Palatine to Great Lakes (Chicago, Schaumburg: homes, transfer, school district)

[nutterbutterdsm]

Possibly moving to Chicago within the next year and am trying to figure out commute possibilities. My husband is a disabled veteran so he'd prefer to commute via train. The job he's in the running for would have him begin at 6:30am and finish by 3pm. The job is in North Chicago and I'm hoping to settle in Palatine. We have zero experience with public transit. Can anyone more familiar with public transit, especially in the Chicago area, give me their input? I'm trying to find routes that allow for transfer between trains but it's all been pretty confusing. What is the fastest route one should take from Palatine to North Chicago in the morning, then North Chicago to Palatine in the afternoon?

Also, given the start and end time of his work, what does traffic look like if he were to commute via car? Keep in mind he'd try to take a route that doesn't include tolls (according to google, that'd be Skokie Highway S and/or Lake Cook rd) but he swears since his work starts and ends before the 9-5 work hours, he should avoid the worst of the traffic. Obviously, I have no idea if that'd be the case, but it's Chicago and I always hear the traffic is really bad so I'm a bit more skeptical. What do you all think?

Btw, for anybody a little perplexed as to why the stop would be to the Great Lakes train station and not North Chicago, according to the job's website, that's the stop to get off on.

[nana053]

Why Palatine? You would be better off in a place where the train goes directly to North Chicago, like Evanston, Wilmette,
Winnetka, Glencoe or Highland Park or anywhere along the train line. If he drove, it would be about a 45 minute commute. From Palatine, you have to go to the Clybourne Station in Chicago and then out to North Chicago - that is going to be anywhere from a 2 hr to a 3 hr commute.

The Great Lakes Station is in North Chicago. There is another train station in North Chicago as well, but his job would know which one to get off at.

[MSchemist80]

I'd try to get a place to live on the Union Pacific North line which runs a mile or two off the lake from Chicago to Kenosha. Evanston, Wilmette, etc. Going all the way northeast from Palatine to North Chicago would be on congested surface streets with a lot of stop lights and be a real pain especially with snow.

[guidoLaMoto]

Originally Posted by nutterbutterdsm

.... The job is in North Chicago and I'm hoping to settle in Palatine.... .

Like the farmer told the city slicker who stopped to ask directions: "You can't get there from here."


Public transportation in Chicagoland is basically set up to get you from an outlying place into the central city, not from one outlying place to another.


The 'burbs mentioned above are pretty high rent-- CEO types find them comfortable locations, not vets who need to get to North Chicago. There are middle class, affordable housing opportunities available a convenient distance from your destination.


If you're obligated to live in Palatine, it's gunna be a nasty commute by any conveyance to N.Chi..


BTW- the GreatLakesNS is adjacent to N.Chi and has its convenient train station. The work site is probably closer to that stop than the one in downtown N. Chi...How far is the work site from the station? A three-quarter mile hike in a foot of snow and -3deg temps at 6AM in January after stepping off a train might get annoying pretty quickly.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by nutterbutterdsm

Possibly moving to Chicago within the next year and am trying to figure out commute possibilities. My husband is a disabled veteran so he'd prefer to commute via train. The job he's in the running for would have him begin at 6:30am and finish by 3pm. The job is in North Chicago and I'm hoping to settle in Palatine. We have zero experience with public transit. Can anyone more familiar with public transit, especially in the Chicago area, give me their input? I'm trying to find routes that allow for transfer between trains but it's all been pretty confusing. What is the fastest route one should take from Palatine to North Chicago in the morning, then North Chicago to Palatine in the afternoon?

Also, given the start and end time of his work, what does traffic look like if he were to commute via car? Keep in mind he'd try to take a route that doesn't include tolls (according to google, that'd be Skokie Highway S and/or Lake Cook rd) but he swears since his work starts and ends before the 9-5 work hours, he should avoid the worst of the traffic. Obviously, I have no idea if that'd be the case, but it's Chicago and I always hear the traffic is really bad so I'm a bit more skeptical. What do you all think?

Btw, for anybody a little perplexed as to why the stop would be to the Great Lakes train station and not North Chicago, according to the job's website, that's the stop to get off on.

I'm not sure what your housing budget is, but I would probably try to look at Zion, Winthrop Harbor, and Kenosha as options within proximity to the Metra stations.

[nutterbutterdsm]

Yea, it probably makes the most sense to get home a home closer to the North. I'm just very unfamiliar with the areas, whereas I visit the Schaumburg area very often and have family closer to that area so the comfort I have with that region is why I was holding out hope that we could make it work.

I've researched the Northwest suburbs but the homes look really dated for my budget compared to homes I've seen in the NW suburbs, which is also why I considered Palatine. A few suburbs closer to the North or what you might consider North that have decent homes within my budget (anywhere between 260k-310k) are Vernon Hills and Buffalo Grove. I'd love to move to Wilmette, Skokie, Evanston and those surrounding areas but within that budget and with 3 young kids (school district is important), what would you all think makes the most sense?

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by nutterbutterdsm

Yea, it probably makes the most sense to get home a home closer to the North. I'm just very unfamiliar with the areas, whereas I visit the Schaumburg area very often and have family closer to that area so the comfort I have with that region is why I was holding out hope that we could make it work.

I've researched the Northwest suburbs but the homes look really dated for my budget compared to homes I've seen in the NW suburbs, which is also why I considered Palatine. A few suburbs closer to the North or what you might consider North that have decent homes within my budget (anywhere between 260k-310k) are Vernon Hills and Buffalo Grove. I'd love to move to Wilmette, Skokie, Evanston and those surrounding areas but within that budget and with 3 young kids (school district is important), what would you all think makes the most sense?

If driving is an option Vernon Hills and Buffalo Grove are very reasonable places to look at. Be mindful of the taxes in Buffalo Grove and how those impact your monthly payments, however.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by nutterbutterdsm

Yea, it probably makes the most sense to get home a home closer to the North. I'm just very unfamiliar with the areas, whereas I visit the Schaumburg area very often and have family closer to that area so the comfort I have with that region is why I was holding out hope that we could make it work.

I've researched the Northwest suburbs but the homes look really dated for my budget compared to homes I've seen in the NW suburbs, which is also why I considered Palatine. A few suburbs closer to the North or what you might consider North that have decent homes within my budget (anywhere between 260k-310k) are Vernon Hills and Buffalo Grove. I'd love to move to Wilmette, Skokie, Evanston and those surrounding areas but within that budget and with 3 young kids (school district is important), what would you all think makes the most sense?

You can probably get something in Skokie in your budget, probably not in Evanston or Wilmette. The schools in Skokie are good. It depends on what you need.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...arch/Skokie_IL

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...ch/Evanston_IL

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...ch/Wilmette_IL

[jsk1983]

The homes prices near Great Lakes are quite affordable. Once you get north of the Naval Base they drop considerably. Some place near Gurnee might work and it would only be a short drive to the base.

[beaniemac]

a cheaper housing option given he's working in north chicago is to live just over the illinois border in wisconsin like even kenosha.