Relocating from work to Chicago commuting to Rolling Meadows (Arlington Heights: 2015, apartment)

[mrs.adkins528]

Hello! I currently live in San Diego, CA. We are relocating to Chicago for my husbands job and I have been looking for a job. We have secured an apt in Chicago (near Gold coast neighborhood). Can anyone tell me if a commute to Rolling meadows would be feasible for work? Is there a train option? Any help anyone who is familiar with the area can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Mod note: This thread was resurrected on Feb. 06, 2015. See Post #9. Additional commentary or advice welcome!
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[Vlajos]

Downtown Chicago to Rolling Meadows will be a bad commute.

[mrs.adkins528]

Well my husband's job is in the city so thats why....I am looking for a job and found some in Rolling Meadows and was wondering if it was feasible. Is there an option besides driving?

[Drover]

I hope to God that either a) you haven't taken the position in Rolling Meadows yet or b) you have extreme flexibility in your hours so that you can avoid rush hour traffic. If you have taken the job and you don't get to choose your own hours, break your lease now while there's still time for the landlord to find another tenant. Hopefully you haven't paid your security deposit yet. Then, look for an apartment closer to where you work. If you must live in the city and/or have recently convenient public transportation options to city destinations, look for an apartment near the Jefferson Park, Harlem or Cumberland stops.

ETA: Ah, I'm glad you haven't taken a job in Rolling Meadows yet. Unless you like spending up to 4 hours a day in a car... don't. And there's no practical option besides driving unless you want to spend up to 5 hours a day commuting.

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by mrs.adkins528

Is there an option besides driving?

Yes, but you have to get to the train station in Chicago and Arlington Heights.

If your job is too far away from the train station and you can't get a ride to the station, you might as well drive.

Union Pacific / Northwest (UP-NW) Line Map

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by Drover

I hope to God that either a) you haven't taken the position in Rolling Meadows yet or b) you have extreme flexibility in your hours so that you can avoid rush hour traffic. If you have taken the job and you don't get to choose your own hours, break your lease now while there's still time for the landlord to find another tenant. Hopefully you haven't paid your security deposit yet. Then, look for an apartment closer to where you work. If you must live in the city and/or have recently convenient public transportation options to city destinations, look for an apartment near the Jefferson Park, Harlem or Cumberland stops.

ETA: Ah, I'm glad you haven't taken a job in Rolling Meadows yet. Unless you like spending up to 4 hours a day in a car... don't. And there's no practical option besides driving unless you want to spend up to 5 hours a day commuting.

It certainly isn't a pleasant commute, but 2 to 2.5 hours each way is not accurate(unless there is a snow or thunder storm). I would plan on 90-100 minutes. 15-20 minutes from your apartment to I-90/Kennedy expressway. About 50-60 minutes to O'Hare area and about 15-20 minutes to Rolling Meadows near I-90/I-290 junction. Not 2-2.5 hours BUT still very stressful on a daily basis.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

It certainly isn't a pleasant commute, but 2 to 2.5 hours each way is not accurate(unless there is a snow or thunder storm). I would plan on 90-100 minutes. 15-20 minutes from your apartment to I-90/Kennedy expressway. About 50-60 minutes to O'Hare area and about 15-20 minutes to Rolling Meadows near I-90/I-290 junction. Not 2-2.5 hours BUT still very stressful on a daily basis.

What I said is "up to" and I stand by that. The 2.5 hours each way was based on using public transportation. Ever try taking PACE out there during rush hour? You could grow a beard along the way.

When driving, 90 to 100 minutes each way is a best-case scenario, and you're lucky to get 'best-case scenario' more than half the time. Always having the express lanes working against you makes it that much more thrilling. In fact you can bank on motoring Hell every Friday afternoon when you're dealing with huge volumes of traffic coming out of the airport. My wife works on again/off again in Schaumburg. It rarely takes less than 90 minutes to get home on a Friday, and we live way the hell up in the Northwest side. If we lived in the Gold Coast, she'd have slit her wrists by now. Or mine for having moved us there.

[johna01374]

In all honestly you would be better off renting in one of the northern burbs like Niles, Skokie, Morton grove etc. The rent is substantially cheaper and you have good access to I94 into downtown. From Niles to Down town is about 30 mins. Same for Niles to Rolling meadows.

[Gforce 420]

I am also considering this scenario, but notice the original post was from 2011. It would be helpful to hear, how their experience went... Relocating from San Diego (heaven on earth) to Chicago or Rolling Meadows?