Might be moving to Chicago burbs from SF (Naperville, Evanston: apartment, rental)

[ServoMiff]

I need a bit of help to determine if our plans are realistic or not. My wife is getting tired of the SF rat race, and wants to build her own business. I have the stable job and my company has an office in Lisle, that I may need to occasionally visit (likely only a few times a year, but they may tell me that I have to actually work there 4 days a week) but I will most likely be working from home and we're pretty much going to be relying on my salary at that point.

So, what I'd like (if such a utopia exists) is to stay no more than $1,300 in rent for ideally a 2 BR+ home/apartment/condo/whatever, in a safe, walkable (my wife doesn't drive) "village" type area that's either on the Metra and/or CTA line, and within a 30-ish minute ride of the loop. I have a friend that lives a few blocks from Midway, another in Homewood/Flossmoor, and a few in other NW suburbs, so I don't really NEED to be located in a particular side of town, but I have some really close friends in Madison, WI that I will want to visit every other month or so, I'm thinking more NW as a result. I'm most familiar with the Glenview (W Lake) area from a prior long-distance relationship when I lived in Indy, and I liked that area, but if I recall, it was a bit more expensive and not on a train or el line. Bonus points if there's a Trader Joe's nearby, since we're both addicted to that store.

Also, what can I expect my utilities bill (in aggregate) to be each month? I budgeted $250 in my estimate for what we can afford.

I'm actually going to be in town this weekend for a concert at the Empty Bottle, so I'm also going to carve out some time to look at some of the suggested areas - I really appreciate any and all suggestions.

[ServoMiff]

Correction - my company's office is in Lombard - not Lisle.

[oakparkdude]

I'm sure there are lots of suburbs along Metra lines which would fulfill your criteria.

[CSD610]

Also, the cities you are referring to are calle the "suburbs".

Do some research and you should be able to find something reasonable and matching your criteria.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by CSD610

Also, the cities you are referring to are calle the "suburbs".

Do some research and you should be able to find something reasonable and matching your criteria.

Wow, helpful.

Part of my research was asking locals what the best "suburb" would be that met my criteria.

[oakparkdude]

Oak Park and Evanston will have the largest walkable areas of the Chicago suburbs, although many other suburbs have respectable amounts of "walkability". You should consider suburbs which have grown up along the Union Pacific West, UP-NW, UP-N, and BNSF Metra lines. These are the oldest train lines so they have the most pre-automobile, pedestrian-friendly layouts. You also may wish to consider neighborhoods within the city of Chicago.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

Oak Park and Evanston will have the largest walkable areas of the Chicago suburbs, although many other suburbs have respectable amounts of "walkability". You should consider suburbs which have grown up along the Union Pacific West, UP-NW, UP-N, and BNSF Metra lines. These are the oldest train lines so they have the most pre-automobile, pedestrian-friendly layouts. You also may wish to consider neighborhoods within the city of Chicago.

Sticking to towns that are along the mentioned rail lines, especially those that don't run diagonally for much, tends to ensure the greatest amount of walkable area. That would put BNSF, UP-W and UP-N near the top. The way that the CTA runs through some towns like Evanston and Oak Park might suggest that they'd also serve the OP, but frankly the configuration of at least parts of those lines that are surrounded by expressways, like the Blue line, do not really contribute to any meaningful improvement for pedestrian that like pleasant walkable amenities.

[4122]

Lombard would be a good choice for you. You can definitely find a rental within your budget. It's not far from downtown by metra and obviously very close to work.

[ToriaT]

Lombard would be a good choice initially. You can explore other areas in the suburbs to see if there is a better fit and if they are within your budget. Places like Naperville, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn are very nice as are other places and they are close to Lombard. There are good roads so an occasional trip to WI will not be a problem. Oak Park and Evanston are nice...Evanston is far away from Lombard. Oak Park is more urbanized and more like living in the city.

[nikitakolata]

I would also start with Lombard. The town isn't super walkable, but it does have a small downtown area. Wheaton has more in its downtown core, but it's farther from the city. I think you might run into some budget trouble in towns like Glen Ellyn, Wheaton and Elmhurst, but all would be good options if you could make your budget work.

Edited to add, I would look for places near the metra stations in all of the towns mentioned; that way you'll be close to the downtown core area, which is going to be the walkable part.