Can anyone suggest the best place to live in north IL if commuting to Milwaukee (Chicago: rent)

[savethewhales]

Hello,
I'm trying to determine where the best place to move my family would be.
I will be commuting to Milwaukee starting this fall but can't move across the state line. My husband will either be commuting to Des Plaines or Skokie and would prefer to take the train. I'm currently living in Evanston and rent here has been killing us. We're trying to go cheaper... the cheaper the better. Diversity doesn't bother us so long as we don't bother them, but I want to feel safe when walking with my little girls down the street. I have been looking at relocating either to Zion or Antioch, as they seem to offer the best proximity for our commuting needs. However, Zion seems like it has some really bad spots and I know nothing of Antioch. Can anyone offer me any information regarding which areas in Zion to stay away from, if Antioch is much better or if here may be a better town which I have missed?
I prefer to stay more rural if possible, but the best price and neighborhood are the deciding factors. I've seen alot of 2 bedrooms in Zion for between 650 -750/mo, and have an appointment to go look at a 2br advertised at 485/mo. It's on Hebron ave and 22nd st. I'm afraid this is in one of those bad spots. I've asked afew of the people with properties there and they're responses are really vague when I ask about the neighborhood.
Thanks so much for any help that anyone may be able to provide.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by savethewhales

Hello,
I'm trying to determine where the best place to move my family would be.
I will be commuting to Milwaukee starting this fall but can't move across the state line. My husband will either be commuting to Des Plaines or Skokie and would prefer to take the train. I'm currently living in Evanston and rent here has been killing us. We're trying to go cheaper... the cheaper the better. Diversity doesn't bother us so long as we don't bother them, but I want to feel safe when walking with my little girls down the street. I have been looking at relocating either to Zion or Antioch, as they seem to offer the best proximity for our commuting needs. However, Zion seems like it has some really bad spots and I know nothing of Antioch. Can anyone offer me any information regarding which areas in Zion to stay away from, if Antioch is much better or if here may be a better town which I have missed?
I prefer to stay more rural if possible, but the best price and neighborhood are the deciding factors. I've seen alot of 2 bedrooms in Zion for between 650 -750/mo, and have an appointment to go look at a 2br advertised at 485/mo. It's on Hebron ave and 22nd st. I'm afraid this is in one of those bad spots. I've asked afew of the people with properties there and they're responses are really vague when I ask about the neighborhood.
Thanks so much for any help that anyone may be able to provide.

2BR for $485? You know what they say. If its sounds to be too good to be true...... (fill in the blanks).

I would pick Antioch over Zion in a heartbeat though. Western Waukegan would be better than Zion. Check out county sex offenders list before renting something on the cheap.

[savethewhales]

Yes, I thought the price was suspicious too. What do you think I should expect to pay for something decent in these areas? Yes I noticed the sex offender ratio in Zion is alittle high. Thanks for that info.

[chet everett]

Wow, long commutes for both of you are going to be bad bad bad.
Have you check the routes via Metra? The best path to DesPlaines might be via UP NW, but frankly that would be rough to get schedules to anyplace that makes for decent drive to Milwaukee.

If you did use UP-N from Zion that won't really put you in good shape to get to DesPlaines at all, and even Skokie is probably going to involve a couple of buses.

NCS service from Antioch is no help either

Metra - Metra System Map

System really was not set-up for suburb to suburb commute -- spokes all lead to Chicago as hub!


Maybe the Amtrak service to Milwaukee would allow better access for you? Though that makes you dependent on just ONCE a day service from Glenview in the north burbs unless you have a flexible start time: http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/oct04/W23.pdf Drive from someplace like Morton Grove or Skokie would give hubby easy commute, but you'd have to scramble for that one train...

Really tough choices.


Zion is affordable for a reason,

[Lookout Kid]

Chet's right, you'll want to be on the UP-NW line to take the Metra train to Des Plaines or Park Ridge (then take the Touhy bus to Skokie). By that logic, you'll want to find towns at points where the UP-NW line intersects a highway that makes the Milwaukee travel possible. Since this takes you Northwest, you could look into the Arlington Heights area (though this is not rural), or go further out to Woodstock (you could take Hwy 47 north to I-43 to get to MKE) or Harvard (end of the line).

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to take the train to Des Plaines between Chicago and Milwaukee.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by savethewhales

Yes, I thought the price was suspicious too. What do you think I should expect to pay for something decent in these areas? Yes I noticed the sex offender ratio in Zion is alittle high. Thanks for that info.

Probably at least $850.

The ride in from Zion or Antioch to Milwaukee is easy. Under an hour in good traffic. To Des Plaines though you'll have to fight traffic----The morning traffic on 94 bottles up from Gurnee/132 to Lincolnshire/22. In the PM, traffic can bottle up from Deerfield Rd. To 137/Abbott Park. Allow for some serious commuting times.

[Fomalhaut]

Village of Mundelein Great City Very Easy Going Right inbetween Chicago and Milwaukee.