Will the Red Line break my heart? (Chicago, Addison: home, neighborhoods)

[Nerfdave]

I am considering moving to Chicago and living along the Red Line somewhere between Lakeview and downtown. I'm concerned because I saw some other posts about trains being so crowded during the morning commute that riders can't get on. So my specific question is which stops are likely to experience this problem? Am I actually going to make my commute "worse" by living closer to downtown?

I am new to this site so I apologize if I wasn't able to find the answer to this question in the other posts.

Thank you!

[missmeli0501]

I live off the Belmont stop and it's a madhouse, but mostly because the stop serves 3 lines. Same with Fullerton. I would live as far North as you can before becoming inconvenienced, because by the time the trains get here people are packed like sheep.

[Lookout Kid]

Conditions are fine at Addison and Sheridan... You'll get on at Belmont, but may have to let a full train go by occasionally.

[Nerfdave]

Thanks for the responses! One of the places I was looking at was actually right near Belmont stop. So does that mean if you live even closer to downtown like in Lincoln Park/Old Town/Gold Coast that it only gets worse after Belmont?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Nerfdave

Thanks for the responses! One of the places I was looking at was actually right near Belmont stop. So does that mean if you live even closer to downtown like in Lincoln Park/Old Town/Gold Coast that it only gets worse after Belmont?

Well, the Brown line isn't as crowded. And from Belmont and to the south you can ride the Brown, Red, or Purple lines

[missmeli0501]

I don't know what brown line you're riding, but my brown line is crowded as hell. All those NW neighborhoods seem more popular lately and there is a greater number of people on the line. And they never get off until the mass exodus at Washington/Wells.

You get used to it though! It's great living off 3 major trains and buses, cause there's always a way to get home cta-wise.

[elikhom]

I have lived in Old Town, Lincoln Park and Lakeview in that order. Getting on the train at Belmont was obviously the easiest, you'd rarely get seats but most probably you wouldn't have to wait for long to get into the L, at the Fullerton stop you'll have to get close to the front or the back of the trains if you want to get in quickly otherwise you'll wait for a while. In Old Town I'd take the bus 70% of the time since waiting for a brown line in which I could get in would take me a loooong time.

[Lookout Kid]

What was up with the Red Line this morning? Why did they divert out of the subway? It took me FOREVER to get into work this morning...

[jessiegirl_98]

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't hesitate to live around the red line at Belmont because the train may be crowded....it's still a great area to live and you'll have to deal with crowds regardless. Also, the extra time you spend on the train (if you go much farther north) will probably equal the time you'll have to spend waiting for a second train. And, as others mentioned, depending on where you work, you'll have access to other train lines at the Belmont stop.

[Chicago60614]

At Belmont you'll almost always get on any brown or red line coming by since people switch at that stop and you can jump on.

Anything south of Belmont is where it gets messy. The brown line seems much harder to board than the Red Line, but by Fullerton it gets really bad.

The Red Line at Clyborn and Clark/Divison is a bad bet.