Living in Chicago without a car? (Hyde Park) (Washington, Washington Park: rent, home)

[Planner15]

I'm moving to Chicago this summer for grad school. I'm in New York now and have sold my car as it's not practical to have a car here. Is Chicago the same way or will I be at a disadvantage not having a car? I'm planning to live in Hyde Park if that makes a difference.

Also, while I'm at it. Anyone have advice on where to find a cheap studio in Hyde Park? I saw some on craigslist for ~600/month. Should I assume those are sketchy?

[Gemini1963]

I grew up in Hyde Park without a car and I think you'll be just fine, most of the time. Maybe even better than fine, since driving AND parking in HP can be a hassle. One exception that I can think of off the bat is grocery shopping, but you can probably figure out solutions for that (share rides with people and make them stop to fill up their gas tank on your dime) or use a bike with a basket (or cab in bad weather).

Re: rents for a studio, sorry, I am not well informed on that.

[marothisu]

For Chicago as a whole, it depends on what area you are living in. In some areas, you don't really need a car. I live downtown and don't have one and hardly ever have a need for one (when I do, I just rent or use something like ZipCar). You could say that about numerous areas of town. There is good public transit here (train, bus, and technically we could count bike share as part of that), though not as good as NYC because the train system doesn't reach absolutely everywhere.

I have friends in HP who don't own cars and are fine. Hyde Park is fairly walkable too. I think it depends on where you position yourself in the end anyway. You could totally live near a grocery store, restaurants, etc. The neighborhood isn't as full with commercial/retail as other parts of town, but it does exist in certain areas for a good amount and the area is still walkable and is serviced by various bus routes and shuttles.

My only beef with Hyde Park is its public transit to other parts of town. The city trains don't go *directly* to it. There are a few stops near it in bordering semi shady areas. One of these lines runs 24/7, the other until like 2am. It's set up that they all go downtown (and to other neighborhoods of course), but there's the shady angle at night. There are buses that go to/from the downtown area, but they don't run all night. I think one of the stops running a little after midnight, and others may stop running at like 10pm instead. There is also a commuter rail stop near the lake that runs downtown, but again the latest it runs is a little after midnight, and it only comes once an hour basically.

The neighborhood is good - a little more educated feeling in the air and not as much "We're going to ****ing party!!!!" versus some other areas of town. I'd consider living there if the area around Washington Park (near the 24/7 red line) was a little less shady at night.

[emathias]

Living in Hyde Park without a car wouldn't be ideal. It's possible, but it wouldn't be anything like living in New York without a car, or even like living in the central part of Chicago or along the north lakefront of the city without a car.

The primary reason it's different than those other areas is that not only is most of Hyde Park not particularly dense or pedestrian-oriented, the areas near Hyde Park are not even as dense or as vibrant as Hyde Park.

I've lived in Chicago car-free for 15 years as of this week, so I think I have a pretty good idea of what it's like. Can you live in Hyde Park without a car? Absolutely. Will it be somewhat isolating to live there without a car? Absolutely.

[jonnynonos]

It's kinda far from most the other things in town people generally are interested in, but that would be the case with or without a car.

[citylove101]

If you know you're going out on the North Side and you'll be getting back late, a car would be nice, but there are Zip cars in Hyde Park you can rent for a few hours. I've done that. Cabs to the Loop and points north are expensive and you will usually have to call one -- though you can do a street hail from the North side coming back. Late nights and weekends, as has been said, the trains and buses will be intermittent or nonexistant, including the Green line, which is indeed on the sketchy Western edge of Hyde Park. Not a good stop to be at late at night IMO.

Day-to-day living in Hyde Park w/o wheels is doable and basically easy. (I always chuckle a bit when I hear people worrying about how to carry their groceries home without a car. GET A SHOPPING CART!) But getting out of the neighborhood w/o wheels for evening and weekend pleasure will talke a little more planning.

[Gemini1963]

Originally Posted by citylove101

(I always chuckle a bit when I hear people worrying about how to carry their groceries home without a car. GET A SHOPPING CART!)

I agree that the shopping cart works fine, most of the time - my very elderly parents even kept this up until they became incapacitated. But in a winter like we're having now, wrestling with the cart is no fun. The sidewalks and streets are very unevenly shoveled/plowed, and it's just a hassle. So the OP might need a Plan B for winter grocery (and other household) shopping if s/he doesn't want to have a car.

[vmsns]

If you're spending a lot of your time in and around the neighborhood, you should be fine without a car. However, is it's already been mentioned, public transit in/out of Hyde Park isn't the easiest or safest, and is generally considered the biggest drawback to the area (in my experience). So, if you plan on getting around the city a lot, a car might not be a bad investment. I know several people who live in Hyde Park and they all have cars and are glad they do.

[SubconsciousMe]

We don't have a car. Granted, we don't live in Hyde Park, but to the point of shopping without a car...

We use a shopping cart when feasible. When it's not, we order through Instacart or take the bus to the store and a taxi back. We don't rent cars for shopping because the car will be parked most of the time and we feel if we are paying for it, it shouldn't be parked for the majority of the time.

[Manigault]

I went to grad school in Hyde Park without a car. This was through winter which is worse than the one going on now. Is is very doable -- transportation within the village is really free. Transportation to the downtown is available and there are three or four express bus lines plus Metra.

You should note that in East Hyde Park there are only limited parking spaces available.