Do I need a car if I live in Chicago?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I could not do this. For long distances, I start to feel the weight of a backpack at about 25 lbs. Maybe I need to hit the gym more. Congratulations on being in better shape than me!

I’m in my mid-twenties and I consider having to worry what other people think to be one of the more annoying aspects of life, even though I am still the kind of person who usually does the efficient thing rather than the normal thing. Sounds like getting old isn’t all bad! (although I actually wouldn’t call 48 “old”)

You know, I wonder how much of society’s productivity is wasted on inefficiencies caused by keeping up appearances and other theatrics. You know, like how they make you take off your shoes at the airport because of that John Walker jerk, even though it probably doesn’t make a difference in safety (if someone can’t hide explosives in their shoes, can’t they easily just hide them somewhere else?)

22

I grew up on a farm, learned how to drive when I was 13, used to drive professionally (both trucks and for a Driveaway company) and I never would have imagined a time when a car wasn’t part of my life, but after moving to Chicago, poof, gone, not missed ever. The money not spent on, as listed above, car payments, repairs, maintenance, fuel, insurance, city stickers, parking meters, etc., plus not having to deal with parking and other drivers more than makes up for the occasional ‘kinda-wish’ thoughts. The buses and trains get us nearly everywhere we want to go, and cabs are plentiful for those times when we just don’t want to deal with standing out in the cold wind. We haven’t needed to yet, but if we wanted to we could always rent a car or do the i-go/zipcar route.

Not having a car by choice is so freeing, I never could have imagined. I never want to have to live anywhere where I have to have a car again (which means, most of the country).

Plus, we love Chicago. We love our neighborhood (Albany Park, on the northwest side). We love the movies and music and museums that are available to us. We love the lakefront and the skyline. We love the Loop. We love the generally friendly and laid-back atmosphere.

Downs? I can’t think of anything substantial. It’s a bit more expensive than average, though not as expensive as New York or other east coast cities. You have to be careful and aware, but regarding crime, I personally have never felt unsafe, though of course it only takes once for that to change, but nothing’s happened yet, in two decades of living here. There are a lot of people but, except for mornings on the L heading to the loop, and big events that attract hundreds of thousands of people like the Taste of Chicago and July 3rd Fireworks, it doesn’t seem oppressive to me. I’ve found I’m a big-city girl, and would love to live in New York or London, but Chicago is a good compromise. It has just about everything those cities would have, much cheaper. And it’s a transportation hub, which makes getting to other cities cheaper.

If you’re a New Yorker, you’ll be right at home here. It’s not quite as fast-paced or crowded or expensive, and you’ll surely miss some NY-specific things, but you’ll like it here.

23

But, it’s not long distances. We take a train and a bus to get to the Costco, and same back. It’s from the front door of the Costco to the nearby bus stop, which drops us off at the front of the train station. Then from the front of the bus into the station to upstairs to wait for the train. Ride the train 3 stops, then off the train and walk a block to our apartment. There’s no blocks and blocks and blocks of walking with a heavy backpack.

24

Then get yourself one of those wire shopping carts to haul your groceries home. Much cheaper than a car.

25

As Equipoise said, I don’t tend to walk ten blocks with the pack. And I can assure you that you are in better shape that I am unless you are equally pear-shaped.

Because Chicago is such a public transit oriented city, there’s an unspoken rule: if you can carry it in your hands, and are not impeding others, you can bring it on the train. My personal record was building floor to ceiling shelves - without a car. The Home Depot on North Avenue used to be 24 hour. So I would go shopping at 2 AM on a weeknight and carry a stack of nine foot long pine boards through the turnstile and onto the train. I’d get on an end car, and be fairly sure that there would be nobody in the car. In this way, via multiple trips, we built floor to ceiling shelves for all the walls of our library.

26

I have one. They don’t fit on buses, though, only subways. Also, non-handicap-accessible subway stops are brutal when you have to haul a fully-loaded cart up the steps.

27

Then what did you do when you lived in NYC and had to move a suitcase or a box of books or something that weighed more than 25 pounds? It’s not any different here. You take a cab or find a buddy with a car or pay someone to deliver it for you.

28

Sorry - wasn’t thinking about buses/trains, mainly about the “6 block” comment and the fact that after the local A&P closed my mom regularly pulled one of those cart ~ a mile to the nearest Jewel. Come to think of it, my mom lived in Chicago ~ 50 years without ever learning to drive. But if I were choosing I’d choose elsewhere than the NW side.

29

They’ll fit on buses here. The aisles are very wide to accommodate wheel chairs, and most of the buses I’ve been on have pneumatic…uh…tire thingies?..so the driver can lower the whole front corner of the bus to let on a wheelchair, stroller or grocery hauler without having to get out and set up a ramp.

However, the steps at the EL *will *suck, and I’d look for a store/home near a handicapped-accessible EL stop if it’s likely to be a frequent occurrence.