Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-14-2012, 01:11 AM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,751,145 times
Reputation: 29967

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by rparz View Post
Most practical and desirable would be for you to probably live on the north side, closer to Northwestern. Check out Uptown, Edgewater or Rogers Park to free up some cash for a car.
Tell the BF to suck it up, he's going to be driving to school. Bang down LSD to Hyde Park isn't that bad. Street parking around UofC is possible if he's willing to walk 2-3 blocks to school.
Why the hell would they want to live all the way up there? It makes no sense for either of them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-14-2012, 01:26 AM
 
Location: Bay Area
1,490 posts, read 2,664,551 times
Reputation: 792
DERP, wrong Northwestern campus. Scratch all that; past my bedtime.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-15-2012, 12:06 PM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,620 posts, read 8,118,849 times
Reputation: 6321
1130 S Michigan has a lot of students living in it, is less expensive than you might expect, and it would provide a pretty easy commute to both campuses. It's also a block away from a regular grocery store, a Walgreens pharmacy, and a Trade Joes, as well as across the street from Grant Park, easy walking distance to many restaurants, and has good transit options to just about anywhere in the city.

You would be able to live without a car there, no problem. Would it still be "nice" to have a car? Sure, it's always "nice" to have a car, but I don't think it would at all be a requirement living in 1130 S Michigan.

The reason it's relatively cheap is that it's an older building, but I know at least two students who lived there and stayed on even after they graduated, one of whom makes six figures so she could live just about anywhere, so it's definitely not unbearable.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-15-2012, 03:56 PM
 
36 posts, read 111,969 times
Reputation: 19
Ok, so if we were to have a car, how would the situation change? That is, if we were to pick an apartment in either Streeterville or Hyde Park (so one person commutes; the other can walk), how bad exactly would be the commute each way own Lake Shore Drive? It's a 10 mile distance but I am not sure how bad traffic will be ~7-9am. Is traffic worse in either direction in particular? (eg. more commuters north-bound). Also, how is Streeterville or Hyde Park in terms of apartments that come with a parking spot? ... Or would we be better off trying to look for an apartment elsewhere altogether, so I can take a bus to Feinberg, and my bf drives to UChicago (since public transit is trickier into Hyde Park) -- while rent/parking might be cheaper?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-15-2012, 10:46 PM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,620 posts, read 8,118,849 times
Reputation: 6321
Quote:
Originally Posted by luckyducky87 View Post
Ok, so if we were to have a car, how would the situation change? That is, if we were to pick an apartment in either Streeterville or Hyde Park (so one person commutes; the other can walk), how bad exactly would be the commute each way own Lake Shore Drive? It's a 10 mile distance but I am not sure how bad traffic will be ~7-9am. Is traffic worse in either direction in particular? (eg. more commuters north-bound). Also, how is Streeterville or Hyde Park in terms of apartments that come with a parking spot? ... Or would we be better off trying to look for an apartment elsewhere altogether, so I can take a bus to Feinberg, and my bf drives to UChicago (since public transit is trickier into Hyde Park) -- while rent/parking might be cheaper?
The thing is with the car, either you'll be paying a minimum of $250/month to park it with an apartment in downtown, or you'll be paying a minimum of $15/day to park it as a commuter if you're the one driving to Northwestern. If you decide you must have a car, you're pretty much deciding you both want to commute, one via transit to Northwestern and one via car to Hyde Park, but living outside of downtown. Which, in order to get a decent commute for the non-driver probably means living in the Ukranian Village near Chicago Ave so you can take the Chicago Ave bus to school and the driver can drive to school via Kennedy/Dan Ryan, or Chicago/LSD.

Why was it you decided you needed a car?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2012, 02:13 AM
 
413 posts, read 829,185 times
Reputation: 303
Quote:
Originally Posted by luckyducky87 View Post
Ok, so if we were to have a car, how would the situation change? That is, if we were to pick an apartment in either Streeterville or Hyde Park (so one person commutes; the other can walk), how bad exactly would be the commute each way own Lake Shore Drive? It's a 10 mile distance but I am not sure how bad traffic will be ~7-9am. Is traffic worse in either direction in particular? (eg. more commuters north-bound). Also, how is Streeterville or Hyde Park in terms of apartments that come with a parking spot? ... Or would we be better off trying to look for an apartment elsewhere altogether, so I can take a bus to Feinberg, and my bf drives to UChicago (since public transit is trickier into Hyde Park) -- while rent/parking might be cheaper?
Roughly I see your options as this:

Live in River North or downtown. Pay 2000 for 1 BR. walk to NW in 10 minutes, spend 45 minutes to UofC. You will live in the middle of many activities and there will be tons going on.

Live in Hyde Park. Pay $1000 for 1BR. Spend 50 minutes commuting to NW and 10 minute walk to UC. you will be trapped in hyde park. Drop $30 on cabs each way every time you go out on weekends. I doubt you will be happy with your location and will leave after one year. The vast majority of my wife's UC Law class moved north after one year and they did not have to account for a spouse who was commuting to downtown.

Live in the South Loop. Pay 1500 for 1 BR. Spend 20 minutes on red line to NW. Spend 40 minutes on bus to UC. South Loop is pretty boring to me in that is feels like someone brought the burbs to the city except in high rise form. But its close to lake and public transit is good and access to downtown activities is easy.

Live in Ukrainian Village. Pay $1000 for large 1 or small 2 bed. 20minute commute on 66 bus to NW and probably 20-25 minute drive to UC. Morning outbound traffic is not too bad though rush hour return can take a lot longer. Good neighborhood feel with lots to do and very close to wicker park, west loop, downtown and lincoln park. This is where we chose to live and much has to do with the fact that my wife commutes to Indiana (which by the way generally takes under 30 minutes).

Live in Lincoln Park close to lake. Pay $1500 for 1BR. 15 minute commute to NW and drive to UC will probably average 20-25 minutes. IMO, the premier neighborhood for young professionals. nightlife, food, the lake. Its all here. Probably lots of your NW classmates will live here.

Live in Lakeview close to lake. Pay 1100 if you are north by Irving Park or $1300 near Belmont. Add 5 minutes to each commute over Lincoln park. The rest of Lincoln park description can be applied to Lakeview.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top