Uptown Joe's Page

"Nope."

"I just passed 20 years in Chicago and have never owned a car here.  I used public transport up until about 8 years ago and have been getting around almost solely by bike since then.  I do rent a few times a year to visit family and…"

"I did not have a car or license for 10+ years because of "a few" DUI's. I have a car now & tend to use it only when necessary. Owning a car is not as expensive as some people make it out to be. My 12 year bike was beginning to…"

"I haven't had a car or license for six years, my wife hasn't had a car in 4.5, but she doesn't bike (I'm working on it.) Other than moving, there hasn't been a "need a car" situation yet, and even a good portion of…"

"S, like I said, I have never owned my car.  So I've never paid attention to the costs of gas and whether restaurants have plentiful parking spots or not.  I got that $2000 figure from a 2007 Chicago magazine article for the average…"

"i hope you didn't get that from my post. i'm about to embark on a family-making journey (should we be so blessed) and i see a future where our family will have a car because my wife-to-be is just way too tied to the idea of always having…"

"yai danche said: It's not an either/or situation.  Having a drivers license and being able to have a car is not going to stop you from biking places.  If you can afford it, I'd suggest getting a license since there are quite a…"

"Of course you don't need one. I'd hazard a guess that there are millions of families throughout the world without one. A car is a tool of convenience. Nobody can deny that. But, you gotta pay to play.  "

"i live less than 10 miles from work and grocery stores.  i'm lucky that when visiting friends in the suburbs, they're willing to pick me up and drop me off at the metra station.  when i go on vacation, i take that city's…"

"+1 "

"I do think it's a bit amusing that there's this notion that if you have a family, you will need a car, mainly because I've got one and I don't. "

"There's a lot of ambient potential animosity basically everywhere ready to be deployed against anyone who does things on purpose.  "

"I've been entirely carless for I don't know how long, it was kind of gradual. I had a car that broke down, and then some months later I had it towed off, and never really felt any need to replace it. "

"I have lived in Chicago since 1987 and have never owned a car. Although it never occurred to me to bike year-round until a few years ago. Was always a walk/public trans girl on the North side and don't have family in the burbs. Didn't rent…"

"Excellent point. I consider myself car free as I haven't owned a car for several years. However I guess it would be more accurate to say that I'm car light to the point that renting for occasional use is more economical than…"