New to Chicago, moving to the Burbs (Naperville, Evanston: apartment complexes, rentals)

[kad524]

Hi
My husband and I will be moving to Chicago in about 4 months and we are thinking about living in the suburbs. My husband will be working in the Loop, I have not yet found a new job. We have never been to Chicago and we will not have much time to check out places before we move.
We would like to find a place that will be about 30 mins to the Loop. We are thinking about an apartment first so that we have more time to check out places we want to live before buying a house. We are looking at rent ranging up to 1300 a month.
My main concerns are:
1.) Safety
2.) Commute time
3.) Cost of living
We have heard that Downers Grove, Orland Park, Brookfield, and Des Plaines are OK. Wanted to get some more info on these places and any other suggestions would be appreciated. I have also been told to consider NW Indiana.

[At1WithNature]

Orland Park is better than OK but it doesn't exactly meet the cut when it comes to cost of living. That's the trade off. It's a great suburb, one of the best in chicagoland, but it is expensive.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by kad524

Hi
My husband and I will be moving to Chicago in about 4 months and we are thinking about living in the suburbs. My husband will be working in the Loop, I have not yet found a new job. We have never been to Chicago and we will not have much time to check out places before we move.
We would like to find a place that will be about 30 mins to the Loop. We are thinking about an apartment first so that we have more time to check out places we want to live before buying a house. We are looking at rent ranging up to 1300 a month.
My main concerns are:
1.) Safety
2.) Commute time
3.) Cost of living
We have heard that Downers Grove, Orland Park, Brookfield, and Des Plaines are OK. Wanted to get some more info on these places and any other suggestions would be appreciated. I have also been told to consider NW Indiana.

What you have heard is pretty much right on. Downers is nice as well as Brookfield. Both towns have that older feel to them with plenty of "quaint-ness". Orland Park is more of a town to go after if you are the avid shopper and love dining out and look to be surrounded by new things/new everything as there really isn't much left standing in the town that was built prior to 1970. Orland is loaded with shopping from one end to the other and pretty much every restaurant you can imagine, that said though, traffic in the town leaves much to be desired, but the community is laid out in a fashion that makes everything very convienent to get to as the entire town is laid out over a grid street style pattern much the way the City of Chicago is. Des Plaines is also a nice community (more sleepy and quiet), but once again is an older community mostly consisting of buildings built prior to 1970 as the case is with Brookfield and Downers creating many tree-lined streets and a wide array of older style homes.

In all 4 cases, all 4 towns are perfectly safe, have great schools, however differ GREATLY when it comes to cost of living. It has been long said that northern burbs are typically costlier due to their very nature of being more lured after, and that is pretty much right on. Its just a classic case of supply and demand pretty much. Northern burbs are often thought of as being more prestigous and thats great and all, but couldn't be any further from the truth. Yes, northern burbs do have areas such as Highland Park, Winettka, and all that with their georgous homes, however there are areas on the south side that offer many of the same things, yet most don't know about them. That said, out of the 4 towns you listed, I would say that Brookfield will probably be the most costly due to it's close proximity to the city creating great convience to the Loop which tends to drive up cost, next would be Des Plaines in most cases (for newer buildings not much of the older ones which the town is loaded with), next coming is Downers Grove. Downers is a tricky burbs as it has completely revived itself over the past 20 years, once again throwing itself back into the spotlight of being prestigous with many teardowns taking place, apartments being refurbished, and the downtown being completely made over and restored to look as it currently does which is very pretty IMO. Lastly and probably the most "affordable" if you can call it that, would be Orland Park. Really when dealing with Orland, you won't find too much as far as apartments go as the town has successfully figured out a way to just zone apartments right out so that none were really ever built. There are pockets of them here and there, but overall, are very scarce in the town. Tinley Park has a larger area of apartments near its historical district you may want to check into for number one Tinley is even cheaper meaning your dollar will go further and number two, Tinley has numerous areas right near the Oak Park Ave. Metra Rock Island train station with ample parking that you can use to get to and from the Loop in about 40 min! You may want to check that out. I'm not sure, this link is new to me, but check it out. SearchChicago.com

[HWilliams77]

If you are trying to get to the loop quickly and easily...then you are looking at living near a Metra train line. The BNSF Metra train line goes into Union Station downtown, and the UP West Metra train line goes into Olgilvie Station downtown.

As far as BNSF...the good cities along that train line would be Brookfield, Downers Grove, Lisle, and Naperville. You will find apts in Brookfield although they won't be big apt complexes, more like a two flat bldg or something similar. Also these apts will be older, yet cheaper. If you want to live in a newer apt, but pay a little more money...head towards Naperville. There are apts, such as Railway Plaza, that are about the closest you can get to the train station. These apts are going to be at the top of your price range. If you catch an express train from the Rt 59 station in Naperville...you will be looking at a 43-45 min train commute downtown.

As far as UP West...the good cities along that train line are Oak Park, Elmhurst, Lombard, and Wheaton. There are a few others as well. Oak Park is a great city. But again, you won't find big apt complexes there. Just small buildings or 2 and/or 3 flats. Also it's going to be more "mature" architecture. If you head out closer to Wheaton, the apts get nicer...but more expensive as well. A good apt complex that's super close to the train in Wheaton is Wheaton Center Apts. An express train from Wheaton to Downtown Chicago is about 35 mins.

The suburbs and suggestions I've mentioned are mostly for the West Suburbs...and this is because that's what I know. Orland Park is a great place from what I've heard, but that's South Suburbs and I don't know much about South Suburbs.

I would definitely just check out www.rent.com and put in a city name and search the apts in the area. They usually put a lot of good info on the site.

[heartchicago]

Originally Posted by HWilliams77

If you are trying to get to the loop quickly and easily...then you are looking at living near a Metra train line. The BNSF Metra train line goes into Union Station downtown, and the UP West Metra train line goes into Olgilvie Station downtown.

As far as BNSF...the good cities along that train line would be Brookfield, Downers Grove, Lisle, and Naperville. You will find apts in Brookfield although they won't be big apt complexes, more like a two flat bldg or something similar. Also these apts will be older, yet cheaper. If you want to live in a newer apt, but pay a little more money...head towards Naperville. There are apts, such as Railway Plaza, that are about the closest you can get to the train station. These apts are going to be at the top of your price range. If you catch an express train from the Rt 59 station in Naperville...you will be looking at a 43-45 min train commute downtown.

As far as UP West...the good cities along that train line are Oak Park, Elmhurst, Lombard, and Wheaton. There are a few others as well. Oak Park is a great city. But again, you won't find big apt complexes there. Just small buildings or 2 and/or 3 flats. Also it's going to be more "mature" architecture. If you head out closer to Wheaton, the apts get nicer...but more expensive as well. A good apt complex that's super close to the train in Wheaton is Wheaton Center Apts. An express train from Wheaton to Downtown Chicago is about 35 mins.

The suburbs and suggestions I've mentioned are mostly for the West Suburbs...and this is because that's what I know. Orland Park is a great place from what I've heard, but that's South Suburbs and I don't know much about South Suburbs.

I would definitely just check out www.rent.com and put in a city name and search the apts in the area. They usually put a lot of good info on the site.

I am trying to find "new" apartments close to a Metra stop. Some complexes have a shuttle that goes to the Metra stop, or there is a pace bus that is close by. So, I would not mind paying the extra $60 a month to park at a Metra stop (like the Rt. 59 stop) and live at a place like AMLI Naperville. However, I want to consider all my options. From your post it sounds like Wheaton and Naperville would have the "newer" apartments...are there any other towns along a metra stop that would have new complexes?

[chitown85]

Go with Orland Park or Brookfield. Very easy to get into the Loop and rents are much cheaper than in northern burbs. Des Plaines is a little rougher than those towns anyway. Plus Brookfield has the zoo.

[bulldawg1594]

maybe like oak park

[Alter123]

There are a couple newish apartment complexes on Lake in Oak Park, within four or five blocks of the Metra stop at Harlem.

[Spielpof]

Check out Oak Lawn. I lived there for 20 years. It is a nice family friendly area. They have a centrally located train station that makes for an easy commute to Union Station. It is also near The tollway, and easy drive into the city. The Schools are pretty good, and the business district is building up more and more every day.

[US-Traveller]

I think it depends on your housing budget and what you are looking for in your community more specifically. I think you should look into Evanston or Wilmette for rentals around $1300. They might be hard to come by, but they are both great communities with easy access to the loop and great schools and activities that will allow you to grow with your community.