Owning a car and parking in Chicago? (Rockford, Park Ridge: rental car, transplants)

[HockeyFan]

For those without cars -- how do you visit friends in the suburbs? Take a day trip? Go to Michigan for a weekend? Go to a remote sports event? Those are huge things to me anyway. Are those things you sacrifice?

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by HockeyFan

For those without cars -- how do you visit friends in the suburbs? Take a day trip? Go to Michigan for a weekend? Go to a remote sports event? Those are huge things to me anyway. Are those things you sacrifice?

If those are big things for you that you do often, having a car is a good idea.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by HockeyFan

For those without cars -- how do you visit friends in the suburbs? Take a day trip? Go to Michigan for a weekend? Go to a remote sports event? Those are huge things to me anyway. Are those things you sacrifice?

There are such things as Metra,Pace,Amtrak,Greyhound,Megabus,etc...

[HockeyFan]

Hard to head to Madison or Rockford and back for a game on Greyhound or local transit though, at least not without getting home very late.

You're right, for someone like me, i'd need a car. I just always wondered what the carless did for situations like those I mentioned.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by HockeyFan

...You're right, for someone like me, i'd need a car. I just always wondered what the carless did for situations like those I mentioned.

They rent a car or carpool?

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by HockeyFan

For those without cars -- how do you visit friends in the suburbs? Take a day trip? Go to Michigan for a weekend? Go to a remote sports event? Those are huge things to me anyway. Are those things you sacrifice?

Rent a car or join a car-sharing organization (zipcar or i-go).

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by HockeyFan

Hard to head to Madison or Rockford and back for a game on Greyhound or local transit though, at least not without getting home very late.

You're right, for someone like me, i'd need a car. I just always wondered what the carless did for situations like those I mentioned.

As everyone else is saying, there are ways. There are options that don't involve owning a car. However, the beauty of Chicago is that there's no one way to play it. You can own a car or not own a car. Owning a car, unless you live in a really dense neighborhood, isn't THAT much of a hassle. If you live in pretty much any neighborhood that isn't within spitting distance of the lake or the Loop, a car is a perfectly reasonable thing to own.

On the other hand, most of the people I know in the city don't care much about driving to Madison or Rockford. They live in the city because that's where they want to be. If they DO want to go to Madison or Rockford or even Ikea, they can use an above suggestion or convince someone like me who has a car to go with them.

Everyone has different needs. For people who enjoy the city and spend most of their time here, a car can be more trouble than it's worth.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by HockeyFan

Hard to head to Madison or Rockford and back for a game on Greyhound or local transit though, at least not without getting home very late.

You're right, for someone like me, i'd need a car. I just always wondered what the carless did for situations like those I mentioned.

Depending on how frequently (or infrequently) you do these trips, it may be significantly cheaper to rent a car occasionally than owning a car.

Think about all the expenses involved in owning a car:
1. Purchase price (remember if you purchase via a car loan, you're also paying interest).
2. Insurance
3. Maintenance
4. Fees/taxes
5. Parking
6. Gas (probably the most trivial expense).

These expenses can easily be several hundred dollars a month. For some/most people, its an expense that's well worth it. The fact is, for most Americans, not having a car is simply not a viable option, given the built environment they live in.

Chicago (parts of it at least) is one of the few places in American where there is an alternative to car ownership. And what do you know, the parts that are most conducive to car-free living also tend to be the priciest. That's the market telling us that there is very high demand for this kind of living.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

Depending on how frequently (or infrequently) you do these trips, it may be significantly cheaper to rent a car occasionally than owning a car.

Think about all the expenses involved in owning a car:
1. Purchase price (remember if you purchase via a car loan, you're also paying interest).
2. Insurance
3. Maintenance
4. Fees/taxes
5. Parking
6. Gas (probably the most trivial expense).

These expenses can easily be several hundred dollars a month. For some/most people, its an expense that's well worth it. The fact is, for most Americans, not having a car is simply not a viable option, given the built environment they live in.

Chicago (parts of it at least) is one of the few places in American where there is an alternative to car ownership. And what do you know, the parts that are most conducive to car-free living also tend to be the priciest. That's the market telling us that there is very high demand for this kind of living.

All true. If I did not own my car outright, have fairly easy street parking, and have a relatively low insurance payment, I don't know that I'd bother with a car.

[Irishtom29]

Not using a car can confine you to a smaller area of the city. If you live in the Loop and want to visit your kinsmen in Mt. Greenwood or go to a job on the East Side you're best off using a car. Much depends on how spread out your social circle is---2 of my kids live in the city but 2 are out in Will County and many of my friends live in areas of the South Side and south Suburbs hard to get to by public transportation.

Of course as has been mentioned you don't need to own a car to use one. And if your activities are confined to the central part of the city you may go for very long periods without needing a car. My wife and I are debating how we'll deal with this when we move back. It would be nice to have a car but also nice not to. We'll see.