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Autonomous: Nine Of The Best Cities To Live Without A Car

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This story appears in the February 27, 2017 issue of Forbes. Subscribe

 

Baby Boomers have had a lifelong love affair with autos. In retirement, however, they might consider taking a cue from their Millennial kids, who have demonstrated that you can live happily without a car, in the right locale.

Forbes screened hundreds of cities to find the top 25 towns for carless living--places with walkable neighborhoods (meaning you can hoof it to stores, services and activities); public transit; Uber and Lyft; and car rentals by the hour. We ruled out cities where high crime means you might not want to walk, but we didn't cut places just because they're expensive.

Neighborhoods in nine of our picks are described below. For the full list, click here.

Arlington, VA

TOP HOOD: Clarendon/Courthouse. A compact commercial district offers Vietnamese-style and other casual-dining restaurants. Or head to Top of the Town, with its panoramic views of the Potomac River and Washington, D.C., which is just two metro stops away. ALSO CONSIDER: Ballston, Lyon Village

Greenery cascades out of window boxes in Beacon Hill

Boston, MA

TOP HOOD: Beacon Hill. Famed historic neighborhood (onetime home to John Hancock, Louisa May Alcott and Edward Kennedy) sits by the nation's oldest public park, Boston Common, and the Public Garden, with its swan boats. Walk to the Boston Opera House. ALSO CONSIDER: Back Bay, North End

Denver, CO

TOP HOOD: Capitol Hill. Get a workout scaling the steps of the State Capitol Building and you'll be precisely 5,280 feet above sea level--the origin of the city's Mile High nickname. Inside the building: rare Colorado rose marble. ALSO CONSIDER: Downtown, Cherry Creek

Fort Lauderdale, FL

TOP HOOD: Colee Hammock. Bounded by a river and a canal, it features grand old homes and waterside parks. Just a 30-minute waterfront walk to the site where the 1960 spring-break classic, Where the Boys Are, was filmed. ALSO CONSIDER: Flagler Village, Downtown

Minneapolis, MN

TOP HOOD: Lowry Hill East. Leafy neighborhood by a chain of lakes, an area with spacious paths for walking and biking. A nearby art museum founded in 1927 by lumber baron Thomas Barlow Walker now offers movies, live performances and a sculpture garden. ALSO CONSIDER: Lyn-Lake, Whittier

Jack-o-lanterns in Deering Oaks Park

Portland, ME

TOP HOOD: Parkside. Home of Deering Oaks Park, a 55-acre gem created in 1879. Today, it provides tennis courts, a winter skating pond, a 38-variety rose garden and a weekly farmers' market to this up-and-coming but still affordable neighborhood. ALSO CONSIDER: West Bayside, Downtown

The heart of College Hill and minutes from RISD and Brown University

Providence, RI

TOP HOOD: College Hill. Home to Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design and a historic district. Stroll by colonial and Victorian homes, view textiles at the RISD Museum or take in frequent theater and dance performances at Brown. ALSO CONSIDER: Federal Hill, Fox Point

San Francisco, CA

TOP HOOD: Nob Hill. Originally home to the city's rich. Its mansions were destroyed in the 1906 quake. What was rebuilt was plenty high-end but with more hotels and restaurants. Walk uphill to Huntington Park, with its Fountain of the Tortoises. ALSO CONSIDER: North Beach, Hayes Valley

Mount Rainier hangs in the background of the Seattle skyline

Seattle, WA

TOP HOOD: Belltown. Visit a waterfront park and walk to the Museum of Pop Culture, a ballet-and-opera hall, or the Space Needle, where an annual charity event provides the fittest a chance to climb 98 flights of open-air stairs. ALSO CONSIDER: Queen Anne, Downtown