How bad is the daily drive from the city to Joliet area (Chicago: car insurance, to buy)

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Ha, that crossed my mind, too. I'd want to make sure my car was a cheap beater if I was going to leave it at the Joliet Metra station (or any station, really) overnight every night, though.

Exactly. Definitely do that because not only for the sake of thinking of what happens if it gets stolen, but also just the fact you probably won't be using it too much. It might suck in the winter though.... I don't know if this is possible in Joliet, but I think some villages it is possible with a permit.

[marothisu]

Yeah, I don't have a car in Chicago...and I never have. I almost never need one because it's so walkable in many areas and the public transit has great coverage mostly (not perfect of course). The people I know who do have cars...most of them ended up selling them because they barely used them. Honestly. If you live in the more urban parts (which is many)..you don't need one. The only reason I would ever own a car here is if I all of a sudden got a job in the burbs where I needed a car to get to work (i.e. not accessible by metra easily) and I didn't want to move from my current place.

[Evan.]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

What kind of emergency would that be? Plenty of people live in the South Loop and other downtown Chicago areas without a car at all. At least you'd have one you could get to by train, or drive home after work if you wanted it for the weekend or something. You'd also have the bonus of not having to pay to park it in South Loop. (I have no idea if there is free legal overnight parking at the Joliet station, though.)

I'm not one of those "OMG without my car I cannot live, not even for a 2 block drive" people. But taking the train to the suburbs 95% of the time isn't practical because the office is not walkable from the station.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Evan.

I'm not one of those "OMG without my car I cannot live, not even for a 2 block drive" people. But taking the train to the suburbs 95% of the time isn't practical because the office is not walkable from the station.

I think you missed what I said. I was saying to leave a car at the Metra station in Joliet.

For example)

1) Take train to Joliet
2) Drive from Joliet to work place
3) End of work...drive from work place to metra station in joliet and leave car at the station.
4) Take train back to Chicago


But it's a suggestion that's 50% "out there" but maybe possible..maybe. Kind of a weird one. I think in some villages some people do it, but who knows. There could also be a nearby parking area where you could pay a small fee per month to use it too..just throwing out ideas if you really, really want this job.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by marothisu

The only reason I would ever own a car here is if I all of a sudden got a job in the burbs where I needed a car to get to work

That's precisely the only reason I own one. I would gladly get rid of it otherwise.

[Evan.]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I think you missed what I said. I was saying to leave a car at the Metra station in Joliet.

For example)

1) Take train to Joliet
2) Drive from Joliet to work place
3) End of work...drive from work place to metra station in joliet and leave car at the station.
4) Take train back to Chicago


But it's a suggestion that's 50% "out there" but maybe possible..maybe. Kind of a weird one. I think in some villages some people do it, but who knows. There could also be a nearby parking area where you could pay a small fee per month to use it too..just throwing out ideas if you really, really want this job.

I understood you. And it's something to consider.

I was just speaking that generally, taking the Metra from the city to work in the suburbs isn't as feasible as, say, taking Metra from the suburbs to work in the city.

[marothisu]

[quote=Evan.;29338667
I was just speaking that generally, taking the Metra from the city to work in the suburbs isn't as feasible as, say, taking Metra from the suburbs to work in the city.[/quote]

Yes, I agree with you.

[chet everett]

The service on either the Rock Island or Heritage Corridor line out of Joliet is not really worth the hassle -- the timetable has just three inbound trains on the Heritage Corridor leaving Joliet at 5:45. 6:25 & 7:05 with arrivals at Union Station 65 minutes later and corresonding inbound trains at 4:50, 5:25, and 6:12 PM -- nothing would work for reverse commuters...

Rock Island has schedule that might accomodate the rare reverse commuter but with only two options that might work -- leave LaSalle at either 6:20 or 7AM to arrive Joliet at 7:23 or 8:10AM

[UPChicago]

Originally Posted by Evan.

Hmmm. That's a good point. I only picked south loop because it's close to I-55. 40 minutes isn't ridiculous, but any amount of traffic could really balloon that number.

I might need to rethink this job. It's a good start to get a foot hold in the area, but maybe living in the city is just too impractical for this job location. I really don't know what to think. Maybe I'll get lucky and not get an offer, that way there is no decision to make. :/

Originally Posted by Evan.

What's it like when it snows?

It was pretty bad when it snowed, I remember not getting home until after 7pm. I recommend taking I-57 versus I-55, it's a little faster, no tolls(I-355) and much much much less traffic. You have to remember that area isn't a large employment center like the west burbs are so there is virtually no traffic each way. You might only hit a bit of traffic on I-80. In the morning the traffic is north bound on I-57 and afternoon it's south bound, which is the opposite direction of your commute.Traffic will not be an issue for you, I'm saying 40 minutes during rush hour.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by UPChicago

It was pretty bad when it snowed, I remember not getting home until after 7pm. I recommend taking I-57 versus I-55, it's a little faster, no tolls(I-355) and much much much less traffic. You have to remember that area isn't a large employment center like the west burbs are so there is virtually no traffic each way. You might only hit a bit of traffic on I-80. In the morning the traffic is north bound on I-57 and afternoon it's south bound, which is the opposite direction of your commute.Traffic will not be an issue for you, I'm saying 40 minutes during rush hour.

I agree that 57/80 is a better way to go, but it's still 54 miles from South Loop to Millsdale. That means to do it in 40 minutes he'd have to average 81 mph, including the portion on the streets of the South Loop itself, through the Stevenson / Dan Ryan interchange, and after he gets off the highway at Millsdale. That's not happening.

With no traffic he's looking at an hour at least, and during rush hour maybe an hour and 15 if there are no accidents or bad weather. It's doable, but will suck.