This post is all about how to succeed in college without a car your freshman, or any year! These are the best tips for getting around, managing transportation, and other methods of transportation when you don’t have a car at college.
My freshman year, I chose not to bring a car to college, and it was totally doable! At times it can be a little stressful but overall it saved me a lot of money and hassle.
First off – Parking at college sucks.
Most colleges sell more parking passes than they have spots and are so crowded it’s amazing finding a spot close to where you live or where your classes are.
They also charge you several hundred dollars a year for these spots you hardly get to use!
Then on top of that – your pass only allows you to park in specific areas on campus, so if you can’t find parking in that area and you park in another zone, you still get a ticket.
Personally, all three of my freshman year roommates had cars and I was friends with them and would tag along to the grocery store when they were headed that way. If they weren’t available or were busy when I needed to go, I just walked. Most colleges have a big chain grocery store super close anyways.
If I needed to get to the airport or somewhere I couldn’t find a ride for I would just Uber, it was a little pricey but I used it so scarcely that it was still cheaper overall. Most college towns and cities have plenty of uber drivers and are busy enough you’ll be able to get a ride pretty quick.
I even found a job off campus that was a 12 minute walk from where I lived, and since most people live on campus their first year, you could totally get a job on campus that is within walking distance.
Despite it being so doable to walk all the time – honestly at one point I wanted to be able to get around faster should the need arise, but thankfully you have a couple options there.
Bikes
Bikes are great! They are easy to find spots to lock them up and make it easy to get around. They are also wayyy faster than walking. You can get around a lot more places because the time to get there is way shorter than walking.
Most apartment buildings, dorms, and your classroom buildings have bike storage as well.
I would recommend scouring places like Facebook marketplace, local co-ops, thrift stores might have something, and anything of the sort. For most students, we don’t need a super expensive bike to get us around, so start with something basic and go up from there.
I also love having extra storage on my bike for groceries or whatever. It’s just a nice option to have. Here are a couple great storage options to add to your bike.
Anyone who has a bike should also definitely lock it up! It’s a bummer but it will probably be taken if not. Here is a good bike lock, this one is long enough to go through your tires instead of just the frame like many do for a little extra safety.
Skateboards/longboards
My personal favorite!
I love love love skating. I bought a board my freshman year and it made getting around a lot faster and wayy more fun and was really affordable for how much I use it. I think I spent 120 ish on mine when I first started, that included the deck, trucks, and wheels.
I just went to a local skate shop in my city and got to pick a deck with a design I loved and wheels that matched, and you have a lot of options when it comes to both!
You also look pretty cool 😉
There are a few limitations to them though, they aren’t good for going uphill, and can be scary on too large of downhills, so they are best for a flat campus. You also won’t be getting up on any curbs on these, so there is a lot of getting on and off of them (unless you get good enough at tricks!)
They are also kinda loud – but you can adjust your board for this with larger softer wheels, just mention that when you go to the shop to get it put together and they should be able to help you.
You can also get a longboard, they are easier to ride, quieter, and still lots of fun! If you’re not interested in going to a shop to get your board, here is a good longboard option.
Campus bus
Your college is also probably going to have some kind of public transportation setup. At my school, the shuttle gets you all around campus and even goes out to my local grocery stores and downtown. In my experience they are pretty clean and safe since they are affiliated with the school, so people who aren’t part of the college can’t ride these shuttles.
But, like any public transportation, the buses might be busy and you’re sharing with other students.
If you’re use to driving your own car all the time it will be a bit of an adjustment but if I can manage it, so can you!
This post was all about how to manage without bringing a car to college, hope this helped!
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