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

[BumpyJ]

I live in Hyde Park, and am considering a job in Hoffman Estates -- it looks like a hellish commute, but moving is not an option. I just moved to Chicago, and have another year on my lease.

What is the best route to take? Google Maps said I should take I-90W pretty much the whole way, and that it would take "52 mins / 1 hour 10 mins in traffic"

Is this the best route? Is this a realistic estimate of how long it will take?

I wish there was public transit out to there... I hate having to own a car and drive, rather than using that time productively to read on a train, etc. Oh well!

Thanks for your help!

[coldwine]

I didn't even know that there was a "Hoffman estates" but apparently it's a real suburb.

Hyde Park is a real lesson in how completely disconnected Chicago's rail transit is. It's probably just easier to drive the 90 on up. I'm stumped trying to think of how I'd take public trans out that far. The Blue Line is as close as you can get with the CTA, and as per usual the Metra website is screwed up and won't allow me to find a map.

Good luck

[chitown85]

The route is the best one you can take. There are few local roads that go diagonal across the city and suburbs other than the Kennedy.

The amount of traffic depends on when you leave in the morning and return home in the afternoon. Chicagoland is not like other metro areas where traffic flows suburb to city in the morning and city to suburb in the afternoon.

There are 2 main stretches of road to look at for when determining travel time on the Kennedy. One, from downtown to O'Hare and two, from O'Hare to Woodfield in Schaumburg.

Several things may influence travel time. The weather, construction, and if anything is going on in the city that day.

If it snows, you could double your commute, as does construction.

One possibility I tell people is to see if there are public transportation options that could get you from the Hoffman Estates METRA to your job. If your company runs a shuttle service from the METRA, is walkable from the METRA, or there is a Pace bus that goes from the train station in HE to your company, then look into it.

One other possibility is leaving your car at the train station in the suburbs and using it to go from the station to work and back.

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by chitown85

The route is the best one you can take. There are few local roads that go diagonal across the city and suburbs other than the Kennedy.

The amount of traffic depends on when you leave in the morning and return home in the afternoon. Chicagoland is not like other metro areas where traffic flows suburb to city in the morning and city to suburb in the afternoon.

There are 2 main stretches of road to look at for when determining travel time on the Kennedy. One, from downtown to O'Hare and two, from O'Hare to Woodfield in Schaumburg.

Several things may influence travel time. The weather, construction, and if anything is going on in the city that day.

If it snows, you could double your commute, as does construction.

One possibility I tell people is to see if there are public transportation options that could get you from the Hoffman Estates METRA to your job. If your company runs a shuttle service from the METRA, is walkable from the METRA, or there is a Pace bus that goes from the train station in HE to your company, then look into it.

One other possibility is leaving your car at the train station in the suburbs and using it to go from the station to work and back.

Looks like the closest you can get to Hoffman on the Metra is Schaumburg, and while I admit that I don't know that area very well, I have a sneaking suspicion that it's probably not very walkable.

[chitown85]

Barrington has a METRA station too. I didn't realize Hoffman didn't. Barrington is not far from Hoffman Estates.

Does your company run a shuttle? If not, leave the car at one of the stations and use it to go from the station to work.

Hoffman Estates is a real suburb that has about 55,000 people in NW Cook. Yes, it is still part of Cook County.

My advice is avoid the Kennedy at all costs especially going out to Hoffman. I do know people who drive from Hoffman Estates to downtown (which is only 25 miles and still can take over an hour), but Hyde Park is much further.

See if you can sublet your apartment.

[Avengerfire]

There are ways to "break" your lease.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by BumpyJ

I live in Hyde Park, and am considering a job in Hoffman Estates -- it looks like a hellish commute, but moving is not an option. I just moved to Chicago, and have another year on my lease.

What is the best route to take? Google Maps said I should take I-90W pretty much the whole way, and that it would take "52 mins / 1 hour 10 mins in traffic"

Is this the best route? Is this a realistic estimate of how long it will take?

I wish there was public transit out to there... I hate having to own a car and drive, rather than using that time productively to read on a train, etc. Oh well!

Thanks for your help!

If you'll be commuting during normal weekday rush hours, I'd say that commute time is grossly understated. A better estimate might be 1.5 to 2 hours one way, and that's on a good day.

I used to commute to Hoffman Estates from the North Side (Lakeview/Wrigleyville) and that was hellish enough.

One woman in my office did commute from Hyde Park, and she used one of several Pace van pools that served that company location. Is that an available option where you'll be working? Otherwise, does the company provide a shuttle to/from the nearest Metra station?

I'd strongly suggest subletting your apartment if you can, and finding a new home closer to where you'll be working.

[Mr Downtown]

I believe the shortest and least congested route will be Lake Shore Drive to Columbus to Congress, then I-290 to Algonquin Rd. From downtown to Woodfield, I-290 is probably a mile or two longer than I-90, but it's toll-free and doesn't have the congestion at the Edens merge or east of Canfield every morning.

[GreatLakesDrifter]

If you work in the prarie stone office section in Hoffman Estates, there is a bus that will take you from the Rosemont Blueline station to a few different stops within prarie stone (route #610). Other than that, I don't know of any other feasible public transit options, you may want to look it up on the pace website.

As for driving, sometimes you're better off taking Elston (a two lane road without buses that runs paralell with I-90) to lawrence and then hopping on I-90; that will get you past most of the congested portions of the freeway.

[Matt633]

I suggest you truly look for other job options or as one person stated, sublet your apartment. That commute is going to be true hell depending on the shift you work, especially in the winter. At the least you are looking at 2hrs in heavy traffic times. If you are off during the week, try the route out at the time you would be going to work. Then think if you could do that for at least a year until you could move closer.