Do I need a car if I live in Chicago?

Question

Or can I just rely solely on public transportation like in NYC?

Answer 1

no you do not need a car
yes the public transportation is like in NYC

Answer 2

You don't NEED a car, but it does come in handy. Chicago is pretty spread out and there may be something on the other side of town you want to do. Now, you could ride a bus or train, but that could take a while (riding on a bus that makes stops every two blocks, riding on a train and then having to get off and transfer to another train). If you don't mind taking that time, by all means, public transportation is great. And cabs are plentiful but expensive. But a lot of times I want to just get to where I have to go, do what I have to do and get back. That's why I have a car. I probably only drive my car three times a week; the rest of the time I ride the bus or train to work and back. And when I go grocery shopping, I don't want to have to try and schlepp heavy grocery bags four or five blocks if I don't live right next to a grocery store. And I went to buy a new box spring recently, so how was I going to get it home, on the bus? Or have to pay some guy to deliver the thing for me? Or just strap it to the car myself and "git 'er done"? There are a lot of times when a car comes in handy. But like I said, you don't HAVE to have a car. Most of the trains and buses here run 24/7 so you don't have to be stranged. But when it's 15 below at 11:30 at night on some deserted street and you're staring down the road trying to see if a bus is FINALLY coming, a car looks pretty good.

The only problem with having a car in Chicago is the fees: city sticker, state license plate stickers and tickets: they love to hand out parking tickets here. If you get three parking tickets here, they can boot your car and you have to pay the tickets, a fine, the towing fee and a fee for each day your car is in the impound. You can avoid all of that by remembering to feed the meter, move your car in the morning (you're allowed to park for free in front of a meter usually from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next morning), be mindful of the street cleaning days, etc. It sounds like more of a hassle than it really is. I have a Jeep Wrangler, and even with all of that, I love having a car in the summertime. It's so great to go cruising down Lake Shore Drive with the top down.

So I guess it's up to you and your priorities. If you know your journey's will mostly be to work and back, then you don't need a car. But if you plan on visiting friends, going to different neighborhoods for restaurants, bars, clubs, etc., then a car might seem like a good idea every now and then. Maybe you can find someone renting a garage space to park it in.

Oh, and NYC isn't "all that" when it comes to public transportation. I was there a couple of years ago and tried to get back from a club at midnight to upper Manhattan only to discover than the trains stop running further north of Times Square at midnight!

Answer 3

You can get around Chicago very well without a car. I lived there for 4 years. I worked in the Loop, and I lived up north (started in Rogers Park, then Lakeview, then Wicker Park). I could get back and forth to work, and out to entertainment things, just fine without a car. The El works just fine and runs 24 hours and I never felt unsafe on it, and I disagree with the statement that there's a whole lot going on in the suburbs that you absolutely must get to in a car -- I mean, Chicago has tons of theater, movies, restaurants, museums, cultural life by the ton, why would you ever go to the suburbs, except to go hear music at Ravinia? and you can get there on the Metra train which drops you about 2 feet from where they play the music....I did have a car b/c my job required me to drive out of town about once a week or so, but otherwise would not have needed it, and would have saved lots of $ by not having it.

Answer 4

As long as you live near a CTA or Metra station you don't need a car. If you take the Metra into the city a lot of big companies have shuttle buses that pick people up and take them to their offices. I lived there 3 years and was glad NOT to have a car. Parking is TERRIBLE and EXPENSIVE. People pay $40.000-50.000 to buy a parking space. Traffic is horrible, also. If you plan where you live in relation to work or school and the public transportation, you don't need one.

Answer 5

Needing a car in Chicago depends on where you live and where you work. IF you live in the city near a Metra or the CTA and work downtown then you might not "need" a car.

If you live in the city and work in the suburbs, again depending on which suburbs, then a car is more likely to be convenient.

Basically, if you can walk to the train station to get to work, then "no."

But if you have to take a bus to get to the train station, then you should probably have a car.

Another determining factor if you work downtown and drive is parking. You're gonna be paying out the nose for parking, which ain't cheap downtown. It's ridiculous, really, and could persuade you to get up earlier to take the bus to the train station. It's the age-old conundrum: time vs. money. What is each worth?

Answer 6

If you live in the actual city, you do NOT need a car. I've been here for 3 years without a car, and I use buses, subways, els, and trains. QUITE convenient. Prices are right at $2 a ride, or $75 monthly unlimited rides on all. Lots to do in the suburbs of the city too- but INSTEAD OF paying $200+/ month to park in a lot in the city, JUST buy a monthly CTA transit pass, and just rent a car on the rare occasions you want out of town. (Lots of car rental places all ove rthe city.)

Answer 7

As long as you live in town you do not need a car and even some areas in the burbs as long as they are on the train line. Every single person I have known that has moved to chicago has sold it within a year of moving there. It's hard to find parking, very expensive and in the winter you are constantly moving your car depending on which side of the street is getting plowed.

Answer 8

Nah you don't need a car in Chicago. I took mine up there when I was in school and I rarely used it. Parking is hard to find and expensive. It's so much easier to hop on the train or bus. The metro stops pretty much on like every other block so you don't even have to walk that much and buses pick you up right outside the metro and will take you where your going if you live out in the burbs.

Answer 9

Not unless you like to walk or take the train. Taffic is a problem too. both ways are fine. Not really I think. try motorcycle. Can get around cars and get them mad. Funny too.

Answer 10

no, the transportation is just like NYC