Moving to Chicago - please help (Naperville, Cicero: apartments, renters, condos)

[Cokezero123]

I will be moving to Chicago from the Washington DC metro area and will be renting. I'm looking for the following in a suburb:

- Safe
- Close to downtown
- Easy access to downtown by train (since I will be working close to union station)

Any recommendations?

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Cokezero123

I will be moving to Chicago from the Washington DC metro area and will be renting. I'm looking for the following in a suburb:

- Safe
- Close to downtown
- Easy access to downtown by train (since I will be working close to union station)

Any recommendations?

The general pattern for suburbs is the more desirable amenities (nice shopping / dining), the better the transit access, the higher performing the schools the more costly the rents...

[Cokezero123]

Any specific recommendations for suburbs? I can afford upto 2000 for a 2 bed room apt. Thanks.

[chet everett]

That is nice chunk of cash. Depending on your age and desires that would allow you to find a decent place that is walkable close to transit in Lagrange that is about 25 minutes from Union Station via BNSF Metra service.

About the same price will afford you options in Elmhurst which is bit further (about 10 more minutes) but maybe a few more cultural options because of lovely library / museum / college campus at the core of town.

About 40 minute train ride will allow to consider Naperville -- very well developed core has many shopping / dining / nightlife options.

A bit closer in you might consider Oak Park which is close enough to have CTA service to Chicago. Range of apartments takes a bit more searching as many are older and folks escaping the terrible schools to the east in Chicago tend to drive up rents. Evanston has some similar features being adjacent to north border of Chicago, and good schools are attractive to renters that are fed up with CPS...

[Lookout Kid]

Oak Park is the closest suburb to the Loop and has the best transit access. It is generally safe (probably similar to a nice north side city neighborhood), but there are safer suburbs out there. Oak Park sits next to one of the most violent neighborhoods in Chicago, but the spillover is usually non-violent crime like theft. Murders and shootings are not common in Oak Park at all (usually zero or one murders per year in a village of 50,000 residents). Robberies are more common in Oak Park than in similarly well-off suburbs further west. But the amenities are great, and it is only nine miles from the Loop with three train lines.

If the safety of suburbs like Oak Park and Berwyn isn't up to snuff (everyone has their own comfort levels), you could look further out at places like La Grange, La Grange Park, Western Springs, Elmhurst, etc. Follow the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific West train lines. You'll probably want to avoid Cicero, Maywood, Bellwood, Hillside, Broadview, Melrose Park, and Berkley from a safety perspective. But look at the Metra schedules and see which travel times work for you. Maybe you'll like something as far out as Downers Grove on the 27 minute express train.

[Lookout Kid]

I'll point out that I'm recommending western suburbs because of the orientation of the city. Chicago is long in the north-south direction, so you can get closer to the Loop by going west. But you may also be interested in Park Ridge or other northwest suburbs. There are many rentals available near downtown Des Plaines.

[Vasily]

I live in Naperville ... If you get an apartment on the north side of town you'll have a short drive to the metra station, and there are a lot of express trains to/from Naperville. My drive to the station takes about 10mins, the express train ride is about 45min, and I have a 10min walk to my office.

There aren't many high end apartments in Naperville over $2000. My favorite, Riverplace, is a short walk to downtown via the beautiful Riverwalk, and is out of my budget, unfortunately. They used to have a shuttle to/from the train station, I think. The people I know who lived there (a brother and my ex-wife) loved it. They're condos, thoigh, so there may be a long waiting list. From my own apartment search spreadsheet: my favorite high-end apartments in Naperville sorted by decreasing desireability (based on my own preferences) and with a price range for 2BR units are:

River Place $1375 - $2100
Brookdale Lakes $1375 - $1430
Arbors of Brookdale $1395 -$1695
Grand Reserve $1487 -$1755
Lincoln at the Parks $1404 -$1784
Amli at Naperville $1466 - $1543

Amli and Grand Reserve would have a somewhat longer drive to the train stations.