In high school, my three siblings and I drove our dad’s old work truck everywhere. One day, when driving one of my friends home because her car was in the shop, she asked if I was going to bring the truck to college or if my parents would buy me a new car. I looked at her and said, “Neither, John [my younger brother] has to drive the truck next year.” She was absolutely shocked and started panicking for me, asking, “What are you going to do? How will you manage to go to college without a car?” It never crossed her mind that not everybody gets a car just because they asked, or even the exact make and model they had been dreaming of for years. I told her I’d be fine and that I’d figure it out. It wasn’t until that day that I started to worry about the prospect of going to college without a car.
Flash forward to freshman move-in. I’m in Degraff West and I feel like I’m a million miles away from campus (read: a five minute walk away). I began to stress about commuting to campus. So, I decided to walk to Suwannee for lunch and continue a self-guided tour around campus. That first day, the campus felt so big, and I thought I would never survive without a car. Here I am, senior year, and I just passed on buying a car because I want to save for a better one, and having one isn’t necessary right now.
FSU makes it easy for their students without cars in many ways. During freshman year, I learned that the campus’s structure and amenities made it so that I never had to leave campus. I could count the CVS on Pensacola as a part of campus! I remember my dad saying that freshman year is like you’re at Hogwarts. You’re exploring and realize everything you need is right there, so when you leave, it’s only for fun, not necessity. With so many food options, grocery stores in close walking distance, and classes close to the dorms, I never really missed the truck while living on campus.
Once again, I had my doubts when I moved off campus into an apartment. I was worried about the commute, access to grocery stores, and how I would get to work on campus. Soon, I began relying on the FSU buses. I had never ridden a bus before, and I won’t lie, the first time I did, I totally got lost. But there’s a learning curve to everything. My advice is to test your bus route before the first day of class (unlike me, who showed up late). After that first day, the bus system became so easy to navigate. With the Transloc App, all of the FSU buses show their current location, route, and arrival time to the stop nearest to you. They are pretty reliable; the only downside is how crowded they can get sometimes. But after the first week or two of the semester, that’s a rarity.
I also learned that the way off-campus student housing neighborhoods are set up is also a big help. Most student housing apartment complexes are all next to each other in the same area, and because of that closeness, your friends are never that far away. Whether you’re in College Town or on Call Street, there are many walkable options for groceries, food, or anything you can think of. And if it’s not walkable, there’s definitely either an FSU bus or a Tallahassee city bus (which students ride free!) that will take you there.
Looking back at my nerves about coming to Tallahassee without a car, I now know there was nothing to worry about. The school and the city work together to make life easier for students, which really pays off. Of course, you will also make generous friends who have cars and offer rides, but even when they’re busy, you’ll be able to find your way around.
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