going to work in Bloomingdale! (Chicago, Naperville: apartments, renter, low crime)

[bt28]

Hello! I might relocate to Bloomingdale (West of O'Hare) and need some advice on a place to live! I will be a renter and my ideal place to live would be someplace closer to the city but not too far away that will make my drive to work ridiculous. Also added bonuses would be low crime, a good communitiy, great restaurants, parks, and an overall good atmosphere. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by bt28

Hello! I might relocate to Bloomingdale (West of O'Hare) and need some advice on a place to live! I will be a renter and my ideal place to live would be someplace closer to the city but not too far away that will make my drive to work ridiculous. Also added bonuses would be low crime, a good communitiy, great restaurants, parks, and an overall good atmosphere. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

What is your...age? relationship status? parental status? price range?

[bt28]

28, engaged, no kids, trying to find rent around $700 - $1,000

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by bt28

28, engaged, no kids, trying to find rent around $700 - $1,000

Your fiance have a job? If so, where? Are you looking for the typical young urban professional lifestyle (ie coffee shops, restaurants, bars, etc within walking distance) or a more suburban (live in a detached house, drive everywhere) lifestyle?

Also of interest: Are you a local or relocating from another metro? If so, where?

[bt28]

My finace will have to find a job when she gets there. Would prefer to live the urban lifestyle... walking and using public transit if possible.

I currently live in the Tampa Bay area (Clearwater).

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by bt28

My finace will have to find a job when she gets there. Would prefer to live the urban lifestyle... walking and using public transit if possible.

I currently live in the Tampa Bay area (Clearwater).

Okay, now that we've gotten all that out of the way, I'll have to let others respond, since I don't really know that part of the metro area well. You're working pretty far from the city, so living there is pretty much out of the question (at least living in the nicer lakefront areas.)

You'll probably want to live near a commuter rail (Metra) station which will give you easier access to Chicago. Plus, lots of Metra stations are in older downtown areas, many of which are small bastions of walkable neighborhoods in a sea of auto-dependent suburbia. The nicers ones even have trendy restaurants, bars, and old-style movie theaters. Elmhurst might be reasonably close. Oak Park and Naperville are nice too but probably too far away.

[bt28]

I looked at Oak Park on Google Maps, and that looks like a nice area. They say its a 23 minute commute (30 minutes in traffic) to my office, which is okay for me... Any additional comments on Oak Park?

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by bt28

I looked at Oak Park on Google Maps, and that looks like a nice area. They say its a 23 minute commute (30 minutes in traffic) to my office, which is okay for me... Any additional comments on Oak Park?

Well, I live in Oak Park, so I'm probably biased. That being said, its probably the best facsimile of real, urban Chicago life that you can find in the western suburbs. Its got two el lines and commuter rail service. The downtown area is pretty decent (by suburban standards), a fair number of restaurants, bookstores, Whole Foods, Trader Joe, multiple Starbucks, a vintage movie theater, etc, etc. There are a lot of vintage (pre WW2) apartments within walking distance of public transit. Scattering of modern construction apartments as well. Its got the downsides of big city living as well, primarily higher crime rate than you'll experience in Elmhurst or Naperville, but not super high (in my opinion.) Parking can also be somewhat problematic.

I doubt its 23 minutes to Bloomingdale, probably more like 35-40, although I don't know the exact location of your job. Traffic on I-290 is pretty miserable, and its usually horrible in the afternoon coming inbound.

[bt28]

I would make the sacrifice of a slightly inconvenient commute to live in a good area. Sounds like Oak Park is definitly worth looking into! Thanks a bunch for the advise! I very much appreciate it!

[oakparkdude]

Plenty of threads about Oak Park discussing the good, bad, and ugly, just use the search function.