Any Mothers, Fathers, or Parents Successfully Living in DC Proper Without a Car?

hi A.-
what part do you guys live it exactly? if you live more west in a single family home, its a little ways walking from the metro. I would just always keep a baby carrier on you, like a baby bjorn or papasan thing. But even for cab rides you will need a carseat and that is one huge thing to be lugging around a few blocks. If you get a travel system or something like that you can always stroll baby along to get a cab, but then you will need to lug around the base. and doctor's visits, what about those? whats the distance you will travel to the doctors'?

Hi A., I am a single mother of 3 and for the first two I always used public transportation for several years. It really helps if you have family in case of emegencies or other instances that may occur, usally i rode the bus/train. But eventually i saved up enough to purchase a car. then the maintenance on it was tough so i gave it up. I had my son and got right back on public transportion. Always kept transfers, bus schedules and even train schedules, they really came in handy.

There is something called Flex Car, which you can use only when you need it, its sort of like a rental, but so much better. You can check out the website, www.flexcar.com, basically you pay a small fee, and sign up for a membership, and you can rent the car only when you need it, for a few hours, up to 3 days I think. So on the days when you absolutely have to have a car, you can get it. There are tons of cars in the area, and they are all located in places that are metro accessible. Hope this helps! We love it!

I don't really see why you would need a car living in the city, parking its self might be a bigger pain than it's worth. I have plenty of friends who live in the city with kids and don't have cars.

Hi A.!

My husband and I have been living in the district since January 2006 and do not own a car. We moved here from Europe which is easily accessible by public transportation. It is easiest for us to use the bus or metro and in our case even walk. I had a high risk pregnancy and have traveled by bus to doctor's appointments. Since the birth of my child I had to get to the hospital relatively quickly a few times to be seen by a doctor. It wasn't a 911 emergency, so I was able to hail a taxi just outside my front door. I find that by using the public transportation system it is just less hassle and really affordable. We have a membership with Flexcar for times we need to go on errands or want to travel a bit outside the district.