its gentrification phase, living without a car there is still doable, particularly if you work out of your house. There's hardly any economy in the area, but if you're a graphic designer or someone like that who can do it all within your home, it's conceiveable. Gaffey and Pacific avenues have enough essentials to get by. Still not sure where you're going to get your clothes, housewares, etc. You'll need your car pretty often, but if you plan ahead, you can probably go a weekend without using it.

Your car is your home

Lomita
Lawndale
Non-downtown sections of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach
99 percent of North Redondo Beach
90 percent of South Redondo Beach
Anywhere in Palos Verdes
99 percent of Torrance and Hawthorne

(March 30, 2007)