How does public transportation/weather compare to NYC? (Chicago, Manhattan: to live, cost)

[simon22]

Is the public transportation as good as NYC? Is the weather much worse than NYC?

People told me I wouldn't be able to handle NYC's winter, but I had no problem with it. Will I have no problem with Chicago's winter?

Also, do you have to walk around much to get to public transportation?

[hjt123]

New York is better in both areas

That said, Chicago has pretty good public transport

[marothisu]

Nobody in the US is better at public transport than NYC, but Chicago's is pretty good and it's the 2nd most extensive in the country after NYC.

Weather is not terribly worse. It's colder in the *winter* by maybe 7 degrees and Chicago gets more snow on average, but the rest of the year the two cities are very similar in weather.

[Drover]

Chicago may technically get more snow but New York seems to get more "big" snowstorms. Chicago has never had a snowstorm that a consumer-grade, two-stage walk-behind snowthrower couldn't handle.

Chicago's mass transit is very comprehensive, but not always very time-efficient. CTA rail coverage isn't as extensive and all lines are oriented toward the CBD, so it's not very good at providing cross-town service. Buses do cover many, many cross-town routes but they are often very slow. You rarely have to walk more than 5 minutes to get to a bus route, but sometimes it may just be quicker to walk to your train connection or your destination if it's relatively close by. Bus tracker apps can help you decide if you're better of walking or waiting for the next bus.

On the flipside, cross-town trips by car are a lot more feasible, at least during off-peak travel times. Less congestion, less density, far fewer physical barriers, and no tolls to cross bridges from one part of town to another.

[PA Born]

There is no comparison between NYC and Chicago public transportation. None. The MTA has like 15 times the passenger rail numbers of the CTA.

Re. weather, they're similar and definitely comparable, but Chicago has longer, colder winters, and somewhat more snow.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by PA Born

There is no comparison between NYC and Chicago public transportation. None. The MTA has like 15 times the passenger rail numbers of the CTA.

NYC is far ahead of any other city in the US when it comes to it. Take NYC out of the picture though and DC and Chicago are the next top two with Boston behind that.

[andrewesque]

For a visual comparison, this is a map in which the Chicago L (heavy rail transit, aka analogous to the subway) is overlaid on a map of New York City. NYC subway routes are in white. The L is placed so that the Loop is in Midtown Manhattan and it's rotated to fit the NYC street grid, but it's to scale. You can see how incredibly dense the New York subway lines are by comparison to Chicago's, or any other transit system in the United States.

There are buses in both systems, too, of course, but at least in Chicago they are very often stuck in traffic or with long headways, especially during off-peak hours. (I'm looking at you, 30-minute wait for the Halsted bus on a 5-degree night in January.)

So, no, public transportation is not as good as New York's by a long shot. However, if you are moving from New York, you will find your dollar will go a lot farther for housing in Chicago, so the flipside you may be able to live close to convenient transportation options for less than it would cost you in New York.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by andrewesque

So, no, public transportation is not as good as New York's by a long shot. However, if you are moving from New York, you will find your dollar will go a lot farther for housing in Chicago, so the flipside you may be able to live close to convenient transportation options for less than it would cost you in New York.

Not to mention that if you're moving from NYC, Chicago or DC is about the best you're going to do for public transit in the US.

[ProgMichael]

Chicago's public transit > NYC's x20. It's not even close.

Also, we Chicagoans like our year-round "slightly crisp" weather.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by Drover

Chicago may technically get more snow but New York seems to get more "big" snowstorms. Chicago has never had a snowstorm that a consumer-grade, two-stage walk-behind snowthrower couldn't handle.

LOL. Are you serious? We don't get hit that often, but still.... We just had a 20 inch snowfall in February 2011.

1967
The Chicago Blizzard of 1967 - chicagotribune.com

My car was buried for two weeks. We had 23 inches in 24 hours.

The 10 Worst Snowstorms In Chicago « CBS Chicago

In 1979, we could not get our cars out of the garage because of drifts piled up (stupid snow plows piled all the snow from the alley right in front of our garage). The city had to send diggers to get the snow off it). The 1999 storm was less memorable because it happened over the New Years weekend and they cleared it before people had to go back to work.

Oh and here is NYC's big snows for comparison:
http://www.weather2000.com/NY_Snowstorms.html