Medical Student moving to North Chicago (RFU)....where to live? (Waukegan: apartments, rent)

[letrie]

Edit: Sorry! I just realized I should have posted this in the Chicago suburbs forum. I am sorry for the inconvenience that may have caused!

Hello! So I am about to start medical school in north chicago next year and I am having trouble deciding where to live. I currently live in Lincolnwood where I also grew up, but I am debating whether to stay in Lincolnwood or whether I should move closer to my school since I will need as much time as I possibly can to study and I will probably need late night access to the library and study groups and it might be really draining to commute.

I have always dreamt of living in a vibrant neighborhood in the city like Wicker Park or Lincoln Park, but I know it is going to be a nightmare to commute, and I need all the time I can get to study so reverse commuting isn't really an option at all. Thats why Lincolnwood is kind of nice; its suburban and also extremely safe, but at the same time i've never felt isolated from the city life because its a 15 minute drive to the city during the weekends, 10 minutes from downtown evanston. The commute to North Chicago is going to be a pain though...its 30 minutes during non peak times. I'm guessing since I have to be there by 8am (rush hour time) and get out of class at 4 it will take me an hourish each way? Not as bad as reverse commuting from the city but still a good 8 hours of my week.

I heard North Chicago (the area next to rosalind) is not safe at all and there isn't much to do there but other than that I don't know much about it. I was considering moving to Lake Forest or Lake Bluff, which is only a 10 minute drive to my school, but my concern is its too geared towards families and I will feel isolated as a 22 year old living there....the rent is very reasonable there though and its safe. I am not familiar at all with the suburbs that far north...I heard Libertyville might be reasonably interesting for a 22 year old and its pretty close to Rosalind. I think if I do move as long as I am close to a train station (a 15 minute walk max) that will take me downtown, I have a whole foods type store near to where I live, I have a nice library, and I have a nice mall to shop nearby like old orchard, I will be relatively happy.

So yeah what would you guys suggest for someone in my situation? Would you stay in Lincolnwood, or is there anywhere a lot closer to my school that would be a nice place for a 22 year old to live in and has train access for the occasional to the city? My absolute max budget is 2400 a mo, but if I can still get something nice for less than 1500 that would be ideal.

[chet everett]

I would probably start off staying at home in Lincolnwood. If you experienced "college life" for your undergrad it may be rather different than even a fairly "low pressure" medical school like Rosalind Franklin U... The benefits of not incurring additional debt, having free access to laundry/ kitchen/ bath probably offsets any hassles of commuting from your location -- you're right it would be NUTS to move into the City and make things worse!

If it does turn out that you are missing out on interaction with students or that there are not library resources online (which I doubt; RFU is not exactly Harvard or even UofI, "library" is mostly accounts to online journals...) you could find a place near the school in Libertyville, Gurnee, or even the quieter western edge of Waukegan near Abbot labs...

A fair number of students seem to commute, I see lots of student parking stickers in the various northern suburbs.

[ParamehCD]

Be like every other RFUMS student and live either on campus, in the Woodlands next door, or in Navy Housing across the street. They're all cheap and the crime rate in the block around school is almost nonexistent. Student housing is your basic dorm room with tiny kitchen. The Woodlands is dingy, old, and cut-rate but it is walkable to campus. Navy Housing isn't bad, though it's hardly palatial. All of these are under $1500. Your nearest supermarkets are an overpriced Whole Foods light place, a Target, a Walmart, and Louis' which is great for veggies and ethnic food. All of these are over a mile away. There is nothing to do there unless you're willing to drink at random bars or drive to the sketchier areas for pool or bowling. The train, though, is also walkable from campus and will get you into the city in a bit over an hour.

You will have a hard time finding anything in Lake Bluff or Lake Forest for any price because there isn't much in terms of apartments or townhomes nearby.

I am an older student so I live in Grayslake. The definite con is being away from all the stuff to do at school and being unable to participate in anything spontaneous. The rent out here is also more expensive and there's not much to do at night. The pros are I have more space, it's quiet, it's safe, and generally it's nicer to be in.

I'd recommend Gurnee, Libertyville, or anything in those areas. You can absolutely get a one bed for $1500 or less if you don't mind a drive to school. The large Gurnee Mills is a 15 minute drive away. There are a few Whole Foods around.