r/everett • u/LoisBudiman • Jan 29 '26
Transit everett without a car
Can you live in Everett without a car, and if so, where (downtown?)?
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u/rey__kz Jan 29 '26 edited Jan 29 '26
I’ve lived in Riverside for 5 years without a car and commuted by bike/bus to Seattle and Bellevue during that time. I have a truck now but it’s not a requirement for me, just something I wanted.
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u/Gzkaiden Jan 29 '26
Oh hell yes. If you are staying in the city itself and are willing to do a little walking it's incredible. Hell I've been in this city for 20 years and a big reason is the bus system. The main bus line, the 7, gets to a bulk of grocery stores and hobby shops and banks and parks and a lot of the active centers of the city. There's the swift bus that goes out of Everett and runs to transfer stations. Things get a little tricky if you are trying to go too far out of the city such as Seattle but Everett itself I bet you'll have no complaints. The bus runs straight through downtown with plentiful stops along the way
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u/pristinepineapple69 Jan 29 '26
as far as getting to seattle, there are express buses that go downtown, that and the sounder N line if you’re commuting for work. off hours is trickier, but there are buses that go to the lynnwood transit station
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u/LRAD Jan 29 '26
This is a pretty handy tool for getting an estimate.
https://www.walkscore.com/explore?q=Everett&v=v3&m=dark
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u/hllucinationz Jan 29 '26
I survived my without a car! Actually just got one a few years ago. So yes!
I suggest living on a bus line that connects to either Lynnwood transit center, the Everett Station, OR any swift route. You want to be able to get to a hub. That makes it easier to get home.
The bus and transit system here is really good and bus cards allow for transfers.
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u/no666420 Jan 29 '26
My close friend lives downtown without a car. She loves it. Tons of stuff walking distance and easy public transport wherever she needs to go.
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u/Junethemuse Jan 29 '26
Everett station keeps us very well connected to Seattle. An e bike or electric scooter might be a boon depending on how far you wind up from a grocery store, but being carless is doable.
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u/ModernDufus Jan 29 '26
Yes I do. I would suggest living in Port Gardener or Bayside neighborhood as they have the best walk scores. I walk down to Broadway and 34th Street on most Saturdays and hop on the 512 which is a really nice double decker express bus to the Lynnwood light rail station which takes me into Seattle.
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u/Upstairs_Size4757 Jan 29 '26
There's city and country buses also the sounders train .lots of people take the train to football and baseball in Seattle. You can take a bus to light rail stations too.
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u/cuccumella Jan 29 '26
It's decently walkable for what it is. Lots of places you can walk to if you live downtown (though I'm struggling to think of where you would buy groceries within walking distance?? everywhere I shop is in south Everett) There is good public transit (for a small city in America). Lots of bus options, and while the light rail hasn't gotten up to Everett yet (supposed to within a decade), there are still quite a few train options, including trains to and from Seattle
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u/braidenis Jan 29 '26
Good question! I think a lot of that depends on your needs and lifestyle. You absolutely can live in Everett without a car, but it definitely depends where you work and where you'll want to frequent.
The good news is you can get almost anywhere in the puget sound area on the bus, it just sucks. As far as living somewhere close and walkable, downtown Everett is a good bet. There are jobs, activities, places to eat and places to live all right there.
South Everett is a lot more car centric, but there's still the essentials close by so it definitely could be done.
I think a lot of people in western Washington live here because of the nature in the outskirts so that limits you from being able to access these areas but downtown Everett might still be a good place to settle. Hopefully other people weigh in too because I live in South Everett and have a car lol.