Commute time from High land park/Wilmette to Downtown please (Chicago: school districts, to live)

[kp99]

We are moving to Chicago, Planning to live either at High land park or Wilmette because of school districts , both of us work is at Down town Chicago.
the question is how long is the commute going to be from either of places mentioned above. During peak and off peak times. during a snow day.
Thank you so much guys

[PrezesZieba]

Around 30-40 min to Highland Park, and around 20-30 min to Wilmette on a good day. During rush hour, those times can double easily. Worst part is in between the Loop, and the I-94/ I-90 junction (O'Hare/ Northwest burb exit).

[Larry Siegel]

Take the train. The fastest train from Wilmette, where I live, is 19 minutes, and the slowest is 29. It doesn't get stuck in the snow. The only drawbacks are: (1) late night service is quite limited, and (2) if you work far from Ogilvie (Northwestern) station, you could have a long walk or two expensive cab rides every day.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by PrezesZieba

Around 30-40 min to Highland Park, and around 20-30 min to Wilmette on a good day. During rush hour, those times can double easily. Worst part is in between the Loop, and the I-94/ I-90 junction (O'Hare/ Northwest burb exit).

Please tell me how to accomplish this during rush hour! Your estimates seem awfully short.

[chet everett]

I really doubt one can consider just the train ride as their only "time" for a commute but Wilmette does have fast train service which is a big plus. Highland Park is considerably farther and it will take more time via rail or even longer via other options...

I tend to agree that Union Station is a little better location for more folks that work in the financial firms which tend to be closer to the southern end of the Loop but I would hardly call the couple of blocks that separate Olgilvie a burden...

I do think that anyone that is looking at Wilmette for schools ought to also consider the other towns that feed into New Trier. While Highland Park does not it too is a very desirable area. I would look closely at the details of things like the success ratios of kids taking AP classes to help differentiate the too performing high schools like Stevenson, NT, Glenbrook, Hinsdale Central, Maine South, Highland Park / Deerfield etc...

[reppin_the_847]

It's certainly nice that Wilmette's non-express trains get you to the Loop as quick as the express BNSF train from Naperville.

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

Take the train. The fastest train from Wilmette, where I live, is 19 minutes, and the slowest is 29. It doesn't get stuck in the snow. The only drawbacks are: (1) late night service is quite limited, and (2) if you work far from Ogilvie (Northwestern) station, you could have a long walk or two expensive cab rides every day.

[JamieLannister]

If you are taking the train, remember to add 10-15 minutes to each leg of the trip for getting to/from the train station and waiting for the train. Unless you live and work 2 blocks from the train, you should add a good 20-30 minutes to the "train time" to get the true door-to-door commute.

[PrezesZieba]

"During rush hour, those times can double easily." 30 min x 2= 1 hour. 40 min x 2= 1 hour 20 min.

[pvande55]

During snow periods, even longer. Many drivers jump on the train then. "snowbird" is not just a Florida term for winter residents.