Relocating from Northern VA to Chicago - possibly suburbs? Help :) (Arlington Heights: rental, condo)

[TamTamz]

Hello all..

After posting in the Chicago forum, I figured it would be a good idea to post here as well since my potential employment opportunity may very well be .. in the suburbs. Not my first choice, but we'll see.

I am relocating from Northern VA in a few mos, and am going to be brand spankin new to the area. I work in the mortgage industry and my company is hiring at one of our offices in Rolling Meadows. So, if I want to avoid the difficult task of finding a job in the city when I am not there yet .. I can transfer internally and work in Rolling Meadows.

Please advise on the following:

I prefer to live in the city so - How close can I get to the city and not have a ridiculous commute to Rolling Meadows? If this exists, what areas would I be looking at? Please keep in mind my age group/status etc

If i choose to work, and live, in Rolling Meadows - is this ideal for someone like me? - 29, female, single, social but not a partier

What type of rent am I looking at in Rolling Meadows? Is it doable on 45k/year?

Thanks in advance!

[cubssoxfan]

There are a couple of nearby suburban options. Arlington Heights and Des Plaines have decent downtowns by suburban standards. Both would provide restaurants, groceries, bars, coffee shops and libraries within walking distance. Both are on Metra lines providing train service to downtown Chicago.

Not as vibrant as some of the Chicago neighborhoods, but still not a totally boring need to go everywhere by car environment as some suburbs.

If you live in or near downtown AH you are 10-15 minutes to Rolling Meadows.

[TamTamz]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

There are a couple of nearby suburban options. Arlington Heights and Des Plaines have decent downtowns by suburban standards. Both would provide restaurants, groceries, bars, coffee shops and libraries within walking distance. Both are on Metra lines providing train service to downtown Chicago.

Not as vibrant as some of the Chicago neighborhoods, but still not a totally boring need to go everywhere by car environment as some suburbs.

If you live in or near downtown AH you are 10-15 minutes to Rolling Meadows.

Thanks for this, and what would my commute time be from AH to downtown Chicago? - in terms of living in Chicago and commuting to Rolling Meadows.. what are the closest areas of Chicago without killing myself in traffic? Any thoughts?

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by TamTamz

Thanks for this, and what would my commute time be from AH to downtown Chicago? - in terms of living in Chicago and commuting to Rolling Meadows.. what are the closest areas of Chicago without killing myself in traffic? Any thoughts?

Commute from AH to Chicago during commuting hours would be about 60 minutes by Metra and about the same by car give or take 15 minutes. Non-rush hour driving, I've made it in 40 minutes. Chicago to RM, the other forum covered that pretty well-I don't do that drive so I couldn't accurately tell you.
I read your post in the Chicago Forum and thought the answers there were quite good and quite accurate. I think you need to figure out how much time you want to spend in traffic in considering East Lakeview with Jefferson Park and if you want amenities outside your door or if you're OK with entertainment venues being a short "L" ride away.
The posters on the Chicago forum are much more familiar with Chicago neighborhoods than I am. It's been 22 years since I lived in Chicago, the last 20 have been in AH. I can, however, provide pretty good info on the NW suburbs.

I will admit that once I moved to AH, I didn't go into the city too much for nightlife because it was too much of a hassle.

[Demoanalytics]

If you are considering living in the city, you really need to dig into some research to make sure you find a place that best suits your needs, literally block by block in some areas.

You definitely can't simply pick a place that happens to be in one of the "hotter" neighborhood areas like Wicker or Riv North. You'll possibly wind up very unhappy, even if the building is okay.

Now, burbs are good, but commuting is terrible, especially in the winter.

FWIW, I've lived in both the city and northwest burbs.

[TamTamz]

Originally Posted by Demoanalytics

If you are considering living in the city, you really need to dig into some research to make sure you find a place that best suits your needs, literally block by block in some areas.

You definitely can't simply pick a place that happens to be in one of the "hotter" neighborhood areas like Wicker or Riv North. You'll possibly wind up very unhappy, even if the building is okay.

Now, burbs are good, but commuting is terrible, especially in the winter.

FWIW, I've lived in both the city and northwest burbs.

Not sure what you mean by that statement, can you explain? Also, work is most likely going to be taking me to Rolling Meadows from what I have been discussing with the recruiter. In this case, what would you suggest? Is there an area between Chicago and Rolling Meadows that you would recommend?

[Demoanalytics]

Hi Tam,

One of your main concerns with living in the city is safety/block quality. Some time ago I remember seeing a report showing where street gangs were active. You want to avoid gang turf hotspots. Also, the police department tracks crime by location. You need to be sure you find a location that is not what I would call a crime hotspot.

As an example, you could buy an exclusive high-rise condo in the Gold Coast for over $1 million, but be only 2 blocks from the intersection of State and Chicago. For the past few years, State and Chicago has been a hangout for a variety of trouble makers and miscreants. Weekend mob action has been common. As a result, I avoid this area even though there are some really good lunch spots and a vibrant Loyola University population.

Your quality of life can be vastly different block to block unless you understand neighborhood demographics.

Schaumburg and Arlington Heights are good overall places to live. There are other good towns in the NW burbs, but they can be sleepy/boring.

I know this raises more questions and confusion than you probably want, but it's difficult to give you a more detailed view on a message board.

[Vasily]

Given a choice between Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, and Des Plaines as places to live, I'd personally pick Arlington Heights (I worked there for five years, and have relatives who lived there). I'd suggest looking for a rental in Rolling Meadows for a year, and spending that year visiting these suburbs as well as staying downtown for a week and trying out the commute. Rental in these suburbs will be more affordable than the city ... and what you're likely to rent for cheap in the city has a good probability of being in or adjacent to one of the "hotspots" mentioned above.

[cpl.]

stay away from il.!

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Vasily

Given a choice between Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, and Des Plaines as places to live, I'd personally pick Arlington Heights (I worked there for five years, and have relatives who lived there). I'd suggest looking for a rental in Rolling Meadows for a year, and spending that year visiting these suburbs as well as staying downtown for a week and trying out the commute. Rental in these suburbs will be more affordable than the city ... and what you're likely to rent for cheap in the city has a good probability of being in or adjacent to one of the "hotspots" mentioned above.

Some of this is true regarding the City some is not.