Heck, his daily commute takes him right past the main branch!
I’ve never lived anywhere else so I have no basis for comparison. But I have often heard Chicagoans described as “friendly.” Since I’ve always lived here, they don’t strike me as particularly friendly or un-.
Even if you (foolishly IMO) decide not to use a bike for commuting and errands, you would indeed be depriving yourself of one of Chicago’s true treasures if you did not take every advantage of the wonderful lakefront bike path less than 1/2 mile from your front door.
But to be fair you have to add in all the costs of owning the car to fairly compare car commuting with non-car commuting - registration, inspections (if mandated), oil changes, insurance, scheduled maintenance, unscheduled maintenance, and, the cost of the car amortized over the years of ownership. That plus gas comes out to way more than $86/mo.
And, as other have said, an unlimited card is unlimited, you can use it on weekends and more than twice a day. In NYC the average holder of the monthly subway pass ($89) takes about 58 rides, which makes it $1.54 per ride.
Yeah, I’ve heard that too - I’ve described it to others as “big city filled with Midwesterners”, so it’s that level of friendly. Not small town, smile and chat with everyone you pass level of friendly. I’m just fine with it. Then again, I’m one of those types who will walk around with headphones in, but stop and ask total strangers who appear lost if they need directions.
There are a million things I’ve found to love about Chicago after moving here from Washington State.
If you plan on having any visitors at all while you’re here (and once friends find out you’re in Chicago, plan on a few houseguests a year), I highly recommend picking up a membership pass to the Art Institute. I think it’s like $125 for pass that will get in four adults at any time for a year. They don’t care if you’re holding the card or not, so when people come into town, I can give them my card to use. Admission is north of $15 now so the pass pays for itself very quickly.
I find folks pretty friendly here, on average. I live on the Northside - Logan Square currently, but have lived in 4 or 5 neighborhoods since I moved to “Da City” 25+ years ago. You may just need a little while to acclimate. I tend to smile at people first (as otherwise they might mistake me for a wild-haired leaping gnome), and mostly get at least a neutral response.
In two weeks, the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) is cutting out all night service on my primary bus route, and reducing frequency, so that sucks. I bike to work in pleasant weather (April/May - October/November - I’m a fair-weather biker), but take the bus otherwise. We have a car, but I try to use it as a last resort.
And taxes are insane. If you smoke (cigarettes), take a trip to Indiana or roll your own. There are a lot of free things to do, but you have to search for them.
I ride Metra and the CTA (bus) 3x/week. I’ve always found the people on both to be civil and mostly friendly. I haven’t come across too much rudeness on the street or on mass transit. I’d say we’re more friendly than some cities, but not as friendly as others.
Welcome to the Windy City! There’s lots to do and see and enjoy. Yes, the sales tax sucks, but the CTA fare is not unreasonable. I walk from Randolph St station up past Watertower and then catch the 151 to work (I work in north Lincoln Park). It’s about $6 to do that in a cab and it’s $12 to park my car for the day at my work (plus I would have to drive the Dan Ryan and LSD). I like the CTA for all of these reasons. I’m fairly new to this commute–about 6 months–and I’ve only encountered one truly rude bus driver. She was truly a rabid bitch, but maybe she’d had a bad day for the past few years.
The winter is not so bad here, truly. You need a REAL winter coat–there should be good sales now. You also need good walking boots. If you are appropriately attired, the weather is no problem.
Another thing I really miss about Chicago is the Art Institute - it’s a nice place to have a wander if you have the time, always new stuff to see. And when the weather gets warmer Millennium Park is a great place to hang out and people watch. Or just have a picnic.
The new modern art wing on the Art Institute has a really cool skyway and balcony that looks over Millennium Park, as well. And it’s free! At least those parts are, anyway.
Not a Chicagoan (well, I was born in Hazlecrest and lived my first 2 years in Harvey), but this was my situation in NYC. I lived 2.5 miles from work. Given my particular location it took me as long to take public transportation as it did to just walk. The quickest way was by bike at ~20 mins which I’d do until I’d get freaked out and then go back to mass transit/walking.
If you want to enhance your dorkiness, I suggest Rockport World Tour shoes. Comfortable and waterproof.
Welcome to Chicago. Glad you made it out of Detroit alive!
If you need to get around the loop during winter, don’t forget the pedway. Remember the scene in Dark Knight where Batman is riding the Batpod cycle through what looks like a mall? That is part of the pedway. It doesn’t cover the whole loopbut it’s better than nothing when the snow is blowing.
If you don’t want a bike (though I highly recommend it for summer rides along the lake), get a Razor scooter. I saw countless men and women hop off the train or bus dressed in business suits scooting down the sidewalks on one of those things. Faster than walking, easy to maneuver along the sidewalk and it keeps you off the street.
I also second (third, whatever) what other people have said about the museums and library.
Now that you’re here you have to choose which baseball team to support. Whichever one you choose, you must stay fanatically devoted to them for the rest of your life, eschewing all contact with the other fan base, even severing romantic ties if you find out that your partner belongs to the opposition. My criteria for choosing are based on the age of the stadium, convenient access via public transportation and when was the last time they won the World Series.
First, if you ever meet anyone who claims they work for the local semi-alternative “Arts and Entertainment” paper, run away! The thing’s nothing but a foul pit of evil and ignorance. In my humble opinion, it taints the whole city, nay, country, even world.
Just in case you change your mind, here’s the rules about biking on a street.
Then again, I’m one of those types who will walk around with headphones in, but stop and ask total strangers who appear lost if they need directions.
