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... my rule of thumb is I wouldn't want to live further from the loop than Edgewater.
Honestly the speed with which one can get around ought to be a bigger factor. If you are dependent on an express bus on LSD that might make Edgewater a decent choice unless you recall the images of CTA buses stuck in snarled traffic and snow for days from a particularly intense and poorly managed snow event during rushhour a few years back.
I don't mean to be particularly critical but merely to point out that the Loop does not pour some kind of magical force field that radiates goodness that dimensions as a function of distance squared. It is important assess the available housing inventory and the trade-offs that go along with each housing choice at a time closer to when you'll be actually in the market. As prinsessa states the reality of living in parts of Chicago though costly, reasonably attractive and "family friendly" may still not be as good an option as living in a suburb. Given trends in state finances and demographics even towns that currently are appealling like Oak Park may not be as wise a choice in the timeframe . Heck in seven years the landscape of LOTS of places could change dramatically, especially in parts of the region that are prone to more faddish shifts...
Honestly the speed with which one can get around ought to be a bigger factor. If you are dependent on an express bus on LSD that might make Edgewater a decent choice unless you recall the images of CTA buses stuck in snarled traffic and snow for days from a particularly intense and poorly managed snow event during rushhour a few years back.
I don't mean to be particularly critical but merely to point out that the Loop does not pour some kind of magical force field that radiates goodness that dimensions as a function of distance squared. It is important assess the available housing inventory and the trade-offs that go along with each housing choice at a time closer to when you'll be actually in the market. As prinsessa states the reality of living in parts of Chicago though costly, reasonably attractive and "family friendly" may still not be as good an option as living in a suburb. Given trends in state finances and demographics even towns that currently are appealling like Oak Park may not be as wise a choice in the timeframe . Heck in seven years the landscape of LOTS of places could change dramatically, especially in parts of the region that are prone to more faddish shifts...
I don't use bus, I only use foot, bike, car, and train. Never been a fan of buses.
Also my reasoning for the Loop is I am in architecture and most firms that I would want to work for are in and around the Loop, therefore for me there is a reason for wanting to be in proximity to the Loop.
As for the cost of living in the city, it is about half the cost of living in NYC, so that is a factor I am not worried about when it comes to Chicago. We will probably love the increase in pay due to our cost of living going down.
Again, the "force field" is just non-exististent -- if you have an office in the Loop travel times on express trains are faster to the Loop from towns well served by Metra than other options.
I can totallty understand the desiress of some partticularly youthful folks to live in close proximity to hip nightspots but you've ruled that out as not a factor.
The various train-centric suburbs that ring the city all should be on one's radar, especially if one is interested in a field with a glut of qualified workers and a dearth of jobs. My friends who've survived the brutal architect glut have had to be pretty flexible. The ability to live close to O'Hare or the expressways so that you could make the required trips to client sites would be a huge plus compared to looking only to lakefront parts of Chicago...
I can only hope that your talent is like that of Le Corbusier who called architecture the "art of wasting space"...
Quote:
Originally Posted by urbanlife78
I don't use bus, I only use foot, bike, car, and train. Never been a fan of buses.
Also my reasoning for the Loop is I am in architecture and most firms that I would want to work for are in and around the Loop, therefore for me there is a reason for wanting to be in proximity to the Loop.
As for the cost of living in the city, it is about half the cost of living in NYC, so that is a factor I am not worried about when it comes to Chicago. We will probably love the increase in pay due to our cost of living going down.
I've seen 2 and 3 bedroom condos in the Bell district with asking prices of $425,00to $550,000, and you can find some small SFHs that need some work at around that price as well. You can find houses for much less on the Western edge of Bucktown and in Logan Square - about $275,000 to start for a small fixer upper, and $350,000 or so for something that has been updated in the recent past. That could put you in the Goethe district, which is good, and you can also look at magnets, selective enrollment, and private schools.
During my daughter's 2 years of pre-K we saw about 40 of her classmates apply to different CPS schools, and while not all got into their first choice there was only one family that didn't get into a CPS school that they were happy with. We applied to 20 schools (the max) and got in at our first choice, as well as 2 other schools we would have been happy with and a few others we had heard were good, but would have had to visit before knowing if they were good for certain. We really benefited from the new "tier" system which replaced the old race based admissions policies. It basically gives preference to kids based on the socio-economic stats of the census tracts they live in, as well as their proximity to the school. If/when the housing market picks up again I could see the Tier system driving gentrification in some areas.
Oak Park is really great, but be sure to check out the estimated property taxes on any houses there. My wife and I were floored by how high the taxes were on some of the properties we looked at there.
Again, the "force field" is just non-exististent -- if you have an office in the Loop travel times on express trains are faster to the Loop from towns well served by Metra than other options.
I can totallty understand the desiress of some partticularly youthful folks to live in close proximity to hip nightspots but you've ruled that out as not a factor.
The various train-centric suburbs that ring the city all should be on one's radar, especially if one is interested in a field with a glut of qualified workers and a dearth of jobs. My friends who've survived the brutal architect glut have had to be pretty flexible. The ability to live close to O'Hare or the expressways so that you could make the required trips to client sites would be a huge plus compared to looking only to lakefront parts of Chicago...
I can only hope that your talent is like that of Le Corbusier who called architecture the "art of wasting space"...
Okay, you seem to be the one here trying to talk up how good the suburbs are and I am interesting in looking at any area that I haven't looked at before, so I will ask you. I would want to be within an hour commute into the Loop by train (and by hour, that includes walking time which would be in the 15 minute range to get to the train.) I would want to be in areas that have walkable commercial communities that are not suburban strip mall and shopping centers (we would have a car so we would be able to commute to those areas whenever they are needed, I wouldn't want to live near them.) I also prefer older homes to newer homes, I have lived in newer homes growing up and they never really did anything for me, the suburban neighborhoods were often boring and lifeless, I prefer to live in neighborhoods that seem to have more activity in the sense of people walking around and having shops and cafes in walking distance.
I am definitely curious if there are neighborhoods and towns that fit that description and is close to Metra.
I like Corbu when it comes to his architecture on an individual level, but I think he was sorely short sighted when it came to urban planning. I prefer the works of architects like Peter Zumthor, Renzo Piano, and Herzog de Meuron.
I've seen 2 and 3 bedroom condos in the Bell district with asking prices of $425,00to $550,000, and you can find some small SFHs that need some work at around that price as well. You can find houses for much less on the Western edge of Bucktown and in Logan Square - about $275,000 to start for a small fixer upper, and $350,000 or so for something that has been updated in the recent past. That could put you in the Goethe district, which is good, and you can also look at magnets, selective enrollment, and private schools.
During my daughter's 2 years of pre-K we saw about 40 of her classmates apply to different CPS schools, and while not all got into their first choice there was only one family that didn't get into a CPS school that they were happy with. We applied to 20 schools (the max) and got in at our first choice, as well as 2 other schools we would have been happy with and a few others we had heard were good, but would have had to visit before knowing if they were good for certain. We really benefited from the new "tier" system which replaced the old race based admissions policies. It basically gives preference to kids based on the socio-economic stats of the census tracts they live in, as well as their proximity to the school. If/when the housing market picks up again I could see the Tier system driving gentrification in some areas.
Oak Park is really great, but be sure to check out the estimated property taxes on any houses there. My wife and I were floored by how high the taxes were on some of the properties we looked at there.
Thank you for the advice, also good to hear more from people with children that have done what I want to do. Logan Square is an area that I want to make a visit to next time I am in Chicago cause I have yet to actually go out to that neighborhood, only been to the Wicker Park and Bucktown areas so far.
Also thanks for pointing out the taxes in Oak Park, I haven't looked at that yet, which I am not surprised that town would have high taxes for how small it is.
The Goethe District, not sure I am familiar with that area, I will have to check that area out too. (oh wait, do you mean the school Goethe?)
There are lots of options in a whole range of places if your limit is an hour...
The options range from classic Italianate / Neo-Classical farm houses and Victorians from towns as far out as Barrington, Geneva, Libertyville and Naperville to Bungalows in Berwynn and a range of historic and just charming pre-WWII homes in areas like Flossmoor, Elmhurst and Downers Grove.
In pretty much any of those areas one could have a much nicer overall mix of walkable locally owned businesses clustered near the core train centric business district with the only malls way out at the fringes / in adjacent towns.
The options range from classic Italianate / Neo-Classical farm houses and Victorians from towns as far out as Barrington, Geneva, Libertyville and Naperville to Bungalows in Berwynn and a range of historic and just charming pre-WWII homes in areas like Flossmoor, Elmhurst and Downers Grove.
In pretty much any of those areas one could have a much nicer overall mix of walkable locally owned businesses clustered near the core train centric business district with the only malls way out at the fringes / in adjacent towns.
Berwynn might be a town I will look more into, the others all were on the outskirts of the city which all look nice but way too small town for my tastes, it seems to be within the travel distance timeframe I am looking at. Though the two listings you posted Chet, I have found those same prices for homes within Chicago so that doesn't seem like that much of a savings to me.
We obviously have no need for a huge place, something that is 2 bedrooms with some extra space or even a 3bedroom would definitely be more than what we need to have a room for my fiancee and I, a kid, and an extra room if anyone came to visit.
...it ain't PRICE, it is WHAT YOU GET FOR THE MONEY. Honestly if you can show me a home as solid as those in areas as safe as those areas and with schools as uniformly high performing than go right ahead.
There are not nearly as many home with such nice details at such a fair price anywhere inside Chicago or other "less small townish" areas.
The fact is that "small towns" have walkable cores, good schools, locally owned businesses, a lack of stripmalls and are generally very good choices for families. When those towns are also connected to employment centers via rail that is pretty hard to beat combination.
When folks that bought into Lincoln Park or Lakeview or Lincoln Square describe what they love about their now $1M+ homes they often say "its just like a small town"...
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Still not seeing the logic...
