Commute from Hyde Park to Hoffman Estates - What's the best way? (Chicago: 2009, transfer)

[Drover]

To echo what others have said, perhaps more emphatically: don't even think about it. You're looking at a minimum two hour commute each way, unless maybe you can leave at 11am, or pm. We live about 12 miles closer to Hoffman than you do, up in Irving Park. Every once in a while my wife has to commute to Hoffman, and even from here it sucks. Either find a way out of your lease or find another employment option. You'll soon end up wanting to do one or the other anyway if you end up taking this job.

[BumpyJ]

Wow, thanks a lot guys! This has been incredibly helpful for someone new in town with little understanding of the area.

So it sounds like 2 hours is a reasonable estimate of the driving time. Is this true even if I take I-290? I'll be going during normal rush hour times. I think I should probably rent a car and give it a try on Monday.

Taking the Metra seems like possibly a good option. It looks like it will take me roughly 2 hours each way, but about 1 hour of that is continuous in one sitting, so I could get work done then. If I'm doing an hour of work each way to/from work, I shouldn't have too much trouble leaving at 5pm to get back.

Would it be dramatically better if I was living in say the Near North Side or somewhere similar? Living out in the suburbs proper isn't possible for a number of reasons (wife would also need to buy a car, would be far from everything/everyone we spend time with outside of work, etc). But I could potentially move to a different part of the downtown area if it would be a lot better.

Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it!

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by BumpyJ

...So it sounds like 2 hours is a reasonable estimate of the driving time. Is this true even if I take I-290?...

...Would it be dramatically better if I was living in say the Near North Side or somewhere similar?...

Maybe-maybe not. But more than likely it will be the same and actually could be worse.

Yes.

[prairiestate]

Never underestimate how horrible Chicago traffic is. I have a 15 mile, suburb to suburb commute, half of which could be covered on expressways. It's a 45 minute to an hour commute. Travel time on Mapquest? 23 minutes. So, plan on 2 hours, each way, in "normal" traffic.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by BumpyJ

Wow, thanks a lot guys! This has been incredibly helpful for someone new in town with little understanding of the area.

So it sounds like 2 hours is a reasonable estimate of the driving time. Is this true even if I take I-290? I'll be going during normal rush hour times. I think I should probably rent a car and give it a try on Monday.

Taking the Metra seems like possibly a good option. It looks like it will take me roughly 2 hours each way, but about 1 hour of that is continuous in one sitting, so I could get work done then. If I'm doing an hour of work each way to/from work, I shouldn't have too much trouble leaving at 5pm to get back.

Would it be dramatically better if I was living in say the Near North Side or somewhere similar? Living out in the suburbs proper isn't possible for a number of reasons (wife would also need to buy a car, would be far from everything/everyone we spend time with outside of work, etc). But I could potentially move to a different part of the downtown area if it would be a lot better.

Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it!

Yep, it's true even if you take 290. Maybe even worse.

You mentioned your wife would need a car if you lived in the suburbs -- does she happen to work downtown? If so, your best option would be to split the difference by living somewhere along the far northwest side. Once you get past Harlem Avenue on the Kennedy, traffic inexplicably clears up on the outbound side and you'll have mostly smooth sailing all the way out to Hoffman Estates. Living in, say, Jefferson Park, would cut at least an hour off a commute to Hoffman Estates, and living close to a Blue Line or Metra stop would give your wife access to downtown. Areas to look for Metra and Blue Line access would be Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, Gladstone Park, and maybe northwest Irving Park, but that would be the furthest southeast to look. Other places to look with Blue Line access also include Oriole Park and the portions of Park Ridge and Harwood Heights suburbs that are near the Cumberland Blue Line stop.

[mytimeisnow]

HydePark?? are you kidding me??? Man where did you go wrong?
Move, just move towards Hoffman. That commute would be way too long.

[Manigault]

I commuted more than ten years from Hyde Park to the Hoffman Estates area. It took an average of an hour and fifteen minutes to two hours, depending on when a person was driving and depending on if there was road repair going on. It was never less than 45 minutes to drive those 40 miles, even at my preferred rate of speed of 75 mph. In those ten years I never got a speeding ticket. Rapid transportation takes at least two hours and there do happen to be a number of folks from the south side who commute each day to that area on the blue line out to the Cumberland bus stop.

There are three routes which can be driven from Chicago: I-90 past O'Hare, I-290 past Oak Park and, (in case of a bad jam on the above two) I-55 to I-294 to I-290. It is best to monitor WBBM's traffic reports to determine which route to take. The Loop to O'Hare and Loop to Wolf Road distances are about equidistant so a person can choose a route based on the traffic conditions stated each day (this does not take the tolls into account).

The benefit of this long commute is that a person can really get through books on tape during the ride.

[prairiestate]

Probably the clearest way to put it, if you haven't had suicidal tendencies before, you will after attempting this commute.

[adityadennis]

I know this question has been asked many times before, but I've never read a satisfactory answer, so here goes:
What is the safest mode of transport to U of C? I'm coming from the northwest suburbs. I'll be taking evening classes for a year and I'm trying to avoid getting mugged for the whole year if possible.

..I've read many people on here say it's not a dangerous area, but I've been down there twice and it definitely IS.

[oakparkdude]

From where? Lincoln Park? Naperville? Alaska?