Living in Naperville & working in Schaumburg ?

[jamaicabound60565]

Originally Posted by ronniekher

hey thanks so much for your advice...I dont mind traveling on a weekend to have a nice time if the weekday commute is very short. The deal is I was checking up apartment reviews on apartmentreviews.com for the Schaumburg, Palatine area...and even stuff like Rosella & Itsaca - the reviews were frightening to say the least...not stuff like bad maintenance or poor management, but reviews like how people get mugged within their apartment complex, plethora of roaches etc. The search for a good apartment led me to Naperville However based on the advice of some people on the forum looks like the commute to Schaumburg will be killing

@Jamaicabound - the apt complex i was looking up in Naperville was Arbors of Brookdale, which seems to be just 1 mi from I-88...some members adviced it could take as much as 70-80 mins !!

@cubssoxfan - would you know of good apartments in Arlington heights / Palatine/ such kinda places ?? My only source for determining a "good" apartment is apartmentratings.com which at times seems deceiving

Your commmute could be 70-80 min maybe on day when we get 6 inches of snow in the winter and everyone is driving 10mph down the expressway.

I actually have to work near woodfield mall usually once a week or so. I stop at my office in Naperville near I88 first but from my office near naper and ogden it took me 34 minutes and I stopped and got a coffee from mcdonalds.

Those apts you mentioned are nice I have had some friends who lived there and I am actually currently kind of looking at some of the condos in that area once I sell my house.

Another burb you may wanna check otu is lombard. Lombard has a decent nightlife scene.It's also about halfway between schaumburg and Naperville so you got decent areas for nightlife, restaurants, shopping all around you. It's also slightly closer to the city than most of the other burbs you mentioned. I havnt been out there in a while but a few years back they had some pretty cool club type bars like Bamboo Room and a few other places that are more dancy than just chill bars if thats your thing. They also have an afterhours spot or two that stays open til like 4am or something like that I believe. They also have a lot of restaurants, mall, near expressways, etc. I dont however know anything about apts in that area maybe someone else can chime in on them.

[gardener34]

Why not western burbs? Check Wheaton and Westmont, both on metra lines. I think those have apartments. I know Lombard does as well. I thought there were some by Yorktown mall, but don't know ratings or anything.

[ronniekher]

Originally Posted by jamaicabound60565

Your commmute could be 70-80 min maybe on day when we get 6 inches of snow in the winter and everyone is driving 10mph down the expressway.

I actually have to work near woodfield mall usually once a week or so. I stop at my office in Naperville near I88 first but from my office near naper and ogden it took me 34 minutes and I stopped and got a coffee from mcdonalds.

Those apts you mentioned are nice I have had some friends who lived there and I am actually currently kind of looking at some of the condos in that area once I sell my house.

Another burb you may wanna check otu is lombard. Lombard has a decent nightlife scene.It's also about halfway between schaumburg and Naperville so you got decent areas for nightlife, restaurants, shopping all around you. It's also slightly closer to the city than most of the other burbs you mentioned. I havnt been out there in a while but a few years back they had some pretty cool club type bars like Bamboo Room and a few other places that are more dancy than just chill bars if thats your thing. They also have an afterhours spot or two that stays open til like 4am or something like that I believe. They also have a lot of restaurants, mall, near expressways, etc. I dont however know anything about apts in that area maybe someone else can chime in on them.

oh ohkk...i would be traveling during peak hrs though - say around 8 in the morning & 5, 5:30 or so back from there...was wondering if that prompted some members to advice abt the travel time. Though if it really is around 30 odd mins on most occasions then I would be pretty comfortable - again, the decision dictated by the apartment quality

I looked @ Lombard as well..& looking for good apartments around there

[TempesT68]

I also agree with staying in the schaumburg/palatine/arlington heights area. Palatine and arlington heights are a bit more affordable and safe areas. Don't take everything you read off of apartment review sites. The only people that usually post on those are disgruntled residents. I'd get a few picked out and spend the day checking them out in person. The internet is a good tool, but don't make your entire decision off of it.

[JasmineFlower]

Are you visiting the area prior to moving? Trusting apartmentratings.com is iffy at best. People who've had negative experiences post much more often than those with positive ones. I've seen many apartment ratings that are questionable of places I know are nice places to live. There are nice apartments in Schaumburg and nearby, they aren't all nightmares, you have to visit to see fact from fiction. If you aren't going to visit prior to the move, but you have a friend you trust who already lives in the area, maybe they can check out your top 3-5 places over the next couple of weeks to help you decide.

As for the issue of safety, definitely go with what you feel is safe, but you are moving to a big city, there's going to be some crime. You won't be living in the heart of the city so it won't be something you have to contend with everyday or in your backyard, but even a broken window will happen in Naperville. Schaumburg is as safe as Scranton is, but I would say more so.

I agree with the recommendation to stay closer to Schaumburg. Unless you have lived in a big city and have already contended with a trying commute, I'd be careful living too far from where you are working. Long commutes are quite the adjustment if you aren't used to them.

[pvande55]

That is so true. You may not find out until too late that parking fills up by 5 P.M. and during the summer they blow off firecrackers all night.

[ronniekher]

Originally Posted by JasmineFlower

Are you visiting the area prior to moving? Trusting apartmentratings.com is iffy at best. People who've had negative experiences post much more often than those with positive ones. I've seen many apartment ratings that are questionable of places I know are nice places to live. There are nice apartments in Schaumburg and nearby, they aren't all nightmares, you have to visit to see fact from fiction. If you aren't going to visit prior to the move, but you have a friend you trust who already lives in the area, maybe they can check out your top 3-5 places over the next couple of weeks to help you decide.

As for the issue of safety, definitely go with what you feel is safe, but you are moving to a big city, there's going to be some crime. You won't be living in the heart of the city so it won't be something you have to contend with everyday or in your backyard, but even a broken window will happen in Naperville. Schaumburg is as safe as Scranton is, but I would say more so.

I agree with the recommendation to stay closer to Schaumburg. Unless you have lived in a big city and have already contended with a trying commute, I'd be careful living too far from where you are working. Long commutes are quite the adjustment if you aren't used to them.

I will be..my company would give me hotel acco for 2 weeks, maybe 3...am trying to narrow down potential areas/ apartments based on reviews on the net. Though I completely agree when you say that these sites aren't truly reliable...hoping someone here chimes in with personal experiences as well

You right on the commute...Scranton spoils you with everything being in a 10 mi range at tops and 15 mins being termed as far thanx for the advice will keep looking at stuff some more. It's an apartment I wanna be in for the long haul so the effort is worth it!