[Salgat]

As a former chicago resident who lived near a station, that wasn't my experience. In the time it took to walk down to the station and wait to get onto a train, I could already be at most restaurants and stores if I used a car in the suburbs. Also groceries became a huge ordeal. There's a lot of time overhead with public transit and unfortunately subways attract a lot of sketchy beggars and rude folk.

[wizofaus]

If you're somebody who's happy to stay based in a low density suburban area for all your daily needs (i.e. no regular travel to a downtown/ inner urban area) then I'd agree, it's pretty hard to see the advantages of forms of transport other than a car, particularly if you don't find walking a meaningful/enjoyable form of exercise. But obviously not everyone fits into that category, yet still live in cities that are largely built on the assumption you'll travel everywhere by car despite the disadvantages.

[earthling8118]

I would pay any amount of money or spend any amount of time to not have to deal with a car in Chicago ever again. Traffic, parking, and inflexibility to just hop on a train or bus are killer.

[Salgat]

A car in Chicago is hell (at my first apartment it was first come first serve parking on the side of the road, the second required a valet which was also annoying), and mass transit was also a pain in the ass, and that's saying a lot since Chicago has an excellent mass transit system.