So is the real Chicago a car oriented city? (Oak Park: transplants, insurance)

[Alacran]

I used the trigger word "real" But I meant most of Chicago.

When you get out of the lakefront area(Rogers to Hyde park area) West of like Kedzie.....


Is Chicago pretty car oriented? It's expected for everyone to have a car in most neighborhoods. It's part of life.
So why does everyone on forums claim Chicago is not a car oriented city?

Go out to the south side neighborhoods and there's a pretty big car culture.

[Chicago60614]

I think most people are talking about the fact if you're recently out of college and don't want/have a car, are planning on living in the area a vast amount of transplants live - the north side through logan square and on to the west and south loops, working downtown - then no, you don't need a car. A car in those areas for someone working in the city, especially downtown, isn't needed or many times even wanted.

Of my friends in their 20's and into their 30's a huge majority of them didn't own cars or even think about cars. We all made $50,000 to $120,000 a lived good lives, but cars weren't a part of that except for a very few who had them to go back to visit parents or run errands.

The huge key here is where you work. If you work in the loop or near your home with access to trains/busses you're probably not going to even want to drive to work even if you could. Take away that use for your car and that's more than half the reason you would even want one.

Work elsewhere or live in an area where you get a garage of your own, or live out in the bungalow belt or depopulated/spread out areas of the south and west side where parking is ample - then yeah, why not own a car?

[chet everett]

In a lot of ways it really is about "balance" -- Chicago is a major hub for all kinds of transportation. You can't expect the various freight / logistics type firms to forsake the importance of air / highways and focus just on rail. Similarly even in the parts of the Loop most well served by transit the preference / need for for personal vehicles means there are LOTS of relatively affordable parking options. In most ways this give Chicago an edge over both the sorts of cities that are hostile to personal vehicles as well as those that lack transit options.

[lepoisson]

Only around a quarter of Chicago residents don't own a car (compared to half of NYC residents). I think that should tell us all something. Our public transportation is good, but spread out.

[ToriaT]

Most people have cars I think, except those living in areas that have really good transportation. Its entirely possible to live without one though. I know people, family I had that did not drive and lived in inner suburbs and they did not have cars but they lived in places like Oak Park where they could walk places, and they took buses and the L too. The cold weather also makes a car desirable.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

I disagree with the premise. I don't think west of Kedzie is "most of the city." I do think a lot of the area out that way is easier to navigate if you have a car, but a car is a pain most days if you live in the denser portions of town. And more people live east of Kedzie than west of it.

I will say that Chicago isn't a car-prohibitive city. A lot of it is car-optional. I had a car for most of the time I lived there, but I didn't use it all that much, except for a stint where I worked in the burbs. There were two multi-month spans when my car was having issues that I just let it sit. It wasn't essential enough to fix. My car wasn't all that reliable, but I never considered buying a new one because having a car where I lived (Lincoln Square, so not even the densest part of the city) only made sense if it didn't cost me much.

If I lived in Mount Greenwood or Edison Park, things would have been different, but for a huge chunk of the city, both geographically and population-wise, a car isn't crucial.

[Alacran]

Originally Posted by UnderTheLiveOaks

I disagree with the premise. I don't think west of Kedzie is "most of the city." I do think a lot of the area out that way is easier to navigate if you have a car, but a car is a pain most days if you live in the denser portions of town. And more people live east of Kedzie than west of it.

I will say that Chicago isn't a car-prohibitive city. A lot of it is car-optional. I had a car for most of the time I lived there, but I didn't use it all that much, except for a stint where I worked in the burbs. There were two multi-month spans when my car was having issues that I just let it sit. It wasn't essential enough to fix. My car wasn't all that reliable, but I never considered buying a new one because having a car where I lived (Lincoln Square, so not even the densest part of the city) only made sense if it didn't cost me much.

If I lived in Mount Greenwood or Edison Park, things would have been different, but for a huge chunk of the city, both geographically and population-wise, a car isn't crucial.

You're denying most of the southside.

[knitgirl]

I live between Lincoln Square and Andersonville and use my car pretty much just for grocery shopping or going out to my parents. I'm able to walk to work if the weather is decent. I would really miss not having a car though. I prefer to shop once a week and I have cats, so hauling kitty litter and cans of food would be a PITA if I had to walk or take public transportation. I supposed I could Uber or Lyft or a car sharing service, but I don't think I'd save all that much since my car is paid off and my insurance is pretty low.

[Alacran]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

I live between Lincoln Square and Andersonville and use my car pretty much just for grocery shopping or going out to my parents. I'm able to walk to work if the weather is decent. I would really miss not having a car though. I prefer to shop once a week and I have cats, so hauling kitty litter and cans of food would be a PITA if I had to walk or take public transportation. I supposed I could Uber or Lyft or a car sharing service, but I don't think I'd save all that much since my car is paid off and my insurance is pretty low.

Right, we grew up without a car living in Albany Park. Never had a problem. Took the train to doctor appointments, took the bus when we wanted to go downtown or other neighborhoods to shop. Walked to the groceries, etc.
But when I turned 17, getting a hooptie 1000 dollar car really opened up Chicago for me. There's places you wouldn't think of going if public trans was all you had.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Originally Posted by Alacran

You're denying most of the southside.

How so? No matter where you are in the city, the densest areas where the most people live have fairly high public transit saturation levels. Yes, there are big parts of the city without great transit coverage, but still say that for a majority of residents, cars are not essential. They may be nice to have, but you can get by without one far better than you can in most cities.