Tap water tastes gross in every major N. American city I've lived in. I'll filter it, air it out and chill it. But out of the tap, N. American water tastes bad. A little town in Albania I've visited once has (much) tastier water than any city I've been here.
I can't blame ppl for drinking bottled water (Evian is gross though)
Spend a little extra on a shut-off valve with a handle and install that first, just upstream of the new filter, to make changing filters easier (every 3-6 months, depends on water quality & volume). You will still have excellent water pressure at the sink, even if you use the newer thin and flexible 'push fit' tubes and couplings. I don't really have any plumbing experience and did not have any difficulty. Visit a professional plumbing supply business, explain what you are doing, and ask them to give you every single part you need. You may be pleasantly surprised at how simple it is. I think I spent the equivalent of about $80 for everything, including an upgraded valve and clear filter housing (to make visually inspecting the filter possible).
Don't forget the little bleed valve at the top of the filter container! After you turn the house water back on, it should hiss as the air escapes. When water dribbles out just hand tighten and you are done, no leaks.
This may be true in the cities/neighborhoods that you've lived in, but in most (not all) of the cities I've lived in, the tap water has been excellent.
To say that all North American tap water tastes bad is simply false.
And yet, repeatedly in this thread I asked for scientific studies on the effects of tap water, and nobody provided them. Hmmm. Perhaps "steady on" should be your watchword.
https://www.sfgate.com/green/article/S-F-s-tap-water-best-in...
The supply of the city I live in currently has a bit of a metallic tang to it, but it's fine out of the tap.
I spent the weekend at my sister's place around seven kilometers from here and the water was just fine.
I can see how people may psychologically (or psychosomatically) establish a taste difference between water from the sink and water from a plastic bottle based on perceived cleanliness and hygiene. There are times where I would rather drink filtered water from the fridge over the sink (even though both come from the same water line in the house), like if there's dirty dishes in the sink.
Overall, I think drinking from the fridge tastes the same if not better than bottled water (plus it's always chilled from the fridge), and costs less than bottled water overall (I let my filter go like 6mo past the replacement notification before replacing it). The only thing that sucks is replacing fridge filters, which are the ink cartridges of refrigerator companies.
Drinking bottled water at home when there are cups, reusable bottles, and chilled filtered water sources seems unnecessary and excessive.
The funny part is if you go 4 miles west, coldwater creek comes into play, which is famously radioactive. [1]
[0] http://www.stlamerican.com/your_health_matters/health_news/s...
What are they doing with this high quality beer? Certainly not selling it to the consumer.