Two questions about bicycles

I'm going to get a bike. Driving seems a waste for general use where I live when the distances are so short and there are bike paths everywhere. And I can save on gas money and exercise. If I could limit driving to going to work, bad weather, and carrying a ton of stuff, that'd be great. What are some good causal bike brands. At most I plan on maybe going 15-30 miles in a day and that would be very rare.

Also, i plan on moving soon. My options are Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, Charlotte, and a few other places. Is it even remotely possible that I could get around without having to use bike lanes on the street with cars. I don't like that at all. I'm pretty confident I could in Chicago and strongly doubt Atlanta but I'm not sure about the others. What are the bike riding situations like there and the danger level of being fricking leveled by a driver.