Car-free is the way to go within the city of Chicago and now that I live in Southern California, the car-free lifestyle is what I miss most (other than people).

Car-free is the way to go within the city of Chicago and now that I live in Southern California, the car-free lifestyle is what I miss most (other than people). It's hard to get out of town without a car. The commuter rail schedules are focused on people who live in the suburbs and commute to the city, so they aren't really an option. There's good public transit to the airports, however, so if you live car-free in Chicago, New York feels closer than Wisconsin in some ways.