Reverse commute to downers grove. Moving to chi in 3 weeks. (Chicago: condo, how much)

[Nyctochicago]

Hi all,

I've got a question, I'm moving to chicago shortly but my job will be located in downers grove.

Ill be moving with 2 friends (they already live in chi) and one of them is working in the same office as me and has a car.

We're trying to decide on an area to live. We've narrowed it down to wicker park or the west loop.

I think ill like WP bc of all of the bars/restaurants plus im from brooklyn.

However the west loop offers convenience as i'd be able to walk to the metra to train it to work (union station).

My questions are - how bad is the drive from wick park to downers ? Also - there is a blue line in wick park, does that connect to the union station metra ? If so is the train a realistic option?

Thanks !!!

[chet everett]

I don't understand the question about the El, train and then car, it is very likely that you will find it far more straight forward to simply DRIVE to an office in Downers Grove.

In the unlikely case that you would be able to take a Metra train from Union Station to Downers Grove the West Loop would make that possibility easier on the Chicago end, but you would very likely find bus service on the Downers Grove severely lacking to any of the offices in Downers Grove; the excellent normal "inbound" bus service links residential areas to the BNSF but offices are generally closer to the tollroads on the extreme north end of town.

Similarly while is technically a blue line stop walking distance from Union Station it is on the Forest Branch and it not at all convenient for commuters heading downtown from Wicker Park...

Honestly if you have roommate to share the ride with this about as close to ideal a situation as you could hope for.


The drive out will be about 35-40 minutes, back in the traffic is heavier so it will be closer to 55-70 minutes (it will be worse during basketball / hockey season...), but this is almost certainly better than dealing with multiple buses / trains.

[Nyctochicago]

Well my office offers shuttle from train in downers to their location if that changes anything.

Just kinda want to understand all my options, and on the occasion that we don't drive or my roommate is away etc. ill have the train as well

[chet everett]

Offering a shuttle is not enough. Seriously, you still got to get to Union Station, deal with fact the reverse commute trains stop do not generally have expresses, often have very few options and lock you into a schedule that may not fit with the hours you need to work. On top of that if most / all coworkers head out for lunch / after work beer and you are tied to building / shuttle it is pretty crummy situation.

Check the schedule -- Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Schedule

There are decent options at 7:01, 7:20, 7:45 but after that (or if you don't work from 8AM...) things are not ideal. Look at google, they are getting better data from Waze and I suspect you will not save time with buses or El connections.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The drive out will be about 35-40 minutes, back in the traffic is heavier so it will be closer to 55-70 minutes (it will be worse during basketball / hockey season...), but this is almost certainly better than dealing with multiple buses / trains.

My wife did the reverse commute from the West Loop to just past Downers for a few years, and I know several people that do it now. 45 mins is the absolute best you could hope for outbound in the morning, and, realistically, an hour is probably average in both directions. I do the non-reverse commute and I think travel times are frequently better for me then the reverse folks.

I think there has been a confluence of factors over the past few years that have led to this, seems like many small and medium sized companies are relocating to suburbs to save on costs, while many young out-of-college people are choosing to live in the city.

Nonetheless, I wouldn't chose to ride the train based on the driving times. Even at an hour, it's probably still faster door-to-door in a car. Plus I agree with Chet that the flexibility a car gives is a great advantage.

I loved living in the West Loop, and we chose the neighborhood for its convenience too.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Nyctochicago

Well my office offers shuttle from train in downers to their location if that changes anything.

Just kinda want to understand all my options, and on the occasion that we don't drive or my roommate is away etc. ill have the train as well

How often do you think you'd be driving versus taking the metra? I'd rather be on a train and be able to do things rather than be stuck in traffic, but that's just me (and many others). You can easily avoid the morning rush but the afternoon/evening rush is harder to avoid. If it were me, I'd probably live around Greektown or so - around Madison St or Adams and not too far west of the Interstate. Then you could take one of a few buses across to Union Station for like 10 minutes, or you could drive because you're right near I-290. The area isn't amazingly exciting, but it has some stuff there for sure and the entire area is kind of up and coming in a way, especially north of Madison St. Then you'd also be near the Blue Line which runs 24/7 and can take you to places like Wicker Park, Logan Square, etc or it could take you to a few stops nearby to transfer to other lines to go to other parts of town.

Also, I'm pretty sure I-290 is currently undergoing lane reconfiguration which is making it into a parking lot at times, though I'm not sure if they're done yet and/or how much longer they're doing that.

I mean this seriously - if I had an employer in the suburbs who offered free shuttle service between the Metra stop and the office, I'd be doing that as long as I wasn't working funky hours. I would only drive if I had to - rather sit on a train being able to work, sleep, read, watch movies, etc than sit in traffic being able to do nothing and getting stressed out. A driving commute is going to be worse when the weather is bad out - i.e. it's snowing. If you are against taking the train more than driving then an option like a suburb that is on a train line, like others have said, might be better.

[chirack]

I would skip living in wicker park unless I lived very close to the blue line to get to Union Station. The Blue line has an stop on division street. Honestly I would choose an near west burb like Berwyn. Close enough that you can head into the city on the weekends but easier than having to battle your way out the city traffic wise to work as well has still having the option for Metra.

[chet everett]

Nope, 290 west of the Kennedy / Dan Ryan junction is fine.

The 20 minutes or so that the faster BNSF take getting out to Downer Grove are frankly almost too brief to get into a good book or fire up a laptop for real work. The hassle factor of getting not just to Union Station but then from their to even Greek Town (which is walkable in nice weather) is what kills this sort of commute. Honestly, with the sun getting close to the longest day of the year it is easy to forget that when you are slogging it out of bus at 6AM in the dark only to trudge back out in the dark twelve hours later city living loses lots of charm. At least if you have a "co-driver" and head right into an action packed area like Wicker Park instead of more "industrial chic" Greek Town the hours don't drag so badly.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The 20 minutes or so that the faster BNSF take getting out to Downer Grove are frankly almost too brief to get into a good book or fire up a laptop for real work. The hassle factor of getting not just to Union Station but then from their to even Greek Town (which is walkable in nice weather) is what kills this sort of commute. Honestly, with the sun getting close to the longest day of the year it is easy to forget that when you are slogging it out of bus at 6AM in the dark only to trudge back out in the dark twelve hours later city living loses lots of charm. At least if you have a "co-driver" and head right into an action packed area like Wicker Park instead of more "industrial chic" Greek Town the hours don't drag so badly.

Everyone is different and those 20 minutes or so are still productively better spent not sitting behind the wheel. That commute is also going to be longer than what you are estimating in traffic. You can still do things in those 20 minutes whether you believe it or not. If they will absolutely be driving everyday then Wicker Park would be better for a lifestyle, probably, but the area around Greek Town is not bad, and more and more things are being built around there (i.e. The 33 story, 350 unit Arkadia Tower being built at Adams & Halsted that's pretty far along, a few warehouses being torn down just west of there on Monroe for a 3 new small condo buildings totaling about 30 units, CA3 with 40 units at Adams & Aberdeen, etc). Walking to a bus stop depends on where they live. They could easily live right outside of one or very near to one and the only walking they'd be doing is 1 street near Union Station.


Things are changing a bit, but yes it's not Wicker Park..

[holl1ngsworth]

I'm with Chet. Except that I wouldn't call the reverse 290 fine anywhere along the way; can be gridlock all the way out to Wolf...the last third of the drive, on 88, is usually speedy.