Commuting to/from Downer's Grove; Where to live? (Chicago, Naperville: home, find a job)

[twoforty240]

I will be attending school in Downer's Grove, but my boyfriend is moving with me and doesn't know where he will be employed. We want to live somewhere that would be a reasonable commute for both of us. It is most likely that he will find a job somewhere between downtown Chicago and Naperville/Lisle.

Are there any good locations in between downtown and Downer's Grove that would not be an unreasonable commute for to and from Downer's Grove? We're hoping to live somewhere with plentiful restaurants/bars/coffee shops nearby. No kids. Likely a dog.

Would Forest Park/Berwyn be too far to drive to Downer's Grove every morning?

[ToriaT]

Forest Park or Berwyn are reasonable and you can also easily get to the city. But also consider Downers Grove. It has a cute downtown and many things surrounding it and its also easy to get to the city by train. Lisle or Naperville might also be good options.

[chet everett]

You absolutely could live in Berwyn or Forest Park and have a decent drive to school in Downers Grove but honestly there are NOT all that many things to recommend those areas over Downers Grove itself for a couple in your situation. Unless plan on being a real hardcore "barfly" that shows up every night at Fitzgeralds or another night spot it might be easier to live in DG and make the drive to Berwynn when you want to see some live music. There are venues for live music in DG and other suburbs too...

DG has the widest range of BNSF express trains to / from Union Station and is a top choice for anyone working in the Loop. You are also convenient to employment centers in Lombard, Oak Brook and Naperville as well having good access to the 355 for job in / near Schaumburg. It also a reasonable drive to work in Bolingbrook or other furthwr west / SW suburbs ...

Access to lots of those areas would be far more of a challenge from Berwyn.

[twoforty240]

Wow, thanks for that perspective. I had assumed that, since Berwyn is geographically closer to downtown, it would be more convenient to get around. Would going into the city on a weeknight from Downer's Grove be out of the question, or do the express trains make it feasible?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by twoforty240

Would going into the city on a weeknight from Downer's Grove be out of the question, or do the express trains make it feasible?

Express trains run only during rush hour in the prevailing direction of commuters (inbound to the Loop in the morning, outbound from the Loop in the afternoon/evening). If you wanted to go downtown on a weeknight, you'd either have to take the slow train or drive.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Express trains run only during rush hour in the prevailing direction of commuters (inbound to the Loop in the morning, outbound from the Loop in the afternoon/evening). If you wanted to go downtown on a weeknight, you'd either have to take the slow train or drive.

Since BNSF trains generally run without interruption from freights and often skip over the least busy stops it is very likely that a trip between Berwyn and DG is still faster than any other method of public transit -- CTA El trains generally stop at every stop during not rushhour and buses are always pokey. Sure it would be even faster to just DRIVE but the actual travel times from two suburbs on BNSF is often quite tolerable...

I personally have relied on BNSF to get around the 'burbs when I had to meet friends after work and it is surprisingly efficient. Of course drinking and riding the rails has its limits too ,but it is safer than DUI!

[Lookout Kid]

By "slow train", I mean the non-express Metra. The BNSF from Main Street Downers Grove to Union Station is a very quick 27 minutes if you get the rush hour express train. Without the express, the travel time is typically closer to an hour.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

By "slow train", I mean the non-express Metra. The BNSF from Main Street Downers Grove to Union Station is a very quick 27 minutes if you get the rush hour express train. Without the express, the travel time is typically closer to an hour.

You can hop on an outbound train from Union Station at 2:30PM that will run express to DG Main St by 2:53. The only way to beat that is to have Star Trek's Scotty beam you out! Seriously I have spent 20 minutes getting from Union Station to United Center via a cab at rush hour....

The way that the trains run to Brookfield or Berwyn means you actually have FEWER express options but they don't save as much time either -- the "every stop" (or "milk trains" that seem like you don't want to leave one drop behind...) take 18 or 27 mins to Berwyn or Brookfield. The expresses 15 & 21 mins

The DG Main St expresses run till 6:52PM which will get you to the station by 7:15PM, very handy. (In fact I have had to sheepishly ask my wife if she'd rather pick me at DG on that train or have me catch the next train to CH which would not get me home until 7:44. Most the time she opts to pick me up and then we get a drink or dinner in DG...)

Even the pokiest train from Union Station at 12:40 AM will still get you back to DG by 1:28AM, which is still way under and hour pretty impressive.

[twoforty240]

Interesting about Berwyn having fewer express options.

One more thing: let's say we wanted to visit friends of ours in the northern part of Chicago (not sure exactly which neighborhood, but I imagine something quite populated and hip is where they'll move). From DG, could we get there by car on a Thursday/Friday night in under an hour? By train?

[Lookout Kid]

One plug for Downers Grove: It does perhaps have the greatest Metra service in terms of distance traveled for the commute time. 27 minutes from that Main Street station is unparalleled that far out from the Loop. If I worked in DG, I would just live in DG.

But in terms of going downtown in the evening for a night out: I would drive.