City vs suburbs living (Chicago, Downers Grove: home, to buy, movies)

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by nj21

I agree with you. Everyone I work with has been telling me that most young professionals start living in the city and work their way out as they get older - but I like suburban/country living. I keep to myself & I don't like to noise and crowds as well.

I remember when I was working in Manhattan - all of my friends were trying to find jobs in NJ. It was very hard. I was trying as well - but most of the jobs were in NYC. A lot of my friends found jobs in NJ and were much happier than when they were working in Manhattan.

Luckily, Chicago is nowhere near as packed as NYC (nowhere in the US is when you really think of it). There are areas of Chicago you'd probably like a lot. My ex lived in Ravenswood/Lincoln Square and I remember hearing kids playing outside on the weekend mornings and birds chirping (actually I hear that downtown too). It was real green and quiet, and then you walk 5 minutes and you have a bunch of stuff. There are some great bars, restaurants, etc up there and people aren't the annoying "DRINK TIL YOU PUKE YOUR GUTS OUT!!!!" types there. It's a mix of families and people who are about 26-27+ years old. In fact, the mayor of Chicago (Rahm Emmanuel) lives up there, and the former governor (Blago) used to live in the neighborhood next to Lincoln Square.

It was a great balance. It's only 30 minutes from the Loop, and like a 7-10 minute train ride to areas like Lakeview or Lincoln Park. Maybe 20 or so minutes to Gold Coast, River North, etc. It's also not terribly far from Little Vietnam (Argyle) and Little India (Devon). An area close to it, Andersonville, is very cool too. Similar.

[Bardot]

I grew up in suburban and rural areas my whole life, but have lived in Chicago for the past 8 years. I have to say, the biggest difference (for better or for worse) is that you get to live in your own "bubble" in the suburbs/rural areas, whereas you simply cannot do that in the city.

When I first moved to Chicago I was constantly amazed by the sheer amount of people I walked past every single day. In mere minutes you're exposed to an innumerable amount of people (race, religion, politics, subcultures, old and young, the poorest of the poor, the richest of the rich). Having never lived in a city before, this absolutely blew my mind and it permanently changed my outlook on life and politics. Having said that, I can honestly tell you that it is both what I love the most about the city and what I hate the most about the city. It's so important to be exposed to people from various walks of life, but it also gets stressful when you're dealing with loud drunks on the street or obnoxious El-riders for the millionth time. Living in the city (particularly without a car and being dependent on public transport), there is a lot that is out of my control...I can't just get in a car, drown out the city with the radio, and drive the hell out of here.

On the flip side, I often think about how those from suburban or rural areas are frequently out of touch with society for these very reasons.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I have a grocery store almost across the street from me, and a Whole Foods just a few blocks awayThen I have like 3 walgreens/CVS within a 1.5 block radius too. There are also services where they will deliver groceries to you (online services). In fact, some stores (like the one across the street from me) have delivery services too where you go in and buy your stuff and then they deliver it to you shortly after.

Also it can go back to how most people in many areas of the world live. If you cook, then you buy fresh for dinner that day. I usually do that myself - I buy everything fresh for dinner that very day. For things like milk, cereal, some fruit to snack on, etc then I go whenever and keep it in my pantry/fridge of course but I don't do some major shopping trip every 2 weeks. I get what's needed of me for a week once maybe, but buy the meal stuff fresh (fresh produce, meat/poultry, and fish is a lot better than stuff that's been sitting in your fridge for a week). It's not that hard to carry a few bags across the street or even a few blocks.

Otherwise, there are buses, cabs, etc. Unless you plan on buying $200 worth of stuff at a normally priced place, you won't have tons of stuff.

Or, you could get one of those two-wheeled grocery carts like my mother and grandmother used to use, and bring your groceries home that way, if you buy more than you can comfortably carry. I see people around my neighborhood using them all the time, even young people, which is refreshing because back when I was a boy growing up in Cleveland, those carts were mostly associated with little old ethnic women wearing babushkas.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Bardot

I grew up in suburban and rural areas my whole life, but have lived in Chicago for the past 8 years. I have to say, the biggest difference (for better or for worse) is that you get to live in your own "bubble" in the suburbs/rural areas, whereas you simply cannot do that in the city.

When I first moved to Chicago I was constantly amazed by the sheer amount of people I walked past every single day. In mere minutes you're exposed to an innumerable amount of people (race, religion, politics, subcultures, old and young, the poorest of the poor, the richest of the rich). Having never lived in a city before, this absolutely blew my mind and it permanently changed my outlook on life and politics. Having said that, I can honestly tell you that it is both what I love the most about the city and what I hate the most about the city. It's so important to be exposed to people from various walks of life, but it also gets stressful when you're dealing with loud drunks on the street or obnoxious El-riders for the millionth time. Living in the city (particularly without a car and being dependent on public transport), there is a lot that is out of my control...I can't just get in a car, drown out the city with the radio, and drive the hell out of here.

On the flip side, I often think about how those from suburban or rural areas are frequently out of touch with society for these very reasons.

Very insightful post... and I completely agree with you about both loving and hating that "diversity" aspect of city living at the same time. That's often how I feel as well.

[Stechkin]

how much small newer homes cost in decent suburbs?

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by Stechkin

how much small newer homes cost in decent suburbs?

I think you should post this question in the suburbs forum. It varies greatly depending on a large number of factors such as: proximity to metra/the town's downtown core, schools, single family or detached, etc. You can get a detached SFH in a safe area for probably $150,000. However, if you want an easy commute and an updated place then you could be looking at $500,000 to be near a Metra station in some areas for the smallest house in the immediate area. If you'd consider a townhouse then that changes things as well.

So, really, you will need to be way more specific about your requirements before anyone can give you a meaningful answer to that question.

[Stechkin]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

I think you should post this question in the suburbs forum. It varies greatly depending on a large number of factors such as: proximity to metra/the town's downtown core, schools, single family or detached, etc. You can get a detached SFH in a safe area for probably $150,000. However, if you want an easy commute and an updated place then you could be looking at $500,000 to be near a Metra station in some areas for the smallest house in the immediate area. If you'd consider a townhouse then that changes things as well.

So, really, you will need to be way more specific about your requirements before anyone can give you a meaningful answer to that question.

single family detached, newer as in 2000+ with metra nearby, below 1800 sq ft
downtown doesnt matter, schools dont matter

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by Stechkin

single family detached, newer as in 2000+ with metra nearby, below 1800 sq ft
downtown doesnt matter, schools dont matter

What do you consider nearby? Half a mile? Quarter mile? Five miles?

[Stechkin]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

What do you consider nearby? Half a mile? Quarter mile? Five miles?

up to 2 miles

[nikitakolata]

Just using Westmont as an example, the least expensive house that was built after 2000 and that is within a half mile of the Metra station is listed for $459,000. Of course, it's new construction. If you drop the post 2000 requirement there are houses for as little as $118,000. I picked Wesmont because its downtown is not particularly impressive and neither are the schools. It is on the BNSF rail line which has some of the fastest service to downtown.