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suburbs can be isolating if you allow them to be but if you make the effort to get out there's plenty to do and i would say naperville is probably one of the top places to live outside of the city maybe minus evanston or oak park which are basically the city anyway b/c close proximity.
sure in the city there's a lot more to do in terms of bars, intramural sports, clubs, trivia nights, etc. i often think it would be nice to live in the city and be a bit more social.
in the burbs if you want you can literally leave your house drive to work drive home pull in your garage and go in and watch tv for the night and never see a sole besides people in your office where as inthe city your on trains and kind of just happen to be around a lot of people.
that said in naperville there's tons of softball, flag football, etc, etc, etc leages. there's meetup groups ifyou have a dog, are into motorcycles or some other hobby. nightlife is decent thing dont stay open quite as late but enough bars dt naperville to have something for any mood your in and you can actually bar hop.
u gotta figure out whats right for you but i would gladly travel one or two days a week for the citys better social life when your not rushing than every day m-f deal with traffic and long commutes. i used to do the commute from naperville to the city and sometimes by the time i got to work i was already feeling like i had put in a whole day. if you are going to live in the city the only way for it not to be ridiculous would be to live in south loop or something close to an expressway and even then its still a commute
Live as close to your job as possible. Your quality of life will be so much better.
This depends very significantly on where exactly "close to your job" is, and what you value in a living environment. I personally commute an hour each way so that I can live in the city, as do several of my friends, and we wouldn't have it any other way. We're all in our 30s, with some of us pushing 40. I lived in the burbs once. Never again.
Granted, it's probably an even longer commute than that from the North Side of the city to Naperville during rush hour, and the OP may well decide it's not worth it, but it's your blanket statement of "Live as close to your job as possible" with which I disagree very strongly.
This depends very significantly on where exactly "close to your job" is, and what you value in a living environment. I personally commute an hour each way so that I can live in the city, as do several of my friends, and we wouldn't have it any other way. We're all in our 30s, with some of us pushing 40. I lived in the burbs once. Never again.
Granted, it's probably an even longer commute than that from the North Side of the city to Naperville during rush hour, and the OP may well decide it's not worth it, but it's your blanket statement of "Live as close to your job as possible" with which I disagree very strongly.
I know at least 10 different people (many which are families with kids) who live on the north side and commute to suburbs like Bolingbrook, Plainfield and Naperville. Personally, I wouldn't do it, but I also wouldn't take a job out there.
There is plenty of room in the "as possible" part of my statement to allow for folks to decide that stench, metaphorical or otherwise, of their workplace to be far enough away to give 'em whatever breathing room they need.
Naperville is among the most livable spots not just in the region but the whole country but I completely understand the huge density of entertainment options in Lakeview. Each person can decide what trade-offs they are willing to accept...
This depends very significantly on where exactly "close to your job" is, and what you value in a living environment. I personally commute an hour each way so that I can live in the city, as do several of my friends, and we wouldn't have it any other way. We're all in our 30s, with some of us pushing 40. I lived in the burbs once. Never again.
Granted, it's probably an even longer commute than that from the North Side of the city to Naperville during rush hour, and the OP may well decide it's not worth it, but it's your blanket statement of "Live as close to your job as possible" with which I disagree very strongly.
I hear you. I suppose I'm biased because I've done both the 3-hour round trip commute and the 15-minute commute and really prefer the latter.
However, I also understand that some people value city living over short commutes. I suppose "live as close to your job as possible" should be changed to "live as close to your job as tolerable."
Hopefully, OP has the option to continue renting and can maybe find a place in the West Loop or South Loop that will give quicker access to the expressways, but still make it easy to get around the city.
Another suggestion would be to rent in Oak Park. It could be a good way to test the suburban waters, but still be somewhat centrally located with respect to both the city and the suburban nightlife/social activities. That way, OP could see what the suburbs have to offer without completely giving up on urban life. It would also make for a little more reasonable commute.
It sounds from your last post that your personal crisis really centers around whether or not you want to leave your friends for a shorter commute and an apartment with a closet that is probably as large as your entire bedroom in the city--and whether you can rebuild in Naperville, what you have given up in the city.
The answer depends. In the city, entertainment is served up on a platter. There are all sorts of clubs and leagues and things to do that seem to come straight to you. In the "burbs," you have to work a bit harder to find it, but it does exist. Check meetup.com to see what sorts of groups are in the Naperville area.
North Central College is located near downtown Naperville, and that keeps the town somewhat young and fresh. There are plenty of bars with outdoor seating and restaurants are packed on weekends, but less so on week nights. Its not quite the same as the north side, where its mostly clubs and food. Naperville is food and drink and shopping. I've lived in the burbs since I was 23--not saying how long ago that was--and I never had trouble making friends; but I did have to work at it a bit by finding clubs, showing up even though I didn't know a soul and be willing to try that a few times till I found the right group of people.
Here's what I recommend. First, if you take the job, don't burn your bridges at once. A new job is stressful enough without a change of zip code. Commit to doing the commute for 3 months and evaluate. If you still love your new job, I predict you will begin to hate your commute and will find that you do less and less after hours in Chicago. So then start looking for some of those suburban connections over the next three months. As you find new friends in Naperville and have less and less energy for friends in the city, a move will make more sense to you. If you can't find any new friends in the suburbs and you hate the area, then hey, you're a city dweller. Embrace it and beg your office to let you work from home.
Another consideration would be to look at Oak Park. I think of Oak Park as sort of training wheels for suburban living. You commute will be shorter, though not short, and you will still be fairly close to Chicago should you get homesick.
The suggestion to try to "ease into" the new job while maintaining current residence is certainly worth considering, but the 'ramp up' factor that most employers give to new hires in the transition phase can make switching bad habits (like getting into work too close to late...) a bit too hard to break.
I would also caution that if you are looking for Lakeview (or Wicker Park, or even West Loop...) style nightlife you won't find much in Oak Park itself. Even the strip of pubs / sports bar along Madison in Forest Park can't hold a candle to the variety of places in Chicago's popular northside neighborhoods.
The key is really trying to achieve some level of comfort with the tradeoffs that come with various life transitions. I've known folks that make a fanstastic income and enjoy the ability to live wherever the want choose Lincoln Park over the suburbs and I know people with the exact same job / income choose suburban living. The compromises generally come down to how to accomodate the trade-offs that folks that are not making decisions solely for a single lifestyle are forced to address. As one's group of "buddies" transitions more toward "couples" or "families" the circles that you move will shift even in you live in the same geographic spot. Colleagues / friends that have children even inside the City have a set of concerns quite different than when they were interested only in themselves. I really believe this ability to re-assess ones prioritiees / life goals helps to explain why so many folks tha have successful careers also efffectively transition into committed relationships and parenthood while folks that have a harder time with their social transitions often have more limited career mobility...
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheWayISeeThings
It sounds from your last post that your personal crisis really centers around whether or not you want to leave your friends for a shorter commute and an apartment with a closet that is probably as large as your entire bedroom in the city--and whether you can rebuild in Naperville, what you have given up in the city.
The answer depends. In the city, entertainment is served up on a platter. There are all sorts of clubs and leagues and things to do that seem to come straight to you. In the "burbs," you have to work a bit harder to find it, but it does exist. Check meetup.com to see what sorts of groups are in the Naperville area.
North Central College is located near downtown Naperville, and that keeps the town somewhat young and fresh. There are plenty of bars with outdoor seating and restaurants are packed on weekends, but less so on week nights. Its not quite the same as the north side, where its mostly clubs and food. Naperville is food and drink and shopping. I've lived in the burbs since I was 23--not saying how long ago that was--and I never had trouble making friends; but I did have to work at it a bit by finding clubs, showing up even though I didn't know a soul and be willing to try that a few times till I found the right group of people.
Here's what I recommend. First, if you take the job, don't burn your bridges at once. A new job is stressful enough without a change of zip code. Commit to doing the commute for 3 months and evaluate. If you still love your new job, I predict you will begin to hate your commute and will find that you do less and less after hours in Chicago. So then start looking for some of those suburban connections over the next three months. As you find new friends in Naperville and have less and less energy for friends in the city, a move will make more sense to you. If you can't find any new friends in the suburbs and you hate the area, then hey, you're a city dweller. Embrace it and beg your office to let you work from home.
Another consideration would be to look at Oak Park. I think of Oak Park as sort of training wheels for suburban living. You commute will be shorter, though not short, and you will still be fairly close to Chicago should you get homesick.
The dating scene is not the same as when your parents dated. I think it is harder today to be single in a new town you are not familiar with. I don't think distance makes much difference; alone is alone is alone. Right now it probably won't make much difference if you live in Naperville and travel to the North side for social gatherings, or you live there and travel to work. It is still the same time and distance. The real difference will play out in bad weather. Would you rather be closer to work or to friends. If I was your age I would still pick the latter at least for a while.
You might take a look at Oak Park. It is diverse in its cultures, history and religions, and it offers residents some nice amenities . More importantly young professionals live there. It is the kind of place you might not mind hanging out during the week, and ity is less than 10 miles into the Loop. There are many different housing options including the new Oak Park Place that is anchored by Trader Joe's.
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Mostly well reasoned...
