<p>Hey I was wondering how much easier life is at Penn with a car as a freshman. I mean is public transportation sufficient to get around the city. I recently came into some money and am not sure whether I should just save it or buy a new car to take to Penn. All opinions are appreciated thanks.</p>
<p>hahaha are you kidding?</p>
<p>DO NOT GET A CAR! You won't need it! Penn has its own buses and the trains are awesome. Plus, you won't need to go great lengths anyway because everything is right at your doorstep. Center City, museums, shopping on Market St.. You definitely do NOT need a car. There's so much to do in Philly that's only a footstep away. Save your money and invest or something</p>
<p>A car would probably be more of a problem than a help. Save your new money for SEPTA tokens.</p>
<p>heck no, don't ever get a car for college unless you go to a community college or one of your state's publics.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone else. A car would be a hassle.</p>
<p>My son has a car at Penn (against my better judgement- he needed it for some suburban Dr. appts) and likes having it. You do NOT need it in town, and parking can be expensive. He lucked into a private space, which is cheaper. Unless you want the car for weekends or to drive home, you don't need it.</p>
<p>If you're going to waste your money I can set up a paypal account and you can just send it over to me.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you're going to waste your money I can set up a paypal account and you can just send it over to me.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>but then paypal will freeze your account :(</p>
<p>Well, if you want to pick up the ladies...</p>
<p>To go home, it would probably cost me $50 round trip (yay public transportation and the Chinatown bus). To pay for gas round trip, it may be the exact same cost, if not more. Well, I guess if you want to take classes at Swarthmore or Haverford, you may need a car.</p>
<p>How easy is it to get to, say, NYC or Boston? I know that there's a bus going to NYC, but I'd also like to go to Boston and some other venues.</p>
<p>The Chinatown bus goes to boston too I think, with NYC serving as a hub.</p>
<p>Anyway, the best thing to do is sign up with phillycarshare.org.</p>
<p>You can rent a wide variety of cars by the hour at low rates ($6/hr if you pay a $15 monthly fee or $8/hr if you pay no monthly fee). And Phillycarshare pays for gas.</p>
<p>I've been using it for all sorts of things this semester and I have nothing but praise for the service.</p>
<p>i've decided on going to penn, and i was wondering how the parking situation is on campus? i saw that the annual 24 hour parking permit is 1500/year (ouch), and that's the one i probably need...</p>
<p>even though i can take public transportation like i did here in berkeley, i feel like i need a car esp. for grad school.</p>
<p>edit: nvm i guess it's an emphatic "no" after doing more searches on this forum</p>
<p>My son's parking space is not unreasonable. It is a private space. The problem with the Chinatown bus is that you have to GET to Chinatown to pick it up! You'll spend a fair amount on cabs. You don't need a car in Philly, but there are private spaces available if you DO have one.</p>
<p>if you get a car other people might start using you to drive them to places :0</p>
<p>it probably will end up being a hassle to have a car in such a big city where public transportation would be much more cheaper and convenient</p>
<p>if you really really need a car, sign up for phillycarshare - a basic membership is free, and rates are generally cheaper than regular car rental places...</p>
<p><a href="http://www.phillycarshare.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.phillycarshare.org/</a></p>
<p>note that you only need to be 18 to join, but you need a clean record and insurance (from parents, usually, if it's not your own)</p>
<p>you reserve a car for hours or days, depending on your needs, and there's plenty of vehicles stationed on and around campus...</p>
<p>and if you do sign up tell me so i can get a referral credit :D</p>
<p>Do NOT get a car. Septa is more than enough (when the workers aren't on strike), and Amtrak can get you to Washington, NYC and Boston super fast with the Acela Express. Heck, some people use the Acela to go to work in NYC in the morning because they live in Philadelphia. Amtrak also runs west, as well, I've had friends visit me from Pittsburgh using the train.</p>
<p>There are subway stops about 2-3 blocks from mostly anywhere on the Penn Campus, not to mention buses which run fairly often.</p>
<p>Walking and/or using a bicycle are also great options. Bicycles are VERY useful, and there's plenty of bike racks to lock them to.</p>