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Old 07-21-2013, 08:38 AM
 
Location: Ohio
2 posts, read 1,942 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi, My husband and I are going to be making a quick move to Chicago next month from Dayton Oh. I am so excited! My husband recently took a job in Monee, Il. I know that is VERY south of the Chicago area but we are hoping to move to a neighborhood/suburb on the south side of Chicago. I've worked in Higher education for the last 6 years or so and plan on continuing that in Chicago as soon as I find a job.

We are in both white young professionals in our early 30's and are past the late night partying stage but love the outdoors, parks, beer scene, non-chain restaurants, cultural events, etc aka we want to take in what the city has to offer. Personally I was hoping to live in a safe neighborhood where we could still get the feeling of living close to the city and can jump on public transportation (instead of driving) to easily get around. The less we drive the better. From what research I have done online, it sounds like you have to be really careful where you live on the south side which is why I'm hoping this post will help. I obviously know not to believe everything I read but it's overwhelming when I keep reading all the suggestions to live north of Chicago rather than South which will not be an option for us.

My husband will obviously be driving to work and is really hoping not to have to drive more than 30/40 minutes to work. So here are some questions we have:

1// From doing my own research, it's hard to tell what is safe and not safe. A couple areas that were suggested to us were Beverly, Oak lawn, Orland Park but we are completely open. Ideally, we would love to rent a condo/apartment for 6 months under $900 and then eventually move and settle depending on where I land a job. Do you have any suggestions of neighborhoods/suburbs that would be a fit for our "wish list"? My husband is leaning towards suburbs because that is what we are used to but I am leaning towards neighborhoods because it seems like we'd have easier access to the city and less time in a car and I feel like we are only young once and can move to a suburb once we are a little older or have children.

2// I've been looking on craigslist but it's completely overwhelming since I really don't know the city. Do you have any suggestions on other websites or even Realtor agencies that would help? I have no idea if Realtor's will help with renting.

3// any other sound advice for our move would be greatly appreciated.

Thank so much in advance!
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Old 07-21-2013, 09:37 AM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,331 posts, read 23,838,747 times
Reputation: 7419
Quote:
Originally Posted by blueeyes9 View Post
1// From doing my own research, it's hard to tell what is safe and not safe. A couple areas that were suggested to us were Beverly, Oak lawn, Orland Park but we are completely open. Ideally, we would love to rent a condo/apartment for 6 months under $900 and then eventually move and settle depending on where I land a job. Do you have any suggestions of neighborhoods/suburbs that would be a fit for our "wish list"? My husband is leaning towards suburbs because that is what we are used to but I am leaning towards neighborhoods because it seems like we'd have easier access to the city and less time in a car and I feel like we are only young once and can move to a suburb once we are a little older or have children.
Yes, I'd say those are all pretty safe. Beverly is the only one of the three that's actually in the city. Other parts of the actual city down that way you might be interested in would be maybe Mount Greenwood, Hegewisch, Ashburn...Calumet Heights. There are a number of safe neighborhoods on the SW side near Midway airport too if your husband doesn't mind a little longer commute. Those would include Clearing, West Elsdon, Garfield Ridge, Archer Heights..Some of the burbs I like in those areas include Bridgeview, Burbank, etc but I'm less familiar with the burbs than city. There is a suburbs forum on here and I'd ask them.

Quote:
2// I've been looking on craigslist but it's completely overwhelming since I really don't know the city. Do you have any suggestions on other websites or even Realtor agencies that would help? I have no idea if Realtor's will help with renting.
Domu Chicago | Chicagoland Apartments, Apartments for Rent & Homes for Rent - Rent.com® Apartment Finder, Apartments for Rent | An Apartment Finder & Guide for Rentals - ForRent.com, www.padmapper.com

Quote:
3// any other sound advice for our move would be greatly appreciated.
The communities on the far south side are less walkable on average than something closer to the city. There are walkable areas of a lot of these places, but definitely more suburban and stuff. If you want something more walkable but still quiet, and your husband doesn't mind a 40 minute commute each way, then there's always areas like Hyde Park (where the U of Chicago is) or Kenwood (where Obama lives) to the immediate north.
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Old 07-21-2013, 11:36 AM
 
359 posts, read 547,630 times
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Hi Blueeyes,

I, too, am originally from Dayton, I moved here to Chicago back in the late 90's, so...welcome.

One thing about what you are hoping to experience...most of the things you referred to (cultural events, bar scene, non-chain restaurants, walkability etc) are mostly located on the north side of the city. Maybe down the road, that will change (10+ years away?). I know that the city is looking long-term to bring that type of scene to the South and West sides, but I think its going to be a long time. Meanwhile, for the time being, most of this scene is going to be found mostly on the north side, as well as ion the downtown areas (Loop/South Loop.West Loop/River West/River North/Streeterville/Lakeshore East). The city has many wonderful neighborhoods. I see you are wanting to live in Beverly, which is a great neighborhood, but you will have to travel via the EL train to get to the north side areas where this scene exists. Just keep in mind, a one way trip by EL on the Orange Line from Beverly to the north side is at least a 45-minute trip...however, the rents in Beverly are probably going to be around what you are looking to spend, whereas the rents up on the north side are really way too high.

One other thing - Chicago is very different than Dayton. The people here interact differently with each other than Daytonians do. In most ways, I found Chicagoans to be actually friendlier than people from Dayton, but you have to come across to people as someone who is both humble yet street smart, and at the same time, relatively outgoing and socially aware.
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Old 07-21-2013, 11:43 AM
 
Location: Tampa
285 posts, read 384,738 times
Reputation: 305
Beverly is a fantastic neighborhood. My girlfriend is from there, so I have spent a lot of time with her family there over the past few years. Lots of families and pretty close knit community, especially among the families that have been there a while. Not sure what the rental situation is like; it's mostly houses, though if you go south of 95th street I think there's some 2/3 flat options. However, there really isn't a whole lot to do there, and you will find yourself driving everywhere. Not many great dining choices, though there are a few gems nearby. It is a very safe neighborhood with good police presence. The Rock Island Metra line will get you downtown in less than 30 minutes. It's also close to 57 for your husband.

Mt. Greenwood is more working class. Lots of firefighters and cops live there. I've been to a couple bars down there, but other than that I'm not too familiar with it.

The suburbs that run along 95th Street from Beverly to the West are pretty similar. Defiantly lots of renting options and they all seem basically the same.
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Old 07-22-2013, 08:17 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 85,157,040 times
Reputation: 18726
Default Bizarre recomendations..

Quote:
Originally Posted by marothisu View Post
... city down that way you might be interested in would be maybe Mount Greenwood, Hegewisch, Ashburn...Calumet Heights. There are a number of safe neighborhoods on the SW side near Midway airport too if your husband doesn't mind a little longer commute. Those would include Clearing, West Elsdon, Garfield Ridge, Archer Heights..Some of the burbs I like in those areas include Bridgeview, Burbank, ...areas like Hyde Park (where the U of Chicago is) or Kenwood (where Obama lives) to the immediate north.
Many of these areas would be exceedingly uncommon choices for any 20-30 white collar professional of the majority race working in Monee.

I suspect that if the OP were to look at the greater than 20 mile commute and even the most optimistic travel time estimates they would quickly realize there is little reason to consider any of these areas. Any ability to benefit from from more dense developments (and some of those areas inside Chicago are exceedingly sparsely populated in comparison to traditional desirable north / near-to-the lake neighborhoods) would be greatly hindered by crushingly long commute time to / from work.

Monee is not really part of what is generally considerd "suburban Chicago" and is more accurately classified as "rural fringe". Folks that work in those areas and still want some acces to Chicsgo region would probably need to consider spots in the further west or SW suburbs...

Last edited by chet everett; 07-22-2013 at 08:50 AM..
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Old 07-22-2013, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,331 posts, read 23,838,747 times
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^ I think you missed the point where they said they basically don't care about partying, the bar scene, etc anymore.
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Old 07-22-2013, 08:49 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 85,157,040 times
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Default Hmmm...

Quote:
Originally Posted by marothisu View Post
^ I think you missed the point where they said they basically don't care about partying, the bar scene, etc anymore.
Perhaps you missed the part where their desire is to spend LESS time in a car...

Making "suggestions" for places that have zero transit acces and at best a circuituos triangular / dogleg shapped commute do little to help the OP explore any of the benefits of living in the broad region. Merely listing off neighbors that have lower crime rates belies any actual experience with the southside neighborhoods.

I still have relatives that live in the south suburbs and SW side neighborhoods. The white collar folks mostly work in the Loop and the SW side neighborhoods are mostly cops, firefighters and other City of Chicago stuck with outdated residency rules.

If one works in Monee and still wants access to Chicago transit options for weekend cultural fun the sne choice is probably somewhere along I-57 where a short drive to work won't leave you feeling stressed and rail lines will encourage you to head into Chicago on your days off...

Last edited by chet everett; 07-22-2013 at 08:57 AM..
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Old 07-22-2013, 09:34 AM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,331 posts, read 23,838,747 times
Reputation: 7419
Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
Perhaps you missed the part where their desire is to spend LESS time in a car...
Actually, you misinterpreted it. They meant a walkable neighborhood i.e. less time in a car, not necessarily 100% less commute time. Here you go:

Quote:
Personally I was hoping to live in a safe neighborhood where we could still get the feeling of living close to the city and can jump on public transportation (instead of driving) to easily get around. The less we drive the better.
Living near Monee is not going to accomplish that. Furthermore, they said 30-40 minute commute

Quote:
My husband will obviously be driving to work and is really hoping not to have to drive more than 30/40 minutes to work. So here are some questions we have:
Considering the traffic on that side of the interstate is always pretty clear, Bridgeport to there is about a 40 minute commute each way. The other ones are around the same, although something like Bridgeport or Hyde Park might be better because they have better access to the interstate down to Monee.
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Old 07-22-2013, 10:01 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 85,157,040 times
Reputation: 18726
I suggest that the OP take the time to explore parts of Chicago that have been suggested. Compare the lifestyle that they might have to living in an area that is much closer to work and then exploring the wonderful offerings that Chicago has just a shirt commuter train ride away. A big part of way some people do choose towns like Flossmoor is to have a nice diverse town with all kinds of nice amenities for their family, short drive to employment and great acces to Chicago's wonderful amenities.
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Old 07-22-2013, 10:05 AM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,331 posts, read 23,838,747 times
Reputation: 7419
Yes, Homewood/Flossmoor is not bad especially since the Metra goes through there, but if you want to live in the city, walkable, etc then I'd honestly suggest Hyde Park or even Bridgeport because they are on the interstate (which almost always has clear traffic there on down to Monee) and kind of within the upper range of commute.

For suburbs though, I'd post in the Chicago suburbs forum..
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