Leaving houston (Chicago, Naperville, Arlington Heights: rental, low crime, houses)

[ttiiff04]

Hello, evry1


ok, me and my husband are moving from houston to chicago:d, and we are searching for a particular neighborhood that is safe, affordable, and near public transportation. Also we need to drive to crete, il on sundays so, a neighborhood within and 1hr drive will do. We will move without jobs, but have a savings of 15,000. The only thing, i think i will have to get use to is the winters, because evry1 knows that the h in houston stands for hot. We are ready for a change in scenrey. Also the budget is 1050, with or without utilities, and hopefully 2bdrms. Also we will be bringing 1 car and its paid off, but just want to bring it just in case. But from previous post we may end up selling it.

Thanks, for any replies

[chet everett]

From pretty much the NW border of Chicago to Crete is about 40 miles and on Sundays, as long as you do not hit traffic this can be done in an hour: from: N Western Ave to: Crete, IL - Google Maps

SO, that gives you basically ALL of Chicago itself to consider...

Safe is probably a relative term, but again 90%+ of Chicago is no worse than 90%+ of Houston, the 10% or so that is worse is going to be pretty obvious...

Budget is maybe a little low, but w/o utils you should be able to find a 2 bdr.

Do you know where you will be working? If it is near O'Hare I would recommend against some place in the South Loop or near UIC. If you will be working in the Loop then pretty much any public transportation will work...

[ttiiff04]

Well my job, will be transfering. But my husband will look for a job. Thanks for the reply.

So can u tell like what is the high temp, in the winter mths in chicago.

[chet everett]

January in Chicago - Month by Month Guide to Chicago - January

[crbcrbrgv]

I did the reverse of you, tiff. I came to Houston from Chicago. You will definitely need to get used to the winters. They have driven many a Sun Belt native back home. Here are some neighborhood comparisons that may help you out. These comparisons are for crime and income levels.

River Oaks=The Gold Coast
The Heights=Lincoln Park
Meyerland=West Rogers Park
Sharpstown=Logans Square
Alief=Pilsen
Jefferson Park=Jersey Village
Austin=Fondren Southwest
Little Village=rougher parts of Pasadena.
Sugar Land=Naperville

[ttiiff04]

Thanks, crbcrgv. This defintely will help me. And i know to stay away from austin. I stay in the alief area, but work in river oaks and they are two different neighborhoods. I think the winters may be difficult, but i also stayed in arkansas and the temps there were about 20-25(high) in the winters, and snowed sometimes but not as much as in chicago. I feel that we can prbly tolerate the winters, but it may be a task.

Also can you tell me any cities that are around 20-30 min outside of chicago.

Thanks again

[Intergalactic]

Originally Posted by ttiiff04

Thanks, crbcrgv. This defintely will help me. And i know to stay away from austin. I stay in the alief area, but work in river oaks and they are two different neighborhoods. I think the winters may be difficult, but i also stayed in arkansas and the temps there were about 20-25(high) in the winters, and snowed sometimes but not as much as in chicago. I feel that we can prbly tolerate the winters, but it may be a task.

Also can you tell me any cities that are around 20-30 min outside of chicago.

Thanks again

Tolerating the winter is best done by properly acclimating; if you are here through the fall, and go outside often, your skin will (quite literally) thicken up and the winter won't seem so bad. Many a time when I was a kid I marveled at how 50° F seemed so cold in October, and so warm in March.

Using my psychic powers, I think you might like Arlington Heights, a mature suburb near O'Hare.

[ttiiff04]

Can you tell me a little bout arlington heights.

[Intergalactic]

Arlington Heights is well-served by freeways and commuter trains, and is close to, but not so close as to be noisy, O'Hare. It has low crime, but quite a few rental units. It is large, but not too large, and is more than just a bedroom community--it has shopping, light industry, and many "new economy" jobs. Schools are good enough.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

I did the reverse of you, tiff. I came to Houston from Chicago. You will definitely need to get used to the winters. They have driven many a Sun Belt native back home. Here are some neighborhood comparisons that may help you out. These comparisons are for crime and income levels.

River Oaks=The Gold Coast
The Heights=Lincoln Park
Meyerland=West Rogers Park
Sharpstown=Logans Square
Alief=Pilsen
Jefferson Park=Jersey Village
Austin=Fondren Southwest
Little Village=rougher parts of Pasadena.
Sugar Land=Naperville

I'm planning on moving to Texas next year (Austin) and I will be visiting for my very first time next week. I have read quite a bit about Houston too, and I realize I haven't actually been there, but when I read descriptions of Houston neighborhoods, other places in Chicagoland fit much better from what I can see.

Because Houston isn't as dense (and I look at that as a good thing!) it sounds like many Houston neighborhoods have more in common within close-in Chicago suburbs. Heres what I think the comparisons are more like, but please feel free to correct me, because your the one who actually made the move.

River Oaks=River Forest, Riverside, or Winnetka (older mansions)
The Heights=Oak Park (Victorian houses and liberal/quirky while being a bit quieter).
Midtown=Lincoln Park (high rises close to park with museums, zoo).
Montrose= combination of Wicker Park and Lakeview/Boystown.
Pasedena=SW suburbs of Summit, Bridgeview, Chicago Ridge, etc.
I'd agree with Sugarland from what I've read.
Rice Village=Hyde Park (mid-American Ivy league type school?)
Galleria=more suburban than the Mag Mile certainly, but more urban than Woodfield, Schaumburg area.
Alief/Sharpstown= those sound maybe like the rougher parts of the NW suburbs (Wheeling, Rolling Meadows, Hanover Park).