I have been car free my entire time in RVA, which hasn’t been that long, but I’ve been dedicated to it. Most other car free people are northside it seems but I manage from Southside. The bus is generally good enough, never perfect, but it does enough.

Biking is generally good here on certain routes, but I’ve had a few encounters with drivers who are extremely hostile or have 0 clue what a bike is and how a bikes signals. Fortunately they’re few and far between, and avoiding busy roads makes it a lot easier.

Getting groceries is difficult, especially in my location, so I had to give up and just get all my groceries delivered.

The biggest issue is just that every once in a while I have to get somewhere with a car. Ubering has been fine mostly, but occasionally I just get screwed over by not having a car. It doesn’t happen enough to justify buying a car, however.

Getting out of the city is harder, the train to DC or tidewater is good, but that’s about as far as you can get.

But I encourage you to try! I know a lot of people in RVA that are one car households, low-car or completely car free. It’s a lifestyle all of us seem to like and it saves so. much. money.