A few questions about WP/Bucktown , jobs, and traffic. (Chicago: how much, home)

[nowyouareoneofus]

I'm into the indie rock scene so a Wicker Park, Bucktown move I know is already a good idea. I love the area.

Now, I will be working in an office environment , in the call-center Customer Service field hopefully. How are jobs in that scene?

I assume I will have to work downtown?

What's the drive from that area, to an office building downtown?

I really don't want a drive longer than 30-40 minutes.

Is that unreasonable for the area?

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Take the train. You don't want to park downtown unless you get it as a job perk. Unless it's part of your package, it's 15-35 bucks a day.

Get a place near the blue line and take the train.

There are plenty of jobs in that field. If you can't find a direct gig, go through a temp service. Lakeshore Staffing and North Bridge Staffing have both done right by me.

[Drover]

Unless you have $250-300 a month to spend on parking downtown, you won't be driving to your office. You'll be taking the Blue Line train -- approximately 15 minutes to downtown from the southern portion of Wicker Park and approximately 25 minutes from the northern end of Bucktown -- provided you can actually board the train. Wicker Park and Bucktown are far enough down the line that you may have to let a train or two pass before there is enough room to board. Both travel times should drop by about 7 minutes once they finish repairs on the subway portion of the Blue Line tracks later this year. Add another 10 minutes of bus time to get to the Blue Line if you live in the eastern portion of Bucktown or the western portion of Wicker Park.

[nowyouareoneofus]

What's the best way to find direct Customer Service jobs downtown?

Craigslist and all the other sites are giving me A LOT of junk , all 30-60 minutes away.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

My first job out of college was as a CSR downtown. It was all incoming (no sales) and I made a solid income with full benefits.

I got it, as I said before, through a staffing agency. They gave me part time gigs until they landed me a permanent spot.

Feel free to try Monster and CareerBuilder, but staffing agencies can be a good thing.

[manderson]

The Chicago Tribune has a massive call center for things like subscriptions, classified sales, etc. I worked there for about 4 yrs in the Marketing department - not the most glamourous company, but you get to stroll the beautiful Michigan Ave everyday and you don't have to deal with the drudgery of downtown Loop gigs. While I worked there, I lived in Wicker, just off the Division Stop. Such an easy commute but like previously stated, you may let a train go by in the AM. Not so bad at Division since you're underground and protected from the heat/cold/rain/etc.

[cvatasoiu]

like everyone else said: driving is out of the question. By taking the train, you could probably get there faster and way cheaper. Welcome to the Wicker Park/Bucktown area

[paytonc]

You might want to consider a reverse commute to the O'Hare, Rosemont, or Cumberland areas; it seems that more back offices are out there (cheaper rents) than downtown. It's a slow but sure train ride the other way from WP/BT.

Oh, and I budget 30 minutes to get downtown from Damen, via Blue Line, #56 Milwaukee bus, or bicycle. Heck, I've walked home in not much over an hour.

[CUBS07]

Originally Posted by paytonc

You might want to consider a reverse commute to the O'Hare, Rosemont, or Cumberland areas; it seems that more back offices are out there (cheaper rents) than downtown. It's a slow but sure train ride the other way from WP/BT.

Oh, and I budget 30 minutes to get downtown from Damen, via Blue Line, #56 Milwaukee bus, or bicycle. Heck, I've walked home in not much over an hour.

Rev commute is the way to go. I take the Metra out West from BT/WP everyday and it takes about 30 min vs 1 hr driving.

[sscherr]

how much do call centers pay in chicago? Enough to live in WP?