For Those Without A Car (Chicago, Lincoln: best neighborhoods, rental, insurance)

[jman21400]

I plan on moving to Chicago from Anchorage around late September/early October. I'm searching through the threads to get answers to most of my questions. I have no problems with cold weather nor with big cities (I used to live in L.A.).

My main question is basically how easy is it to get around Chicago without a car? I don't want to drive my car from Alaska and I am liking the thought of not needing a car for awhile. If you don't have a car, do you have problems doing things like going grocery shopping?

Here in Anchorage, grocery stores are few and far between so I wasn't sure if it's the same in Chicago. Based on answers I've already seen on the forum, the best neighborhoods for me would probably be Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Andersonville, Boystown, Wrigleyville, Edgewater, Lincoln Park.

Thanks!

[marothisu]

It completely depends on where you live and also work. If you work in an area along public transit and can afford to be near public transit (not hard) then it's really no problem IMO. Things become more complicated for people when they work in the suburbs and their offices aren't that close to a commuter rail (Metra) stop. If you are someone who's working in the Loop or an area pretty close to a train stop, then it should be pretty easy to live without a car. Do you have a budget and anything you're looking for in particular for a neighborhood?

I live in the Gold Coast, which is downtown essentially and I don't have a car. I actually love life without one even though i LOVE driving. When I need a car (i.e. if I need to drive to...Michigan or something) I just rent it or use an hourly rental service like ZipCar.

In any case, I have a grocery store around the corner from me so it's really easy for me to go grocery shopping. When you're looking at places, keep that in mind - if you're within walking distance to it, then it's pretty easy. It also has forced me to stop buying so much stuff in bulk. While I have enough spices and whatever, it really allows me to live within the day or two. If I need a fresh cut of meat or seafood, I just go that day to get it (or the day before) instead of stocking up a week or two beforehand and cuts down on the things I end up never even eating.

There are also grocery delivery services in case you don't want to walk, take public transit, a cab, etc. The most popular one is Peapod Online Grocery Shopping and Delivery Service You can shop online and contrary to what you may be thinking, they actually do have quality produce there. They often get their produce before major grocers get them. Depending on how much stuff you order, they charge you a fee. So I think it's like $10 fee for under $75 ordered, for example. There are other stores that have them and even mine has a delivery truck I've seen used (mainly elderly people use it but I'm pretty sure anybody could use it - it's probably free if you buy a good amount of groceries).

Not everywhere in Chicago is amazingly dense and has amazing public transit and sometimes a car is best, but all things considered, Chicago is one of the top cities for public transit in the US (probably 2nd or 3rd after NYC).

[chicagobear]

I know lots of people without cars (including me) who live in Lakeview, Bucktown, Pilsen, Gold Coast, River North, Logan Square. It's pretty easy as long as you don't have to drive to work.

[SubconsciousMe]

I went without a car for a long time, I had to get one for work but only use it for work (truly). It is absolutely possible if done strategically and dependent on where you work.

[Link N. Parker]

I live in Wicker Park (dense, walkable and close to public trans) and I work in the Loop, and I am getting ready to give up my car. There are a couple of "car-sharing" services around here, like Enterprise and ZipCar, and so when you need a car, you go online, reserve one of the local cars for an hour or two, walk over to the car and get in. You pay by the hour (like $9 an hour) but that covers your gas and insurance. When you are done, you return the car and that is it. I have calculated that on average, I will need the car about 2 hours per week. That comes out to about $72/month for car usage, and that is ALL I will have to pay...no other expenses (monthly payment, monthly parking, fuel, insurance, maintenance, annual registration etc). I currently have a BMW with a $590 monthly payment and $200 monthly for parking, but by giving all that up, and going with the Car Share service instead, I am saving roughly $700 a month (even more when you factor in whatever my fuel costs have been per month). That is HUGE. The cool thing about the car-sharing, is that they have them all over the neighborhood. They are new cars too:

EnterpriseCarShare.com
ZipCar.com

Otherwise, I take the EL or the bus to places that do not have any parking. Also, taxis can be used (I like taking taxis when I am out and about late at night going to bars etc).

[marothisu]

^ Yep, the monetary benefits are big. I could easily afford a car, parking, gas, insurance,e tc but I choose not to have the car. If I had a car and paid $350/month to lease it, $50/month for insurance, $180/month for parking, and $20/month for gas as I barely would use it - that's $600/month for something I wouldn't use that often. That comes out to $7200/year. Now subtract $100/month for public transit and say $60/month in uberX/cab rides - that is saving over $5000/year. Just imagine what you can do with that money if not just save it. Even if my parking was free, I'd still be saving over $3K/year which is essentially a trip to a few European cities every year, for example.

[Vlajos]

I lived in the city for a long time without a car. Over 10 years. If you live/work in a public transit accessible place, you definitely don't need a car. With kids, a car becomes much more important.

[ChicagoMeO]

You can live in a neighborhood which has stores and restaurants and other businesses near you. you can take a short ride on a taxi or other ways.

however, if you like to get out of the city, even if everything is right next door, you might like a car just to get out of your neighborhood, and not have to lug groceries, packages, items you purchased in the rain and have to wait for a bus.

another consideration is - is the car worth it - with insurance and parking having a cost.

use a google map, find a few locations and then you can search for "groceries near _____ address" and it will give you a few clues without having to actually walk around to find out.

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by jman21400

I plan on moving to Chicago from Anchorage around late September/early October. I'm searching through the threads to get answers to most of my questions. I have no problems with cold weather nor with big cities (I used to live in L.A.).

My main question is basically how easy is it to get around Chicago without a car? I don't want to drive my car from Alaska and I am liking the thought of not needing a car for awhile. If you don't have a car, do you have problems doing things like going grocery shopping?

Here in Anchorage, grocery stores are few and far between so I wasn't sure if it's the same in Chicago. Based on answers I've already seen on the forum, the best neighborhoods for me would probably be Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Andersonville, Boystown, Wrigleyville, Edgewater, Lincoln Park.

Thanks!

I'd go ahead and take a trip to Chicago beforehand just to explore some of the neighborhoods you're interested in. I live in Lakeview, and I'm very close to the red line and express buses on inner Lake Shore Drive if I need to go anywhere. I'm also walking distance to multiple grocery stores, convenient stores, restaurants, and Wrigley Field. Getting from where I am to anywhere on the North Side that's off the red line is easy, and the same goes for downtown, so I generally don't have a problem.

What can be annoying is if you want to go somewhere else in the city that's not off the train line you selected. The L was designed to get people to and from the Loop, and not to get people to and from either end of the city. That means, on the only slightly annoying end, places off the red and blue lines that are just 2-3 miles apart are now going to take you anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to get to depending on if the bus you need is still running or if you need to make a transfer down in the Loop via the L. On the more annoying end, getting from a neighborhood like Edgewater to a neighborhood like Pilsen is going to take more than an hour via the L.

Don't get me wrong though, because the CTA can get you across the city, but once you're outside of your general area you're going to need to budget the time that it's going to take to get certain places via public transit. It's extremely convenient if you know that most of the places you plan on going to are off a specific line, but it can be a royal pain if you're someone who's bouncing between neighborhoods off of different lines.

[Autopilot1]

I live in Wicker Park and work in the West Loop/Greektown. I haven't had a car for about a year and a half and I don't miss it at all. It all depends on where you live and work. It's really easy to get around the city using public transportation. There are grocery stores everywhere. You can always get a zip car or something similar to run errands...etc.