Studying nursing at Loyola Maywood campus...Where to live?

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Nursing students in Chicago / the region are probably wise to focus on their studies. The job market for health care workers is still stronger than for many sectors but students with poor grades will regret spending too much time pursuing social concerns and not enough time building a resume that will allow them to live anywhere they want after they are hired full time...

Competition for top ranked employers remains fierce. Should one decide to stack Nurse Practioner training on for the increased responsibility / compensation that offers it is important to have both a solid academic record and employment that will make you a good candidate for further specialization.

While academics are important, the OP is entering school, not a cloister. Being miserable and lonely is not known to be good for your academic life either. Oak Park and (especially) Forest Park can be 10-15 minutes away from Loyola. How much closer do you need to be? Even the West Loop is 30-40 minutes away, which may be acceptable. I'm assuming the OP is fully capable of deciding how long a commute is acceptable for her.

As stated before, many/most young doc/nurses/etc who work/study at Loyola live in Oak Park/Forest Park and many also live in Chicago. Presumably, there is collective wisdom to be gained in their choice of location. In fact the OP would probably be better off asking her peers who are already enrolled in the program where they live, rather than ask for advice from random strangers online (and I'm sure she is doing this as well).

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

While academics are important, the OP is entering school, not a cloister. Being miserable and lonely is not known to be good for your academic life either. Oak Park and (especially) Forest Park can be 10-15 minutes away from Loyola. How much closer do you need to be? Even the West Loop is 30-40 minutes away, which may be acceptable. I'm assuming the OP is fully capable of deciding how long a commute is acceptable for her.

As stated before, many/most young doc/nurses/etc who work/study at Loyola live in Oak Park/Forest Park and many also live in Chicago. Presumably, there is collective wisdom to be gained in their choice of location. In fact the OP would probably be better off asking her peers who are already enrolled in the program where they live, rather than ask for advice from random strangers online.

Chet complained about paternalism on a different thread a few minutes ago. Then posts this drivel.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Chet complained about paternalism on a different thread a few minutes ago. Then posts this drivel.

Chet knows a lot, and usually contributes something of value to discussions. That being said, he's got biases and blindspots like all of us, and in this particular case, I think his suggestions are not particularly helpful. (FWIW, I am a medical professional with a somewhat recent memory of what life is like as a lowly student.)

[chet everett]

The commute from Loyola to Oak Park is about the same distance to spots like Brookfield though the safety factor is probably the kicker. If one maps out the route via any means to Chicago itself things look worse...

Oak Park is going to be considerably more costly than towns like Forest Park, Brookfield or North Riverside.

The OP asked about places that are an EASY DRIVE and any of the towns mentioned fit that requirement. The plus of Brookfield is that even its most affordable apartments are safe and would be convenient for Metra ride into Chicago.

The OP did not ask about relative entertainment index but if one had to rank options for a traditional college aged person no suburb really compares all that well to Chicago. Arguable the limited options for the under 21 crowd in the suburbs would make any suburb a poor choice. You are pretty much limited to a spot like Fitzgeralds in Berwyn that does have a pretty good schedule of live music...