Inner Ring Suburbs - thoughts? (Chicago, Naperville: short sales, condos, hotels)

[sthornt1]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

Maybe they want somewhere that's a fair commute for both, and not biased towards either one of them. Skokie to Roosevelt/Western is probably at least an hour during rush hour.

Exactly. And if one of us has the worse commute - it's going to be me.

[oakparkdude]

I don't know what you consider too high for property taxes, but there are definitely properties within your price range in Oak Park. They will tend to be on the east end of OP, but if you're used to Edgewater, that's probably okay with you from a safety perspective.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

Maybe they want somewhere that's a fair commute for both, and not biased towards either one of them. Skokie to Roosevelt/Western is probably at least an hour during rush hour.

True, but from Norridge/Harwood Heights it's even further.
Having the wife with the closer commute would be beneficial if their family structure is more traditional i.e wife is point person in taking care of kids, house and cooking. Then a near Western suburb may be better.
What about Elmhurst?

[chet everett]

If one moves further west and relies on 294 to get north and then an arterial to head east to Skokie along Dempster or one of the parallel routes the odds of having a more manageable commute increase significantly.

Because of the way the Edens splits off from the Kennedy at Cicero it is pretty useless to come anywhere south & west of there unless you like horrible surface street traffic. From Brookfield it would be really awful to head north along like 1st Ave and then take that to Ike and then Ike to 294. Just looking at linear distance is not enough to spell out how crappy a commute that would be.

To posters that do not understand how being in suburbs further west would result in an easier commute I can only say I have done commutes that rely on both expressways and surface streets and the time difference is PROFOUND during rush hour. Being near the right major expressway is huge expander of commute convenience.

Further if one does not know where towns are in relation to one another OR how cookie cutter the housing stock is I would STRONGLY suggest that they refrain from posting.

The are NO tract developments in the towns I have listed and folks that do not know the difference between towns like Orland / Blooming / Barrring / Harwood "some thing or other" and the towns I cited really detract from the useful of the forum.

[cubssoxfan]

Guesstimate Commuting times during rush hour:
Elmhurst to Roosevelt and Western: 30-40 min
Elmhurst to Skokie:40-50 min

Oak Park to R&W: 25-40 min
Oak Park to Skokie:40-50

Skokie to Skokie:5-15 min
Skokie to R&W:45-60 min

[chicagojlo]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

Maybe they want somewhere that's a fair commute for both, and not biased towards either one of them. Skokie to Roosevelt/Western is probably at least an hour during rush hour.

Once your kids are in school it's inadvisable to have both parents working far away from home/school location.

[chet everett]

I think I would peg Elmhurst to Skokie at a tie for Elmhurst to R&W, and I would increase the time from Oak Park to Skokie, but the other values seem close enough for me to abide by.

The wild card is going to be finding a house that is in the budget range that the OP is interested in.

Toward that end I would think it is such a needle in a haystack to hit anything in the OLD "Maine Township" attendance area that remains unattached from Ridgewood -- the story is among the weirdest tales in the area.

About Ridgewood High School

207 Attendance Area Maps - Google Maps

Apparently some "connected" developer cut a deal back when UIC expanded and sold homes / lots to people moving to the area but a rival developer had some friends on the Maine Township board that resulted in a "block by block" non-contiguous district.

[sthornt1]

I'll admit - I've been looking at a map to get a rough proxy of where to look based on commuting, but I do know from talking to others in my office in Skokie that access to 294 is paramount. My unknown variable was how good/bad taking a road like Harlem dead north for a while would be. Sounds....not so good.

Might have to consider Elmhurst after checking around on RedFin.

Thanks for your thoughts on commuting time.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by sthornt1

I'll admit - I've been looking at a map to get a rough proxy of where to look based on commuting, but I do know from talking to others in my office in Skokie that access to 294 is paramount. My unknown variable was how good/bad taking a road like Harlem dead north for a while would be. Sounds....not so good.

Might have to consider Elmhurst after checking around on RedFin.

Thanks for your thoughts on commuting time.

Harlem would be awful during rush hour. Its pretty bad even off rush hour. You're best bet going north from Oak Park would be either Cicero to the east or River Rd to the west.

[chet everett]

I have been on Harlem at various times and I swear people walking were making better time than I was...

Theoretically if the lights are OK and there are no back to back trains or no buses and no cross traffic blocks the intersection for multiple cycles of the stop light you might be able to make decent time but in theory the State of Illinois is also supposed to fund education...

Same problems plaque 1st Ave/River Rd/ Cumberland and Nagle/Naragansett combo -- believe I've tried em all. I also know all the good (and most of the bad) hot dog stops along those routes, and have the stained pants to prove it. Nothing like eating, driving and cursing all at the same time while your family keeps calling and asking "when are you gonna get here"...

I am sure that the OP is not unique in having a dual income situation that is not crazy far apart that has few excellent commuting options, but honestly, coming from experience I would try to live NW and hope wife can get job in that corridor. If there is low / no chance of that (and I know juvi probably ain't moving anywhere ... cook county juvenile court - Google Maps ) then I would give some serious thought to the fact that Western Spring is a pretty solid 10-14 miles and under 30 minute drive via Ogden in all but the most atrocious of weather conditions W Ogden Ave to Western Springs, IL - Google Maps

3904 Rose Ave, Western Springs, IL 60558 MLS# 07720787 - Zillow

4101 Linden Ave, Western Springs, IL 60558 MLS# 07685596 - Zillow

5216 Wolf Rd, Western Springs, IL 60558 MLS# 07695167 - Zillow

204 47th St, Western Springs, IL 60558 MLS# 07521899 - Zillow