Naval Station Great Lakes: Live in North Suburbs? (Chicago, Evanston: apartments, renting)

[Eschnad]

I'm a single 27yo male that will be working at the Great Lakes Naval Station. I'd like to live in the city or as near the city as I can, but still reasonably commute to Great Lakes in under an hour. It seems the UN-P Metra line offers decent commuting options from the north suburbs (Highland Park, Evanston, etc) to Great Lakes. I want to be able to get in & out of the city on weekend nights. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[blacknwhiterose]

I lived in Highwood for over a year, which is next to 2 UP-North Stations, and is a cool little old-Illinois town with bars, restaurants, Italian grocery stores, and Mexican markets. Not very many single people around, I guess they all conjugate in the city, but still not a bad area to live. I went into the city to make friends and I have family members in west suburbs, so I basically just lived in Highwood and enjoyed the charming, peaceful vibe. Ft Sheridan Forrest Preserve is right next door and has beautiful trails and beach/lake access. There's a running/biking trail along the tracks. There are apartments and condos there, take a look. Unfortunately the housing isn't so good, (unless you're super killing it), but if you just plan on renting, it's a option to consider. Fast access during off traffic hours down the 41/94 into downtown Chicago (30-35 min during off traffic hours) and you can also go further north quite quickly (I could do Highwood-Milwaukee within just over an hour).

[Missy2U]

Originally Posted by blacknwhiterose

I lived in Highwood for over a year, which is next to 2 UP-North Stations, and is a cool little old-Illinois town with bars, restaurants, Italian grocery stores, and Mexican markets. Not very many single people around, I guess they all conjugate in the city, but still not a bad area to live. I went into the city to make friends and I have family members in west suburbs, so I basically just lived in Highwood and enjoyed the charming, peaceful vibe. Ft Sheridan Forrest Preserve is right next door and has beautiful trails and beach/lake access. There's a running/biking trail along the tracks. There are apartments and condos there, take a look. Unfortunately the housing isn't so good, (unless you're super killing it), but if you just plan on renting, it's a option to consider. Fast access during off traffic hours down the 41/94 into downtown Chicago (30-35 min during off traffic hours) and you can also go further north quite quickly (I could do Highwood-Milwaukee within just over an hour).

Hmmmm - my husband and I are planning on moving to the area (from the NW Suburbs) perhaps next spring, and Highwood was never on our radar! I'd love to be able to ask you some questions about it in the future should it prove to be a viable option (form what you've said above - it certainly sounds like it!!) - would you be willing to answer if I PM'ed you? I don't THINK I would have enough for a whole thread...

[Eschnad]

Originally Posted by blacknwhiterose

I lived in Highwood for over a year, which is next to 2 UP-North Stations, and is a cool little old-Illinois town with bars, restaurants, Italian grocery stores, and Mexican markets. Not very many single people around, I guess they all conjugate in the city, but still not a bad area to live. I went into the city to make friends and I have family members in west suburbs, so I basically just lived in Highwood and enjoyed the charming, peaceful vibe. Ft Sheridan Forrest Preserve is right next door and has beautiful trails and beach/lake access. There's a running/biking trail along the tracks. There are apartments and condos there, take a look. Unfortunately the housing isn't so good, (unless you're super killing it), but if you just plan on renting, it's a option to consider. Fast access during off traffic hours down the 41/94 into downtown Chicago (30-35 min during off traffic hours) and you can also go further north quite quickly (I could do Highwood-Milwaukee within just over an hour).

Highwood & Highland Park were both on my short list. They are both at a very commutable distance to Great Lakes. Getting into the city on the weekend seems quite doable via Metra, but coming back from the city to Highwood around bar close might not be an option without a very long/expensive cab ride (I'll likely have done a little drinking, so public transport, rather than my car, would be necessary). Unless there is enough to do in the Highland Park/Highwood area that I may not feel the need to leave for the city most weekends?

I'm looking at Evanston now. I could commute via Metra to Great Lakes and into/out of the city via the "L". Another option: live in a northern portion of the city and commute all the way to Great Lakes. Has anyone here commuted to Great Lakes from either Evanston or the city? Did you regret commuting this far or was it worth it? What is living in Evanston like? I will only be at Great Lakes 1 year, so I will be renting.

[4122]

Originally Posted by Eschnad

Highwood & Highland Park were both on my short list. They are both at a very commutable distance to Great Lakes. Getting into the city on the weekend seems quite doable via Metra, but coming back from the city to Highwood around bar close might not be an option without a very long/expensive cab ride (I'll likely have done a little drinking, so public transport, rather than my car, would be necessary). Unless there is enough to do in the Highland Park/Highwood area that I may not feel the need to leave for the city most weekends?

I'm looking at Evanston now. I could commute via Metra to Great Lakes and into/out of the city via the "L". Another option: live in a northern portion of the city and commute all the way to Great Lakes. Has anyone here commuted to Great Lakes from either Evanston or the city? Did you regret commuting this far or was it worth it? What is living in Evanston like? I will only be at Great Lakes 1 year, so I will be renting.

Evanston would be a great option for you. Lots of young people live there not only is it a college town but it's also has a lot of great options for nightlife, restaurants, shopping, etc. Also, it's very easy to get to the city. It's about a 45 minute ride on the metra to Great Lakes.

I'm from Highland Park and although there's a lot of great restaurants in Highwood and some in Highland Park and Highland Park has a great downtown, there's not much to do and everything seems to be far away.

[blacknwhiterose]

Originally Posted by Eschnad

Highwood & Highland Park were both on my short list. They are both at a very commutable distance to Great Lakes. Getting into the city on the weekend seems quite doable via Metra, but coming back from the city to Highwood around bar close might not be an option without a very long/expensive cab ride (I'll likely have done a little drinking, so public transport, rather than my car, would be necessary). Unless there is enough to do in the Highland Park/Highwood area that I may not feel the need to leave for the city most weekends?

I'm looking at Evanston now. I could commute via Metra to Great Lakes and into/out of the city via the "L". Another option: live in a northern portion of the city and commute all the way to Great Lakes. Has anyone here commuted to Great Lakes from either Evanston or the city? Did you regret commuting this far or was it worth it? What is living in Evanston like? I will only be at Great Lakes 1 year, so I will be renting.

Yes, the last Metra leaving downtown is 12:35am on Weekends, so if you plan on staying out late in the city, you'll need to drive in or be able to hitch a ride (Uber?). I usually drove into the city and took the train on special occasions where I knew I'd be coming back before midnight.


I thought about living in Evanston around that time also, and occasionally hang out there. It's expensive and buried away from the express way, the nightlife is overrated as far as my interests go, things get quiet early, a lot of geeky students (hey, it's Northwestern) and young families/couples.


Unless you want a costly commute, your best option is just to grab the best possible North Shore/Lake Co. neighborhood, preferably close to the Metra, go into the downtown to socialize, and make the most of it. That's how most young people seem to do it in Chicagoland. If you work hard, some people in the city will welcome you, but some will be pretty snobby and automatically label you "that boring guy from the suburbs". People with roots to all of the metro will be a little more embracing.

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by Eschnad

I'm looking at Evanston now. I could commute via Metra to Great Lakes and into/out of the city via the "L". Another option: live in a northern portion of the city and commute all the way to Great Lakes. Has anyone here commuted to Great Lakes from either Evanston or the city? Did you regret commuting this far or was it worth it? What is living in Evanston like? I will only be at Great Lakes 1 year, so I will be renting.

You aren't the first guy to do it, that's for sure. You could live in Lincoln Square or Rogers Park near Loyola and commute in every day. The other question is how close is the Great Lakes stop to the front door of your work, and how close you can get to the Stations in the city. I know a handful of companies that run shuttles/Pace Bus services from the Metra station to their offices (Allstate, Astellas, Hospira come to mind.)

[xavierkaleb]

I know everyone has mentioned Evanston but Libertyville has a great a downtown. Libertyville's downtown is full of bars, restaurants, shops and it has the metra train which runs to Union Station. This town is also very close to Great Lakes.