Getting to Deerfield from nearby places (Chicago, Skokie: apartments, insurance, maintenance)

[OlegK65]

Hi everybody! Just started to read this forum and really love it! Nevertheless, I have an urgent problem to solve and would like to ask for help from knowledgeable people. I just arrived from Russia, took series of interviews and received a job offer in Deerfield (which I accepted). Unfortunately, I cannot find apartments in Deerfield in my price range (2br up to $1000). Neither I can find them in Glenview or Northbrook. Not having a car makes all these searches much more complex. I am trying to find some decent apartments near Metra stations - just to be safe if I loose my job in Deerfield - so, I would move around the area by Metra to possible new places of my work without changing the place where I live. I am totally new to the country, to this area. I found CTA maps with bus routes also - so I even considered to find an apartment in Skokie and use bus route 626 from there to Deerfield. But I feel I am just playing some game without knowing real situation with transportation in this area. Could you guys please help me with possible solutions to my problem? Family of three, no car, safe neighbourhood, 2 br up to $1000, work in deerfield, reasonable travel time. Thank you all for your help.

[reppin_the_847]

I'm not gonna lie here, it's pretty tough to navigate Chicago's suburbs without a car. In the city it's a different story, but you are going to be working in Deerfield. If you get a car (a used, cheaper, but reliable car would be your best bet), then you'll be able to get around a lot easier. You'd of course have to pay for insurance, maintenance and fuel costs for the vehicle. Western Glenview near Milwaukee Avenue is the cheaper side of Glenview. However, if I were you I'd look at other nearby areas such as Wheeling which is much cheaper than Glenview. Prospect Heights might be iffy in some areas, but I'm sure it is pretty darn cheap out there as well compared to Deerfield. Vernon Hills & Buffalo Grove have a very large Russian community nowadays (Deerfield also has a large Russian population I think, and probably to a somewhat lesser extent Highland Park also would too, but HP is very expensive). Vernon Hills & the Lake County side of Buffalo Grove are probably a bit more expensive than the Cook County suburbs of Wheeling & Prospect Heights. Skokie is a very diverse area and also has a large Russian population I believe, and there is that bus that probably heads to Deerfield, but unfortunately it's not the speediest commute (Pace buses will never be faster than Metra trains or your own personal vehicle on a wide open road). You might want to look at towns that are along the Milwaukee-North Metra train line, since Deerfield's stop is on that line. Check out Morton Grove (just west of Skokie), and look in the area that is walking distance from their Metra station. From there, it's a pretty quick Metra ride north into Deerfield. Depending on where in Deerfield your job is, you may need to take a bus from the Metra station to your work. Also keep in mind that Metra also has a "Lake-Cook Road" stop which is one stop south of the Deerfield stop. Lake-Cook Road technically is also in Deerfield, but at the Northbrook border. Good luck & let me know if you have any more questions!

[OlegK65]

Thanks once again for your reply! Just found this message 10 years later Everything worked out great back then, found 1 bedroom apartment in Deerfield, then moved to Northbrook and now we live in San Francisco Bay area, already 4 of us - everything is looking good so far. Thanks again!