Moving From the UK to Chicago

[nanannie]

A nice English gentleman asks a question for relocating help from us and this thread has sure turned weird/ugly. I hope he doesnt get scared away and decided to stay in the UK.

[mattywo85]

Let me just say if your looking for more affordable suburbs look in the Naperville, Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, Lisle, Plainfield, etc area. They are pretty affordable. Also a lot of people think its "too far" but I lived in Bolingbrook and went to Chicago everyday and it took me a half an hour each way.

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by mattywo85

Let me just say if your looking for more affordable suburbs look in the Naperville, Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, Lisle, Plainfield, etc area. They are pretty affordable. Also a lot of people think its "too far" but I lived in Bolingbrook and went to Chicago everyday and it took me a half an hour each way.

I dont know when you lived in Bolingbrook, but it does not have the good schools the op requested, nor is it one of the more desirable places to live in the burbs. Also, gangs are a problam and the op stated an issue of safety.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by mattywo85

Also a lot of people think its "too far" but I lived in Bolingbrook and went to Chicago everyday and it took me a half an hour each way.

It takes 30 minutes to get to Bolingbrook from Berwyn in crystal clear traffic doing 85 MPH down I-55 and I-355. And that’s to IKEA, which is in one of the most accessible parts of Bolingbrook on its far eastern edge. My guess is that a “real world” commute to the Loop from most of Bolingbrook is more like an hour and a half to two hours during normal commuting hours. Add in high gas prices and $30/day parking and that's totally impractical.

Public transit? According to the CTA trip planner, it would take me 1 hour and 53 minutes (!!) to get from the Bolingbrook IKEA address to Monroe and Wabash downtown if I wanted to go right now. The clumsy trip involves buses, two trains, walking, and, I think, a helicopter ride. Due to all the hoops and variables, I can’t imagine that the commute would be even remotely consistent. It might take an hour and a half in the morning and then two hours and fifteen minutes coming home. It would drive a brother crazy.

Not slamming Bolingbrook of course. It has some appeal if you work in, say, Naperville or DeKalb. You’d get a lot more house for your money and still be very accessible to your job. I also like the Promenade Mall. It’s a nice break from the standard mall concept and has some neat stores. But please be honest about what the commute to the City would be like. Not one of its strong suits. Unless Scotty was available to beam me up and down from the Starship Enterprise every day, I wouldn’t consider it a viable option if I worked in the Loop.

[mattywo85]

Originally Posted by nanannie

I dont know when you lived in Bolingbrook, but it does not have the good schools the op requested, nor is it one of the more desirable places to live in the burbs. Also, gangs are a problam and the op stated an issue of safety.

Wow, umm no! I lived here for 20+ years and have never seen a gang or had a problem with anyone. All that violence people say about BB is bs. BB gets a bad rap because its next to Naperville and Naperville is just so perfect, haha. People also assume BB is ghetto because they see two black people walk down the street and stereotype a whole town for it

[mattywo85]

Originally Posted by BRU67

It takes 30 minutes to get to Bolingbrook from Berwyn in crystal clear traffic doing 85 MPH down I-55 and I-355. And that’s to IKEA, which is in one of the most accessible parts of Bolingbrook on its far eastern edge. My guess is that a “real world” commute to the Loop from most of Bolingbrook is more like an hour and a half to two hours during normal commuting hours. Add in high gas prices and $30/day parking and that's totally impractical.

Public transit? According to the CTA trip planner, it would take me 1 hour and 53 minutes (!!) to get from the Bolingbrook IKEA address to Monroe and Wabash downtown if I wanted to go right now. The clumsy trip involves buses, two trains, walking, and, I think, a helicopter ride. Due to all the hoops and variables, I can’t imagine that the commute would be even remotely consistent. It might take an hour and a half in the morning and then two hours and fifteen minutes coming home. It would drive a brother crazy.

Not slamming Bolingbrook of course. It has some appeal if you work in, say, Naperville or DeKalb. You’d get a lot more house for your money and still be very accessible to your job. I also like the Promenade Mall. It’s a nice break from the standard mall concept and has some neat stores. But please be honest about what the commute to the City would be like. Not one of its strong suits. Unless Scotty was available to beam me up and down from the Starship Enterprise every day, I wouldn’t consider it a viable option if I worked in the Loop.

I drove from RT 53 all the way too Albany Park going 65-70 MPH in moderate traffic and still made it in 30 minutes. Of course it will be 1.5-2 hours if its in traffic lol. Of course it would take 2 hours on the CTA cause the CTA doesn't come out to BB in the first place lol. Instead of taking two buses, walking, etc just take Metra and your home in 40 minutes or better yet drive. I know what I;m talking about because I drove that M-F in and out of rush hour traffic.

[BRU67]

The CTA trip planner also includes Metra and Pace. So that was factored into the commute time I posted. Bolingbrook does not have a Metra stop. The nearest one is Downers Grove as far as I know. Good luck parking near that.

I ran it again and if you left Boughton & Janes in Bolingbrook at 1:42 p.m. today on the Pace bus you'd eventually arrive at Union Station at 3:56 p.m. Better bring a few magazines, and your wallet because the one way trip would cost you $10.55!

You must be a whale of a driver. According to Rand McNally, it takes 54 minutes to get from Bolingbrook to Pulaski/Foster. And that's not a rush hour time either. Most would go stone crazy doing that after a few months.

Again, not intending to bash Bolingbrook here. It's a decent community in its own right. I just don't think it's a viable option for someone who works downtown Chicago due to the long and inconvenient commute.

[Opkl]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Omfg

Well Avengerfire, looks as if someone brought this thread back to life for you!
HA HA HA HA HA!!