Let’s say I moved to Chicago or a nearby suburb such as (specifically) Evanston. Do I need a car, or is it like New York City where you can use public transportation and just rent a car on the relatively rare occasions you need one?
Oh, and just for the hell of it, here’s a bonus question: Do you like living in Chicago? What are the ups/downs?
I’ve lived in Evanston and Chicago most of my life. I didn’t own a car until I was 26 and leaving for grad school, and I did just fine. It’s a convenience, but not a necessity. If you need a car once in a while to run errands and such, you might want to check out car-sharing services like iGo or Zipcar.
There are some far-flung neighborhoods where getting around by public transport can be a pain, but just find yourself an apartment near one of the rail lines, and you’ll be fine.
P.S. If you have specific questions about Evanston or Chicago, post away!
In general, I’d say that if you’re going to live in the city, you can probably get by without a car if you don’t mind the occasional 6-block walk. The El(evated rail) system (which, ironically, involves a couple of stretches underground) is mostly a spur system for getting people to and from downtown along major points. The bus system is the heart of the Chicago transit system.
If you’re going to live in the burbs, unless you’re within walking distance of a Marta station, forget it. Getting around within the burbs will definitely require a car.
I don’t live in Chicago, but I’ve spent plenty of time there. Chicago is a beautiful city with lots of art, culture, restaurants, etc. The burbs are as plain and humdrum as any other midwestern city’s burbs.
Likes: just about everyting - sports, museums, shopping, parks, history, culture, etc.
Dislikes: it gets freaking cold and stays that way for a long time. I was most recently there in mid-May and froze my ass off. Also, like any large city, there are sections you’ll want to avoid.
No, you can get by without a car pretty well in both Chicago (where I live now) and Evanston (where I used to live). The CTA and Metra provide adequate, if not stellar coverage, and there are enough things like grocery stores and dry cleaners along train and bus routes to make it workable.
If you find yourself renting a car more than a couple of times a year, both i-go and zipcar (good og, doesn’t anyone use capitals anymore?!) have cars in the area. They’re like car rental co-ops, kinda, and cheaper, with hourly or daily rates, so you can use a car to do your Christmas shopping without lugging all those bags on the bus but without paying for a whole day’s rental.
Of course the answer depends greatly on your lifestyle, but it is extremely possible to live in Chicago and not own a car. You’d definitely want to live in an area near one of the el lines - 2 of which run north towards/into Evanston.
Many/most people who do it live near a bus/el route and work either downtown or along the bus/el route. If you have to start taking multiple busses/trains, you start really cutting down on the convenience.
As EL says, there are plenty of options for renting a car on the occasions that you need one. Convenient and less expensive than the maintenance and upkeep of owning.
Chicago’s fine. Just a big city. Lots of stuff to do. Winters like this one suck.
If you live in Chicago you can get by easily. The Far South Side and the Far NW Side are a bit difficult. The South Side of Chicago the El stops are kind of far apart but I live on the near NW Side (Logan Square) and it’s so easy.
If you haven’t moved it’s even easier. Just get a map and get a flat near the subway or bus.
The only problem I have is really late at night between 2am and 4am the blue line (el/subway) only runs once every half hour. The Red Line at WORST runs every 15 mintues.
Overnight buses after midnight, run at least once per half hour, so you learn to time things.
If you live in some area like Rogers Park or Lincoln Park owning a car is problematic, 'cause of limited parking.
But I’ve lived in Chicago for 14 years without a car and you dont need a car. It’s NICE but not needed.
Hint for apartment-hunting: punch the address into Google Maps, and it will show you the nearest El or Metra station.
It’s called ChiCARgo for a reason. 
I lived in Chicago for three years without a car. No problem. I even commuted to the suburbs without a car and although that was a bit of a pain in the ass, it was still better than spending a shitload of money on car payments, insurance, and gas.
Not to mention registration, city sticker, parking permits (in some neighborhoods), quarters for meters (which just got privatized, and may go up in price more than fourfold), remembering to get out at 7:55 to move your car for the plow or the streetcleaners and trying to find somewhere to park it that’s not full of your neighbors’ cars, paying tickets and towing and impound charges when you forget…
…Wait, why do I own a car again?
Good God, there are people who consider 6 blocks a long walk? No wonder 30% of America is fat. Back when I lived in New York, I considered anything less than 10 blocks to automatically be walking distance.
Anyway, what sections should I avoid?
No, I conside six blocks in sub-zero temperatures with a 20MPH wind a long walk.
As to what sections to avoid - the South Side, mostly.
Like others have said, if you live near the El, you should be fine. My friend Stella gave me her 99 Buick because she was so sick of driving in the city and she has not missed at at all! Of course I did give a few lifts when it was really cold out
AKA “The streets with numbers”. That’s not entirely true - there *are *perfectly nice neighborhoods on the south side (Kenwood, Hyde Park, etc.), but until you get to know the place, it’s best to stay in the area where the streets have names. Chicago in general has this weird patchwork, where one block will be perfectly safe and the next a gang riddled cesspool, but in general the south side (meaning, roughly, south of The Loop) is a little higher in random violent crime than the north side (roughly, north of the loop).
Good call! 
I think Chicago blocks are longer than NY blocks. I think.
Hey! As a South-Sider, I resent that!
You are right. In NYC, 20 blocks (N-S, not E-W) is one mile. In Chicago, 8 blocks is a mile, though since chicago is an irregular grid, it varies somewhat depending on where you are. Thus, 6 blocks in Chicago = 15 blocks in NYC. But moving to Chicago from NYC, you will see more fat people.
If you want information on crime in a Chicago neighborhood, use http://chicago.everyblock.com/. AFAIK there’s no equivalent for the suburbs.
My wife and I have lived in Chicago for nearly 20 years and have not owned a car in all that time. We had a car in Kansas City and drove the moving van to Chicago, planning to fly back and get the car. Never did, and my brother sold the car for us. We live a block and a half from a Brown Line L stop, and half a block from a 24 hour very busy bus line, and we get anywhere we need easily enough and far, far more cheaply than if we owned a car. For instance, I’m out of town for weeks at a time. So when I’m gone, I’m not making any car payments, etc. When I’m in town, I use passes. I’d like to know what kind of car I could afford for $23 a week.
Some stuff I do as part of this lifestyle might appear a bit strange to others. For instance, I have a large, external frame backpack. With the help of a friend who makes all his own bags and accessories for sea kayaking, we’ve modified the basic pack to include another, insulated pack below the main one. This is what I use to go shopping at CostCo. Frozen stuff goes into the insulated pack which can, and usually does, hold an entire ribeye sub-primal. The rest of the stuff, like cases of canned goods goes into the main pack, and I’ll strap a 36 roll pack of toilet paper to the top. One of the joys of getting older is being able to no longer care about the opinions of strangers.
I can pack some serious weight in this rig. Just the other day, I carried both a 40 lb bag of kitty litter and a 25 lb bag of cat food, and one CostCo run topped 100 lbs.
