Moving soon to work in Bannockburn... (Chicago, Waukegan: affordable apartment, to rent, crime rates)

[St.Patrick]

I will be moving in the next 2-3 months to work in Bannockburn (job relocation). I'm looking for suggestions on where to rent an affordable apartment. Ideally I would like to stay under $700/month +/- $100 for a 1 bedroom. As with most people moving my main concern is safety. Searches on apartments.com just keep bringing up results in Waukegan as being in my price range, but everything I have read about that area says to stay away. Also, from what I can tell at looking through the Metra website, I'll want to stay near the MD-N line in order to get off at the Deerfield station to catch a PACE shuttle from there to Bannockburn.

One of the biggest gray areas for me is commuting by car. I currently live in San Jose, CA which I have heard others complain as having awful traffic, so my opinion of what is considered bad traffic may be skewed. I'm willing to commute upto 45 minutes by car, so long as traffic moves fairly close to the speed limit (at least within 10MPH of the limit). I don't mind heavy traffic either, but I don't want to commute through stop-and-go traffic on a highway.

So far the only places I have seen with rent in my price range are: Waukegan, Zion, Kenosha. There is one apartment in Highwood called Northshore Estates that had affordable listings, but another poster on here referred to it as "Little Mexico". As for Kenosha, Google maps shows an estimated driving time of 39 minutes to go from Kenosha, WI to Bannockburn, but how accurate is that? Waukegan and Zion both seem to be regarded as no-go's on most forums.

To give some idea of where I am coming from, San Jose has one of the lowest crime rates per capita and a population of a little under 1 million. Extremely diverse, and almost everyone commutes by car. My daily commute right now is a 30 minute drive, taking city streets, to go 10 miles. For people familiar with the area, my past commutes have included taking 101 to Redwood City, 87/85 to Santa Teresa Blvd (South San Jose), and 880 to Fremont.

If driving South down 94 to Bannockburn isn't a complete nightmare, I wouldn't mind moving as far North as Kenosha, otherwise, I would want to find a place near the MD-N Metra line to take the train. I am also willing to commute to a train station by car, so long as parking will be available (estimating that I would reach a station by car at 6:30AM). One thing I could not figure out is if there is a PACE shuttle running from the UP-N line over to Bannockburn?

[Nysee53]

There are many apartment listings in Glencoe, Winnetka, Wilmette, and Evanston. Check out craigslist.org for more information on those. Generally Winnetka and Wilmette tend to have the most affordable and they offer shorter commutes to Bannockburn than Evanston. Glencoe is just a little too expensive with most apartments between $1200 and $3000 a month. Skokie might also be a good option. It is rare to find something cheaper in Glenview, Northbrook, or Deerfield, because they have higher-end newer apartment buildings. In Wilmette, Winnetka, and Glencoe you'll be looking at vintage apartments over retail space. Usually just a one or two stair walk-up.

[Calidreemer]

Hi St. Patrick - welcome to Bannockburn! $700 a month is going to be really tough. You are right about the areas coming up in that price range - they are not going to be what you are used to. Bannockburn is similar to Walnut Creek and will be pricey. You could try Deerfield, Northbrook, Vernon Hills, and some other Western communities. Right now there is construction everywhere so commute times are slow. Kenosha wouldn't be bad as far as price goes and one of my satalite offices is in Bannockburn and a lot of people actually commute from Wisconsin. The affordability is so much greater. You might also try Gurnee, Lincolnshire and Libertyville. Most of these communities are not the hot, trendy designer type, but you sound like you want something affordable, safe and within a reasonable proximity to work.

You might have to give up the one bedroom for a studio or efficiency to stay within your price range. Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have specific areas you want to discuss.

[St.Patrick]

Thank you both for the replies. Part of my plan is to stay in a hotel for a week, and take my time trying out some of the commuting options, and checking out what the apartments are like by putting together a list of towns from your recommendations and visiting them.

[Calidreemer]

Good luck with everything!

[ABQ in 2008]

You might check out apartments in Gurnee. I saw a listing for Northlake Farms Apartments with rents between $750 - $850. It's in a safe area, and would be closer for you than Zion or Kenosha. (area of Hunt Club Road south of Grand Ave (rte.132). Someone else mentioned Vernon Hills and Libertyville.......Mundelein is right near those two as well.

Good luck

[Steve-o]

Oh, and dont forget to bring a winter jacket, too.

[bosleysock]

I would definately recommend looking for an apartment South of Bannockburn. The worst of the traffic will be heading from North to South as many commuters are heading toward Chicago. If you are going to Banockburn, you'll want to be driving North! I would look in Wheeling, Buffalo Grove...Arlington Heights has some nice options as well. If you do enough digging, you might get lucky and find a small apartment in Northbrook or Deerfield.

[Anthera]

Does Bannockburn still block off rush hour traffic with street barriers?

[Calidreemer]

Anthera they do where Wilmot hits Telegraph road going North- I'm not sure if they do it anywhere else. It's annoying.