<p>Just curious... possible to get by Rice and the area without a car? I will live on campus but what if i want to eat outside???</p>
<p>or see some museums and stuff?</p>
<p>I think it's very common to NOT have a car. My daughter doesn't have one. She has a few friends who do, which comes in handy for trips to some harder to reach places, but you can do a lot without one. For example, the museums and the zoo are in walking distance (though a bike makes it even quicker). The same goes for Rice Village, of course. The light rail will take you downtown. There's a free Rice shuttle bus ever Saturday that will take you to Target (and some other stores near it). My daughter likes having a bike, but even that isn't essential.</p>
<p>DD does not have a car. Did not need it at all when living on campus. The light rail stop is close to campus and it is easy to get around. They walked a lot. This year living off campus she has a bicycle, but her roommate has a car for the shopping trips, etc.</p>
<p>DD lived off-campus for several years without a car. DS doesn't have one. They are a money and energy drain. Both kids did/do fine without.</p>
<p>You will have a friend (or several friends) with a car, and you will mooch rides off of him or her. That's just how it works.</p>
<p>Knowing the academic rigor of Rice, I'd say that having a car would be a needless distraction, not to mention expense.</p>
<p>To do what? To go where? Anything and anywhere worth visiting during your limited time off is within access of public transport and maybe the occasional ride from a friend who has a car. Besides that, a cheap bicycle will do wonders. It's all right there, honest!</p>
<p>Suggest a cheap bike. Real clunker! Houston is flat and you won't need to ride fast, and there is quite a lot of bike theft...</p>
<p>D had a car and it came in handy. She used it the first two years (on-campus) mainly to come home to Dallas on breaks and also for some shopping trips, etc. When she moved off-campus she needed it a lot more. While you don't need a car at Rice, it is an easy campus for cars (unlike many) since they have the big stadium parking lot where you can keep them and park when you drive over to campus for class. She used public transportation a lot, too, but had some church singing gigs where she needed the car.</p>
<p>My son didn't have a car until he moved off campus his junior year. And I agree about the bike -- he was closer to campus his senior year and rode his bike.</p>
<p>My s had a car 3 of his 4 years there. He took it sophomore year as he was living off campus (he could use public transportation but the nearest stop was a bit of a walk from his house) and since he stayed in Houston summers after soph and junior year, he and the car never came home til after graduation! As NYSkins said, those with cars typically help out those without when they need something. That is not a problem. He was the organizer of his college's Beer Bike one year, and had to do a lot of running around, picking up food donations and such, so having the car was helpful. He also really needed it for the summer internship, but thats a separate issue.</p>
<p>As for bicycles-- he had 2. The first was stolen his FIRST DAY there, and the second lasted a couple of months before it was stolen as well. He thought he had good locks, but... After that, he used his college's bikes (Hanszen has bikes available to check out). That was pretty handy.</p>
<p>So, bottom line, yes it is very easy to survive without a car. Its walkable to get to Rice Village, and if you need to go to Target or soemthing, there is usually someone planning to go.</p>
<p>Last point, my s was very perturbed about the increasing cost of parking, so got very involved and was on the committee that was reviewing the parking policies and policy changes. His senior year he was one of the lucky ones who won the "lottery" to pay for a parking space right by Hanszen, but he turned it down, refusing to pay the high fee (it used to be cheaper for seniors but they changed that policy). So instead, he opted to park way down by the stadium. This was probably a good thing, as it was less convenient to just go hop in his car (he'd have to walk or catch the shuttle bus), so he used it less often. So, bottom line, it was convenient to have, but by no means a necessity. You'll be fine without it.</p>
<p>If leaving campus is important to you, it will come in handy. I'd go crazy if I were stuck on campus all the time and 2 am food trips definitely take away some stress. If you don't have a car don't worry, but it's useful to make good friends who do...I've crammed 10 people in mine going to movies or whatever.</p>
<p>so i am guessing there's a bike theft problem...what about a car theft problem? </p>
<p>and are freshman allowed to bring cars?? and how secure are they in the parking lot?</p>