Other than Chicago, which Midwest city allows you a car free life? (live, best)

[EddieOlSkool]

It seems the answer would be none but I am interested to hear your reasoning. I feel like cities like Indianapolis and Cincinnati would be highly inconvenient for transit users. I also feel that given the huge lack of rail systems throughout the Midwest makes car free living an impossibility.

That being said, do you think it is possible? Explain

[chicagobear]

I think the answer is none, but Milwaukee probably comes closest.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by chicagobear

I think the answer is none, but Milwaukee probably comes closest.

How so?

[PerseusVeil]

Comfortably? No. Do many people have to anyway out of necessity? Yes.

[theurbanfiles]

I'll go in groups:

Yes (or at least, quite possibly):
Cleveland
Minneapolis
Milwaukee
Saint Louis
I don't have time to do a detailed comparison, but I would curious on which of the four of these has the best in regards to entertainment without leaving the city, park access, and rail/bus transit. From what I've seen, I could live in these four and be okay. Literally the only thing I couldn't get to in Cleveland without a car would be a heavy retail presence, however, so much of that is done online these days anyways. Minneapolis and it's bike infrastructure I think help it's cause here significantly, while Milwaukee's and Cleveland's

No (or at least, probably not IMO):
Detroit
Cincinnati (though it does now have a streetcar system and some tight neighborhoods
Columbus
Kansas City
Indianapolis
Any Other City You're Thinking of, Really

Some smaller cities that could potentially be exceptions to this rule include Duluth, MN (though it'd be nice still), Madison, WI and other college towns where one can reasonably bike or walk to work/class all the time.

[beasley106]

Minneapolis is the only city that I know of in the Midwest outside of Chicago that operates a light rail line 24/7 and has a good/fairly comprehensive bus system (not to mention a large network of bike lanes/paths) so that city has my vote.

Cleveland is also doable without a car but only if you live/work in certain areas (ie Downtown, University Circle, maybe Lakewood) as it is well served by "The Rapid" light rail system and bus routes.

Other Midwestern cities offer pretty negligible public transit in my experience (ie Indianapolis, Detroit) so I can't really recommend any other cities if one want's to avoid getting/using a car.

[OyCrumbler]

I think the basic necessities for decent car-free living is to have at least one very walkable neighborhood where pretty much any day to day service or good is available without a car and that the person living in that neighborhood is employed somewhere that can be reached without a car with relative ease. In that case, there are a lot of Midwestern major cities with at least a few neighborhoods where this works for some jobs even if they don't have a great transit system.

[rumba77]

Originally Posted by cavsfan137

No (or at least, probably not IMO):
Cincinnati (though it does now have a streetcar system and some tight neighborhoods
Kansas City

Wow, no credibility at all with this one.
Kansas City has a FREE streetcar system with over a million riders their first 9 months of operation.
It's been in use longer than Cincinnati's!
The current system connects the River through downtown and ends at Crown Center/Union Station.
And KC's 2nd phase of the system is in the planning process.
It will more than double the route down Main Street through Midtown and Westport to the Plaza and UMKC.
When the 2nd tier is completed users will have free ridership to 95% of every museum, attraction and amenity in the urban core with the exception of the stadiums and airport.

[kcmo]

If you live and work in the an urban (mainly downtown) why could you not live in any of these major cities without a car. I'm sure lots of people do it in all the cities mentioned and I'm sure more people in Chicago have cars than you might think. I don't think you have to have a huge heavy rail system to enjoy a car free lifestyle. KC for example has everything you need in the core of the city and what you don't need is an easy bus/zip car/urber/lift/taxi ride away in the close in suburbs.

It's obvious that Chicago and MSP have the best transit though. I would actually prefer MSP light rail over the L and Metra and buses in Chicago. Easier city to live in and more user friendly transit IMO.

KC Streetcar:

[chicagobear]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

How so?

There are some walkable neighborhoods in the city proper and you seem to be able to get around via bus.