Going from car to no car. Doable?

Rent cars when needed.

Easy af. Mine was stolen in Lincoln park nearly 15 years ago and I’ve been totally fine without it. 

I used CTA, Zipcar, and now occasionally Uber/Lyft…but mostly cycling since this city is flat as a pancake makes it super easy. 

I lived here for 11 years without a car, but I never had to visit your family in Tennessee so YMMV.

It’s definitely doable, but add up your car costs first.

If you have a paid off beater you street park with liability insurance , it’s probably worth keeping around. If you have a nice car and pay for a spot, yeah you’ll be better off paying for a rental car a few times a year.

My guess is the majority of people living in the west loop don’t have a car.

I did ten years without a car. Split between Lakeview East & South Loop.

Trains, planes and automobiles, in that order... Throw in a bicycle and the occasional bus.
You'll be fine.

Add up ALL of the costs of car ownership per year: car payments, insurance, gas, maintainence, parking, license and other taxes/fees, etc. This is now your annual transportation budget for rentals, car sharing services, more frequent cabs/Uber/deliveries, and other forms of transportation. Most urbanites can give themselves a big holiday bonus at the end of the year with all the money they save.

Try it out. Stop using your car for a while.

Get rid of your car then post on here in 6 months. If it’s not an improvement in life/finances I will buy you a new car

I've lived here all my life. Never had a car, never will.

Doable? Hell I think it’s kind of encouraged. We have a car but we don’t it often. Maybe three, four times a month because it’s convenient. Not because it’s needed. CTA is one of the best MT systems I’ve used.

I went car free a year and a half ago and haven’t missed it one bit. When I visit family out of state I either rent a car or fly - those options are far cheaper than all costs associated with owning a car.

Both those neighborhoods are so easy to be car free. We sold our car and never looked back. So much money saved and so much less stress.

I’m in the same boat (or car lol).

Moved here with a car. My partner and I use it like once per month, but it’s also paid off. So it’s hard to justify getting rid of it.

Bro, what are you scared of? Saving a lot of money? Having less shit to worry about?

If you already don’t use it might as well get rid of it.

Unpopular opinion. I have a car and live in the city and all my friends somehow latch onto me when the night ends because Uber isn’t cheap and well CTA can be annoying sometimes.

I don’t think I can go back to not having a car. I like having the liberty of walking or taking my car to places. If it’s something in the city I walk to the city (I live by west loop). If not I just take my car and use spot hero. Easy peasy

West Loop is not as good for public transit, but other than that, yeah, you’re fine. I got rid of my car when I moved to the city, saves so much money. Plus I can read a book on my commute!

Keep you license up to date and rent a car when you travel. You will save thousands a year.

You will save so much $ your whole life will change. Do it!

From 1993 to 2017, I got around perfectly with no car. The only thing i hated was waiting for a bus in below 0 weather.
Rogers Park
Humboldt Park
Lakeview
Uptown
and Ukrainian Village

Grew up here, been driving for over twenty years and only just recently bought a car. You can do it. Supplement with a zipcar membership for car usage as needed.

I lived in Lincoln Park at Clark and Diversey with no car for 5 years and didn’t miss it at all.

Having no car in Lakeview is way easier than having a car in Lakeview. I’d be shocked if you don’t end up saving money even if you include costs for rental/flights to Tennessee twice a year.

Only reason I don't get rid of my car mobility outside of Chicago. There's better pricing and stores in burbs. But I can't imagine shopping at Costco if public trans was my only option

Easy. Rent a car or take Amtrak/Greyhound the one-two times a year you need to leave.

I just moved here three months ago, I live in Lincoln Park. I sold my vehicle and I love not having one.

What’s funny (to me) is that I moved to Chicago from Nashville, which is as car-dependent a city as they come and does not have a good public transit infrastructure. I’ve never owned a car (I grew up in D.C.) and I ended up being so exasperated by not having one in Nashville, that I swore I was going to buy one when I got to Chicago, just for convenience. And I’ve been here a year now and still haven’t lol. I thought the winter would definitely break me down and make me pull the trigger, but then I experienced it and it wasn’t too bad.

All that to say: no car? Absolutely doable in my opinion.

I have lived in Chicago for 3 years and resent the idea of ever getting a car. Buy a bike and enjoy the $$ saved.

Fly or train everywhere far, bike / walk / public transit everywhere close

Mocs on top? You gotta be from Chatt! Wahahaha

I feel like it would be the biggest pain in the ass to have a car up here in lakeview. I haven’t gone back to TN yet but I would just fly.

Gf rented a car and drove down to see family in Knoxville once or twice since we’ve been here the past year?

I haven’t missed having a car for a second (unless I’m trying to go see friends on the western part of town… then I sometimes I wish I had one a little)

But Uber solves that problem very easily if I don’t feel like dealing with the CTA.

Good luck! And welcome fellow Tennessean! (Assuming you’re from there)

I lived without a car for over a decade. With the money you save it is easy to grab a lyft if something comes up. Also check out getaround.com. I used zip car when they were here and it was great. One winter I went to go pick up the car and there was a huge crack in the windshield from the cold and I sighed a huge sigh of relief because that was not my problem. I just notified them and got a different car.

We have a car now because of kids but I'm looking to sell it in the very near future. It's a burden I don't need. I love the carless life.

Totally

best way to do it

uber/cta/metra/pace has your back

Omg I got rid of my car 10 years ago and saved SO MUCH MONEY.

No brainer.

Never owned a car in the city myself, congratulations on your upcoming income increase ;)

If the car is paid off and you have free parking just keep it especially if you bought new and know all the work done

this could be a circlejerk post

My wife had an accident a few years ago and never got another car. I know a few people that do without cars, my pastor who lives by Union Station is one of them.

I just couldn’t be without a car. I rented when needed, but it got tiring after a while so we are just a one car household. But lots of people do without cars.

I personally can't imagine living here without a car. But I don't live in Lakeview. CTA takes longer than driving even in the worse traffic for me. This subreddit is vehemently anti-car so you're not going to get an accurate answer anyway.

Do not do it if you have a dog.

Let me know when you are selling your car. I am in the burbs and still need one. I do bike and metra. I drive locally under 5K miles a year.

In WL, in my building, I would pay $300/mo to park. If I owned a vehicle outright, didn’t have insurance, didn’t have a city sticker, and never did any maintenance or general upkeep or buy gas, getting rid of that parking payment would pay for my transit budget including the occasional car rental to go skiing or something. You do the math. 

For road trips we usually rent a car, anyway. If you have any issues they just send out a new car for you vs being stranded in the middle of nowhere potentially overnight.

I moved without it to see if I could and am about to go sell it- the parking nightmare isn’t worth the time I’d save to me!

Completely doable!

I never had a car but so far, $600 of rentals a year are way less than a year of ownership

Sold my car when I moved to lakeview 15 years ago. Never miss it.

Completely doable. I've lived here over a decade without a car.

I lived in Lakeview and parking was awful. I worked in Cicero and Oak Lawn Mon to Friday and never used or moved the car on weekends. Ditch it.

I kept my car the first year I moved back to the city and used it all of 2 times so I got rid of it. Plus a yearly parking pass is like $150 and I didn't want to renew it when I hadn't even spent that much on gas. If it's in your budget I would go the rent a car route for those trips or I would keep my eye out for cheap flights.

I live in the west loop without a car. It’s great. I ride a bike into the loop for work, I walk to restaurants and shops, I take the el if / when needed for anything like the airport. I would just rent a car if I had family in driving distance - it’ll still be cheaper than owning one. I can’t tell you how liberating it is to not have to worry about parking, insurance, converter-thieves… it’s great

A couple of my friends in Lakeview just went carless last month, and couldn't be happier. West Loop... isn't great public transit-wise, but perfect for a bike.

I gladly let go of my car upon moving back from Boston and I have never looked back. The cost of ownership, insurance, parking, damage due to parking etc….is wayyyyy more than I pay for Ubers or the bus.

I’ve been here 7 months and sold my car pretty much immediately after moving. I loved my car, but I didn’t need it and the payments/insurance/parking weren’t worth it.

Rogers Park. I did that a long time ago. Turned out OK, just be sure you have reliable public or other transportation that you can afford to get to wherever you need to go.

I’ve lived here for 4 years without a car with no problems. Unless you want to be a regular at medieval times you really don’t need one.

I’ve been here for 3.5 years without a car

Definitely get rid of it! It's a freedom you'll learn to love very quickly. I rented cars or used car sharing when I needed a car. Otherwise, take public transit and Ubers, etc.

Life might be even better without a car

Absolutely. Couple flights a day nonstop to Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis , Chattanooga at least… easy to bike train or walk. You can get a rolling cart for groceries

THINK OF THE MONEY YOULL SAVE!!

Depending on where they live, a flight to Tennessee may make more sense than driving.

I’ve been here 8 years now with no car. I’ve never looked back. You should be fine

I live in West Loop and find getting around the city super easy

I haven’t owned a car in 10 years. I use zip car when needed for quick trips and rent cars when going more than a day.

It’s definitely doable. I barely used my car when I lived in Lincoln Park. You can always rent one if you need to travel

I had a truck for 2 years in the city and hated having to deal with parking, street cleaning, etc. Not having a vehicle is so liberating, and Chicago public transpo is fantastic.

I grew up and moved here from a car-dependent city. I owned my car outright and kept it in good condition, so it was inexpensive to maintain bc there was rarely any catastrophic and expensive thing to fix on it. If I were to keep the car, pay for garage parking at the least expensive parking lot near me (deep respect for folks who street park around here, but frankly I'm not strong enough for that), get decent car insurance, fill my gas tank twice month, pay for the registration, and budget for maintenance, I'd be looking at a bare minimum of $500/mo. For a car I already owned! For that price I can pay for a monthly CTA pass, use the occasional Lyft, rent a car as needed, fly or take the train to go on out of town trips, and still have money leftover to put towards my rent.

imo, unless you have to drive every day or are in some sort of on-call situation where you need transportation immediately available at any moment, you don't need the car. Save yourself the trouble.

Omg yes ditch the car! My car was stolen some year ago and haven’t looked back since! Chicago is great city for public transportation!

Pay $75 a month for a ventra pass, go anywhere you want whenever. Also get a bike and occasionally use uber and lyft. You will save so much money.

Have lived in Chicago for ten years and haven’t owned a car for six. Miss it sometimes, but even Costco delivers and the public transportation in Chicago is great.

If it makes you comfortable, make a spreadsheet of  

* How much an Uber would be for frequent or predicable trips * How much to rent a car (just rented a Fiat on turbo for $60/day) * How much to get large grocery orders delivered 

Even if you have a bike, taking a divvy pays for itself if you think about taking a divvy out with friends but taking an Uber home let's say.

You can catch a flight to TN and rent a car at your destination's airport. You can take an Amtrak to TN that's 13 hours and then rent a car in TN. And again, you can rent a car here to drive to TN, but why?

Here in Chicago, you get used to the express buses and riding near the lake in AC comfort. It's just so much easier than fighting traffic and hunting for parking spots. Again, you can cab it in the daytime or Uber/Lyft it at night.

There are exceptions: if you decide to venture to the far neighborhoods, you will need a car. Jefferson Park or the 87th Street, Portage Park, the Dan Ryan Woods, you need to have a car. You can use public transport during the day in those areas but at night it's impossible.

I’ve lived in Lakeview for 19 years without a car, 10 of which we have had a kid. If we can do it, anyone can.

My car died thanksgiving 2021, I haven’t had a car since. I bike most places, but use public trans/rideshare occasionally. It’s totally doable! I love not having to deal with car shit. When my friend got married in Michigan last year, I rented a car through Kyte (they deliver the car to you, which is awesome). Get rid of that sucker!

I haven't driven a car in more than 20 years.

I went through the same thing. In the end, I sold my car six months after moving to Chicago. I have not looked back.

First off, CTA, walking, and rideshare work fine in most parts of Chicago as it's a largely walkable city. Second, you will feel a giant weight lifted off your shoulders you didn't know was there as soon as you sell your car (the realization of no more gas, taxes, maintenance, insurance, tire changes, and parking costs will make you feel like you're levitating).

Ditched my car a decade ago. Best decision ever. Definitely doable. No more paying for city stickers, permits & getting tickets for ridiculous reasons are SO worth it!

WL is very walkable. If where you’re living comes with a parking spot already, keep the car. If you have to pay for a spot, then give it up

Having a car is more convenient but ultimately not necessary in the city

I got rid of my car 1 year ago (live in lakeview) and it's been the best decision ever. I save so much money and take the train (Amtrak) . I am also saving on gas/insurance/parking and I am a lot healthier from walking. I would just invest in a good collapsible grocery cart

Definitely one of the best places in Chicago as far as being able to move about on public transportation. I used to drive for UPS there a decade ago and would probably adopt the same philosophy you're employing.

Good luck 🤘

If you’re over 25, get rid of it. Get a Zipcar membership for short trips and car rentals aren’t too bad when you lose the underage fee. We do this twice a year to go Chicago to Tennessee too.

Absolutely! I don’t drive and I have no problem getting around. Get the transit app to figure out the best routes.

Yes going without a vehicle is very doable when you live in a shit hole major city . It’s actually what THEY want (15 minute city)

Easily. When I moved to Queens and started working in Manhattan the first thing I did was sell my car. Didn't have to worry about parking, gas, insurance, or theft. I got the unlimited subway pass and never looked back. In the rare chance you need a car ride share or rental works fine. Side not my sister has lived in Chicago for roughly 20 years and hasn't had a car for the past 14 or so.

I'm confused. $35,000 for a USED 150k Mazda? Does it come with a personal masseuse/masseure? Good luck with that.

I lived in another city 12 years and have been in Chicago for 5. Never owned a car. You get used to it! And Lakeview is especially walkable and close to transit. I love walking. Just watch out for drivers who don’t look out for pedestrians. People are very distracted these days.

Yes

I lived in Lakeview for ten plus years without a car. Def do-able.

I didn’t own a car at all until my mid-20s when I was about to leave for grad school out of state. I had to replace that one when I had leg surgery and spent a year on crutches. Since regaining my mobility, I’ve always been a CTA commuter, but have kept the car. It’s been paid off for years, we have a house with a garage, we mostly use it for errands and the occasional road trip, or to see family or friends in the burbs. Also it comes in very handy for schlepping gardening stuff, hardware, etc. But if I lived in apartment in Lakeview, I’d ditch the car. However, I live in Albany Park and have family and friends in Evanston, and that’s 2 trains and a bus minimum, probably 2 hours each way by CTA. So we keep the car and drive it 3,000 miles a year.

I got rid of my car (Streeterville) and I haven’t missed it one bit! The money saved is great but getting rid of guilt about NOT driving enough was even better.

You'll regret it, nothing like having your own transportation. The ability to get up and go and not have to wait around for a bus if you don't want to brings peace of mind.

no. it sucks. look forward to feeling trapped 90% of the time and finding your life spiral into depression when you realize freedom was having a car. but you can’t afford a new one because your fucking body can’t keep up like it used to so you can’t work the same jobs and the likelihood of getting a job with no experience and saving up for a new car is so slim you[I] might as well just whither and die so i don’t have to worry about working a shit job to afford a shit car to make that commute to some mediocre corporate job that i’ll work overtime because i live alone and hate going home.