Need advice on Renting an Apartment - Chicago / Suburb (Naperville: rental, daycare)

[spicy_guy]

I work in Chicago Downtown. Currently staying very close to my office in West Loop. I just walk for 15 Mins from my current place. But its very expensive and not kid-friendly. Hard to find good schooling / daycare around

My work timings are not regular. I usually start to work anytime b/n 10 - 10.30 AM.

I am unable to make up my mind whether to stay in Suburb or within City itself. These are the factors:

1. I am scared of the winter here. Its been one year here and last year the winter was a breeze.
2. I would like to limit my commute time to 45 Mins on way.
3. I have a 2.5 year old kid. We are looking for daycare / pre-school to put him in so my wife can start working.
4. Good schooling is as important.
5. Budget for monthly rental is around 1200. One bed.
6. I can start as early as 9.0 AM instead of 10 - 10.30 am

I would have easily decided and moved to Naperville, Westmont, etc suburbs. But unfortunately there are no express trains (as far as I researched), after 8.30 AM and frequency is less after 9 AM. After 9, the commute to office is 1.20 mins way (as per Google Maps). This handicapped me in selecting any suburb hands-down. But I am not sure if I still should go ahead and opt any burb.

I am an Indian-American. Would like my kid to have good company to play with.

I am sure lot of people would've gone through this debate themselves.

[marothisu]

Where in the Loop are you working? Look at the Lincoln Square/Ravenswood area maybe. You could even get a 2 bedroom for $1200/month I bet up there (my gf has a 2 bedroom that goes for around there in the area) and it's right on the Brown Line meaning it goes right into the western part of the Loop..commute should be within your range, but that depends on where in the loop you actually work. I have seen a good number of kids up there. Seems like a mix of families and younger-ish professionals up there.

Another area might be Roscoe Village if you want to go the 1 bedroom route. I think you could find one up there for that price and it's closer than Lincoln Square/Ravenswood to the Loop again on the brown line by a few stops..A number of families live around there too.

[spicy_guy]

Thanks!

Office is Opposite to J.P Morgan Chase building in Madison.
How good are the schools in Lincoln Square?

[Vlajos]

Coonley and Waters are two schools in that area, both are very good.

[marothisu]

Chase Tower? If so, you could take the Brown Line directly to Washington/Wells and then walk a few blocks. It's a little less than 1/4 mile, so it would take maybe 3-5 minutes to walk that. If you lived near the Damen-Brown line stop for example, your total commute on the train would be around 28-30 minutes I bet, and plus walking from the stop to work adds a few more minutes.

As far as the schools up in Lincoln Square/Ravenswood and Roscoe Village, I don't have kids so I'm not sure, but I believe other posters on here have had young children go through the schools up there and mentioned they were good. I would ask them though.

The areas are good. Ravenswood is where Rahm Emmanuel lives, and the area is very affordable unless you want to buy a single family home ($500k+), but the rent is affordable for a great area of Chicago. It's quiet and there's green space up there. I've seen organized baseball games going on with kids who were maybe 10 years old in the neighborhood. There's Winnemac Park which is a big park and there's a park on Montrose (where the baseball field is), and then Homer Park is right near there too. I've heard kids "playing" outside too before when I've been at my girlfriend's.

There are things to do up there too. Restaurants, bars, gyms, coffee shops, movie theaters (Davis Theater - Much cheaper than downtown. It's an older theater, but still fine). Even the Old Town School of Folk Music (which has little concerts too).

I think some posters on here can tell you about the schools and kid stuff better than me though Just saying what I've observed by being in the area numerous times.

[marothisu]

Here's a video about Lincoln Square


Ravenswood is right next door/around..

[sfcambridge]

Agree with the other posters. Perfect area for you. And it's nice that your commute is a little later in the morning. You will miss the rush hour craziness.

Also, Devon street with many Indian restaurants/grocery stores is up on the north side just a couple miles North of Lincoln Square/Ravenswood.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

Agree with the other posters. Perfect area for you. And it's nice that your commute is a little later in the morning. You will miss the rush hour craziness.

Also, Devon street with many Indian restaurants/grocery stores is up on the north side just a couple miles North of Lincoln Square/Ravenswood.

Not to mention that most of Lincoln Square is part of the 47th Ward, which is represented by Ameya Pawar, Chicago's first Alderman of Indian descent (he was born here, but his parents are from India).

[spicy_guy]

Thanks all. Much appreciated!

[spicy_guy]

Just curios. Anyone has any idea on Schools in Lincoln Square?
How does it compare to Oak Park?