We are moving to chicago (suburbs) shortly. Can anyone suggest me decent places (with Indian population)?? (Naperville: apartment, rentals)

[Priya88]

My husband got a job in chicago downtown. We are newly married and looking for a decent apartment for rent ($1100-1500) in suburbs near chicago. We were thinking of considering areas like Oak brook, Schaumburg, Naperville, Arlington heights, Skokie, Wheaton....(It's really confusing to decide about)
Which area would be easy to commute (in train) to chicago downtown? Approximately, how much time would it take? How crowded would the trains be during office hrs(8-5)??
I would really appreciate your help. As I have come recently to USA from India, we are looking for a decent place with some Indian people (of our age group) around.

[Steve-o]

Bloomingdale has a sizeable Indian population.

[chet everett]

No reason NOT to consider Chicago itself. Plenty of folks in your situation live comfortably and safely in areas within a sort CTA ride from downtown. Rush hour trains are often standing room only but otherwise fairly decent.


As far as the desire to live in suburbs and RENT while being close to Metra rain it would be easy to suggest places in Wheaton ,Lombard on UP West line or Downer Grove, Lisle, Naperville on BNSF. The Metra commuter trains are generally more costly a commuting option, though they are nicer. Rare to not get a padded seat. Many folks in your situation also choose this option.

Biggest factors are probably longer term plans / kids / nearness to friends family.

Indian grocers are common through out region, and there some cultural / religious centers in both City & suburbs...

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Priya88

My husband got a job in chicago downtown. We are newly married and looking for a decent apartment for rent ($1100-1500) in suburbs near chicago. We were thinking of considering areas like Oak brook, Schaumburg, Naperville, Arlington heights, Skokie, Wheaton....(It's really confusing to decide about)
Which area would be easy to commute (in train) to chicago downtown? Approximately, how much time would it take? How crowded would the trains be during office hrs(8-5)??
I would really appreciate your help. As I have come recently to USA from India, we are looking for a decent place with some Indian people (of our age group) around.

Arlington Heights and Palatine would be a 45 minute train ride on the Union Pacific Northwest train. However, there are express trains available most of the time during rush hours. In both neighborhoods, there is a moderate size Indian population.

In both communities, there are a large number of condos adjacent to the railroad tracks.

The trains are generally crowded - US style. That means you will nearly always get a seat. And people will not be hanging on the outside of the train.

Many of the Indian groceries and restaurants in the NW suburbs are located in the general vacinity of Schaumburg Rd. in Schaumburg, a short drive from Arlington Heights and Palatine.

[Avengerfire]

Lincolnwood and Skokie.

[jessiegirl_98]

Schaumburg and Naperville have large Indian populations/grocers/restaurants. The city itself also does in some areas, but if you are looking for a suburb, those would be my two picks.

[Priya88]

I would like to thank you all for contributing to help me, esp "Chet Everett" and "jlawrence" for giving more information in detail. Would it take long to commute from Naperville and Schaumburg to the downtown Chicago??
Is it not expensive to stay in the Chicago city?? How safe would it be?? Can anyone suggest me a good apartment ?? The downtown looks very congested, are the residential areas in Chicago going to be in the same way??
I once again would like to appreciate all of you for helping me out

[hsw]

New immigrants (like Americans generally) tend to cluster in various areas based upon socio-economic level

25-30yrs ago many Indian engineers would choose to live in Naperville; Indian doctors (much higher income vs engineers) tended to favor OakBrook...would guess a critical mass of well-educated Indian immigrants of various ages still exists in these areas....Naperville may be far more useful to find decently-priced rentals

Generally, most well-educated Indian immigrants have favored living in newer suburban areas, rather than cities, despite commute duration, as most newer suburbs are much cheaper than cities; offer notably higher standard of living (advantages of new stuff like spacious, free parking, modern HVAC, in-apt washer/dryer, etc); newer shopping centers; and generally less street crime and nearby poverty

City of Chic tends to have either the US-born kids of Indian engineers/doctors who are now yuppies themselves and live in usual yuppie parts of Chic...or less-educated Indian immigrants who reside in various parts of City

Trains are a point of controversy among some Indians....some laughingly argue they fled 3rdWorld to avoid such a 3rdWorld form of transport, overlaid w/the unique US risk of violent crime....many Indians live and work in suburbs, so are able to easily drive everywhere....others who need to work in city simply drive and commute at earlier and later than rush hr to avoid much of the traffic; hassles of mass transit...and spend many long hrs in office anyway to build career

[chet everett]

I see an awful lot of folks of Indian heritage that work in I/T at downtown banks on the Metra lines. Oak Brook has no Metra lines, and the majority of physicians who live there work in suburban hospitals OR the Medical District where parking for staff is one of the perks and rail access is less than ideal.

There are numerous well educated Indians that live in the high rises convenient to the Loop, this is not simply an immigrant thing, it is a conscious choice. The abundance of newer residential buildings has made the costs of living downtown, and the amenities very competitive with any suburb.

Metra rail compares quite favorably with any short haul diesel electic commuter rail system anywhere on the planet. Cars are all equiped with climate controls, padded seats, lavatories, wheel chair lifts, et cetera. The BNSF expresses that take 32 minutes from Union Station to Naperville is easily twice as fast as any auto could make the journey via any expressways or surface streets at any time of day. Crime is not an issue at all on Metra rail. Even CTA trains are remarkably free of crime.

No one abbreviates Chicago by lopping off the 'ago' except for hsw...

[TempesT68]

For the suburbs naperville does have a sizable indian population, but to be closer to the city i would check out evanston and the far northside of chicago in rogers park, both are the heaviest populated with the indian population that i have seen.