Surgery in Chicago. Where should I stay? (Evanston, Skokie: extended stay, how much)

[MikefromEu]

Hello guys,

I am going to have a surgery in Chicago Near North Side area. I will have to stay in Chicago at least for two weeks so I can recover well. And due to that I was thinking I could pick some cheaper hotel in a suburb. Because they are much more cheaper then hotels in downtown. The questions is do you think it is a good idea? I will mostly lay in the bed after surgery so I dont need to have any cultural activies around. Just some restaurants woulld be good. Also I will need to see my doctor 5x times in those two weeks. So I will just take a cab (still it seems like it is going to be much cheaper than staying in downtown and taking a walk). I found good prices for stays in hotels like Extended Stay etc. But I am not sure if is it worth it and mostly how is commute?

There is one Extended Stay hotel in Bedford Park and another in Hillside. It says it should be around 10-15 miles to Chicago downtown area. Also is it safe there?

Thank you guys for any help

[Drover]

Bedford Park and Hillside are both safe, and definitely both largely devoid of the cultural activities you don't need. But restaurant options within walking distance of either Extended Stay are very limited as well.

What's more, if you think you're going to save money by staying in the suburbs and taking a cab into town, you may need to rethink your plan. At a minimum your cab fare is probably going to be about $35 from Bedford Park and roughly $50 from Hillside. And that's one-way. So you're looking at a minimum of $350 in cab fares, probably more. So now how much do you reckon you'll save versus staying within walking distance of your doctor's office?

You could conceivably take public transportation from the Bedford Park location (total cost $2.50 each way); just be sure to budget at least an hour each way for travel time. (Depending on time of day, it may take you that long by cab anyway especially after you factor in wait time for the cab.)

[MikefromEu]

Originally Posted by Drover

Bedford Park and Hillside are both safe, and definitely both largely devoid of the cultural activities you don't need. But restaurant options within walking distance of either Extended Stay are very limited as well.

What's more, if you think you're going to save money by staying in the suburbs and taking a cab into town, you may need to rethink your plan. At a minimum your cab fare is probably going to be about $35 from Bedford Park and roughly $50 from Hillside. And that's one-way. So you're looking at a minimum of $350 in cab fares, probably more. So now how much do you reckon you'll save versus staying within walking distance of your doctor's office?

You could conceivably take public transportation from the Bedford Park location (total cost $2.50 each way); just be sure to budget at least an hour each way for travel time. (Depending on time of day, it may take you that long by cab anyway especially after you factor in wait time for the cab.)

Thank you! Well how about Skokie and Evanston? Is it closer to Near North Side in terms of commute?

And yes I know that cab ride would be around 40-50 dollars one way but all hotels in downtown are around $3000 dollars for 2 week stay. So even though I have to pay for cab I still save lot of money if I choose to stay in suburbs.

[Drover]

3 grand for a 2 week stay? Jeebus, that's over 200 bucks a night. I can see paying that for a weekend or without pricing around for discounts. Are you coming during a major festival event or something? Have you done any Priceline/Expedia/Kayak/etc. shopping?

Before we proceed, let's dispense with the Hillside option. You'll have nowhere to eat (OK, maybe you'll have some delivery options) and you'll have no choice but to pay stupid amounts for cab fares because there are no realistic public-transportation alternatives.

Evanston or Skokie probably won't be much of a commute improvement time- or distance-wise versus Bedford Park, and it may or may not be a slight improvement convenience-wise depending on how close to a train station. Do you have specific hotels in mind in Evanston/Skokie?

Staying in Evanston or Skokie will almost certainly improve your available dining options as well.

[ChicagoMeO]

I recommend -

DO NOT travel after surgery.

You will be healing and you dont know how you will feel plus I dont think it is a good idea to be bumping around on city streets while in traffic and depending on whatever your getting done, it might be very uncomfortable or you might split your stitches and/or overall feel crappy.

But if you feel you CAN do it, there are some hotels not too far, not sure about the price, but you can look them up by doing a Google search on - hotels, 60614 and hotels, 60657, or even hotels, 60610, those are the zip codes closest to downtown that might be reasonable price for you.

[MikefromEu]

Thank you very much guys. Both of you. I think I will be allright in terms of traveling after surgery . Right now I also found a really good deal in Des Plaines. Is it an improvement in terms of commute compare to Hillside and Skokie?

And yes it is really $3000 for 2 weeks in downtown:/. I looked at hotels.com, booking, expedia etc.

[chirack]

There are hotels in Chicago outside of downtown, I would look at thoose they could be cheaper.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by MikefromEu

Thank you very much guys. Both of you. I think I will be allright in terms of traveling after surgery . Right now I also found a really good deal in Des Plaines. Is it an improvement in terms of commute compare to Hillside and Skokie?

And yes it is really $3000 for 2 weeks in downtown:/. I looked at hotels.com, booking, expedia etc.

Des Plaines isn't much of an improvement either.

Seriously, when is this two-week stay happening? I have a hard time believing you need to stay that far away from downtown to make it worth your while even factoring in $500 worth of cab fares unless it's 4th of July weekend or the Yankees are in town or something.

[MikefromEu]

Originally Posted by Drover

Des Plaines isn't much of an improvement either.

Seriously, when is this two-week stay happening? I have a hard time believing you need to stay that far away from downtown to make it worth your while even factoring in $500 worth of cab fares unless it's 4th of July weekend or the Yankees are in town or something.

July 8th to July 22nd

[baileyvpotter]

Originally Posted by MikefromEu

Hello guys,

I am going to have a surgery in Chicago Near North Side area. I will have to stay in Chicago at least for two weeks so I can recover well. And due to that I was thinking I could pick some cheaper hotel in a suburb. Because they are much more cheaper then hotels in downtown. The questions is do you think it is a good idea? I will mostly lay in the bed after surgery so I dont need to have any cultural activies around. Just some restaurants woulld be good. Also I will need to see my doctor 5x times in those two weeks. So I will just take a cab (still it seems like it is going to be much cheaper than staying in downtown and taking a walk). I found good prices for stays in hotels like Extended Stay etc. But I am not sure if is it worth it and mostly how is commute?

There is one Extended Stay hotel in Bedford Park and another in Hillside. It says it should be around 10-15 miles to Chicago downtown area. Also is it safe there?

Thank you guys for any help

Curious which hospital. If by chance it's Northwestern they have a building where they have
rooms you can stay at for a very low rate. NW also has some partnerships with area hotels.