Worth getting rid of my car? Too risky? (Chicago, Glenview: rental car, rental)

[hxcobd]

Thanks for the input, chirack. Good to know. I hadn't thought about it that way, I suppose.

Avenger, according to Google, moving to Rogers Park from where I currently live in Lakeview will knock 10 miles (round-trip) off my commute.

Guess I should consider sucking it up and minimizing the financial damage of owning a car here. Good to hear that apparently my area is one of the worst for parking. I swear, on baseball game nights, I just want to go on a rampage...

Maybe I should look into getting a new car that gets better gas mileage?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by hxcobd

Metra's North Central Service line has a Wheeling stop that puts me very close to my workplace.

No way am I going to live in Wheeling, either. I'd take EITHER transportation option over that one. Primarily because I enjoy living in the city and would like to continue to do so, but also because again, I'm quite wary of the job market, and if I were to lose my job for whatever reason, I'd hate to be stuck in Wheeling.

Great -- so now how do you get to the Clybourn train station from Lakeview? And how much time will that take? Are you willing to pay $80/mo for a CTA pass and $130/mo for a Metra pass? Or do you plan on moving closer to the station? Because there's no way I'd do that commute unless I lived/worked within walking distance of a train station at both ends. I suppose you could bike there -- you'd probably be allowed to take your bike on the train with you since it's a reverse commute.

The cost of car ownership is probably a lot higher than you're estimating. There's gas of course -- and then there's also insurance, maintenace, depreciation, and of course, car payments if you don't yet own the car outright. I own my car outright, and the operating costs are still somewhere in the neighborhood of $450/mo to commute out to Schaumburg. So yeah, you'll still probably save money, and who knows what the price is for the peace of mind of not having to worry about parking. If market rates for off-street parking in that area adequately capture the value of the aforementioned peace-of-mind, I'd say it's about another $200/mo you can add.

And if you need a car for the occasional errand, there's always i-go or Zipcar.

[hxcobd]

I think my car ownership expenses are pretty accurate, aside from potential parking fees related to whatever apartment building I move into. I've already had to dish out the cash (or plan to dish out the cash) for everything else, including insurance. I do own my car outright, so monthly payments don't apply.

You're right though; the cost of merely owning a car is my primary concern in all of this. I mean, at the point where simply being able to drive is beginning to cost nearly what my rent does... That begins to bother me.

If buying monthly Metra and CTA passes would cut my "overall travel" expenses in half as it seems like they would, I'd happily walk half a mile every morning to get to the train station. (Hell, I already have to walk further than that every morning just to get to where my car's parked, due to all these friggin' games at Wrigley.)

[DanielWaterhouse]

Try out the commute for a week or a month or however long it takes to get comfortable. You'll double up expenses for that period (except that you'll save on gas) but you'll save a lot vs. selling your car, deciding you made a mistake and buying something else.

[hxcobd]

Originally Posted by DanielWaterhouse

Try out the commute for a week or a month or however long it takes to get comfortable. You'll double up expenses for that period (except that you'll save on gas) but you'll save a lot vs. selling your car, deciding you made a mistake and buying something else.

Not a bad idea, actually. I might have to give this a shot.

The only issue with that is that where I end up getting an apartment would probably be hinged pretty heavily on what I do about transportation. They're inter-related.

If I get a great place closer to the Loop/downtown where train and Metra access is easy, I could probably ditch my car without a problem.

If I get a great place really far north as previously mentioned, it would likely be considerably harder to get rid of my car.

Choices, ugh.

[chirack]

Going further north in the city wont help much. The big problem is traffic and ten miles is not that much a difference. If you are driving you need to be near the expressway that goes to wheeling. Going downtown or somewhere near the metra line would be your best bet. Living in wheeling would be the smartest move.

[hxcobd]

And I'd currently rather die in a wildfire than live in Wheeling, so I suppose the search continues downtown.

Thanks for the advice, all. Much appreciated.

[78chicago]

I'm not terribly familiar with suburbs north of Glenview, but it's possible that Pace's 272 route will get you fairly close to your job (big "maybe" on that). Some of the 270 routes from Jefferson Park change over to 272 when they hit Golf Mill, so getting to work with just a monthly CTA pass may be possible.

[NorCal Dude]

A car-less life style is not a life stlye I recomend to any one any where, save college kids and bohemians

[Drover]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

A car-less life style is not a life stlye I recomend to any one any where, save college kids and bohemians

There are some parts of this city where owning a car is more of a PITA than it's worth.