I'm 35 with a 15month old and a non driver. I'm originally from NYC. What about Chicago- it's like a mini NYC. And even though they tell you it's just as expensive as NYC- it's really not.

It's a shame public trans in NY is too expensive as you mention.

I believe public trans should be free, if we're ever to begin to address the gridlock and pollution issues.

Philadelphia for the most part is a good city for non-drivers. If you live in or around Center City, you're probably better off without a car.

san francisco, berkeley, oakland (fruitvale, temescal, rockridge)

all connected by BART and lots of buses, inland is warmer, lots of local stores. my boyfriend is saying, "just move to san francisco".

lots of bikes too

I have heard that Ann Arbor, Michigan is good.

I'm 28 and live in nyc. I dont drive but I was in driver's ed at 16, (which I wasnt as enthusiastic about as the other kids) but I got so called expelled from school before the road test. Had that not happened, I probably would have not been typing this. Anyway, years went by and I developed some sort of fear or mental block against driving. I put this aside to take lessons from my father when I was 18. On the first lesson he was telling me to brake, I didnt see why so I kept going. Then he start yelling frantically for me to stop the car. Panicked as hell, I stopped. He then said "oh sorry, I thought the light was red". Pissed off, I drove home and never got back in the drivers seat with him and swore off lessons from family. The experience brought back whatever anxiety I had about driving.

Shortly after that, I went to VA to visit my brother and he forced me to practice. Then he had me driving his kids around alone. For some reason the experience wasnt as nerve-racking as I thought it would be and I came back to NY feeling confident, which wore off the minute I touched NY soil. When I was abut 25, this fear mysteriously disappeared and I got my permit for the second time and took brush up lessons to get ready for the road test. During one of these lessons, the instructor started screaming like a maniac in the car and startled the SHIT out me (apparently his glasses were too strong and he thought a truck was closer to me than it was really was). Then even after he admitted his mistake he tried to scold me about it, this kind of turned me off to the whole thing, but I did stick with the lessons. When all was said and done, he told me that drive very well, I never made the appt for the road test because I still felt I wasnt comfortable! So yeah, I've driven before with "no problem" but there something about the thought of driving that makes me very anxious and not want to bother with it. I had a close friend who was really motivated and got her license with no problems, I mean she BREEZED thru this effortlessly. After the road test, she refused to drive due to extreme nervousness. Years passed and she came to check me recently and she was f'ing driving with a smile on her face. Needless to say I halfway felt like shit.

Now I'm here about to do this for the third time because I dont feel like wasting money to get a another permit if this expires. Truly, If I didnt have a child I wouldn't even bother driving.