Living near train lines in Oak Park (Forest Park: apartment, condo)

[dancer6]

Hi everyone,
My fiance and I are looking to move to Oak Park, and have found a great condo that we love, but it is right near the L and Metra train lines, so much so that we see the train about 15 feet away outside the living area windows. Obviously, there are some downsides to this, and we are wondering if anyone has had a living experience like this or knows someone who has, and if you could offer any input on what it's like to be so close to the train. Do you get used to it? Is it a huge problem? What have people's experiences been???
Thanks so much for your help!

[oakparkdude]

We don't live that close but I do know the trains run all day and night. Make sure your unit is quiet in the bedroom with trains going by.

[mendelman]

I live on Taylor just 3 houses south of South Blvd (and the metra, L, and freight trains). We hear them all the time, but it eventually blends into the background and you start to not notice it anymore. Though for you, being tens of feet from the trains will be different.

I agree with sukwoo - be sure the bedrooms are further away from the trains.

Good luck and welcome to Oak Park.

[aragx6]

I would think it would be the train as opposed to the el that would be hardest to get used to. They're probably not just for the metra- freight trains probably use those lines too and they are LOUD

Have you lived in the city previously? I would think if you are coming form an urban area with more noise you'd get used to it more easily than if you were coming from a very quiet area.

[mdz]

the freights do use that line. Bottom line--I would see if you can visit the place for a bit and wait for a train to go by and see what is sounds like. Some of the newer construction has real good sound dampening.

[nicolepsy]

my son lives a block away from the trains and doesnt notice the sound at all. he says you can hear it if you try to listen for it but other than that it's not a problem.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by dancer6

Hi everyone,
My fiance and I are looking to move to Oak Park, and have found a great condo that we love, but it is right near the L and Metra train lines, so much so that we see the train about 15 feet away outside the living area windows. Obviously, there are some downsides to this, and we are wondering if anyone has had a living experience like this or knows someone who has, and if you could offer any input on what it's like to be so close to the train. Do you get used to it? Is it a huge problem? What have people's experiences been???
Thanks so much for your help!

Well, I lived at North Blvd. and Forest, and my apartment window was about 50 feet or so from the tracks. You get used to the noise. The L trains park at the depot in Forest Park and the Metras are only an issue during rush hours. And, of course, it's very convenient.

However, it wasn't perfect. Freight trains also share the tracks, and BNSF or whoever operated them would park idling trains in that area. That meant a coating of black soot on the window sills and my A/C filter would literally be clogged up with sticky black junk every couple of weeks or so. I became concerned about this as time went on and it was a factor in my deciding to move out. I don't know if they still do this but you should definitely check the area out at different times and see if it's still an issue. It sounds silly but check the A/C ducts. Air quality is an important point, especially if you're buying and going to live there awhile. My $.02.

[oakparkdude]

We used to live by the OP library (about one block away). My wife swore she could smell the fumes from the freight train locomotives idling on the tracks even though I could not (she has a nose like a bloodhound).

[mendelman]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I would think it would be the train as opposed to the el that would be hardest to get used to. They're probably not just for the metra- freight trains probably use those lines too and they are LOUD

Actually, my experience is that the L is the loudest (think rattling an empty soda half filled with coins), the freight trains that next loudest (but not nearly as loud as the L) and the quietest is the Metra (though I am on the east side of the village and don't have to deal with them slowing and stopping for the Oak Park stop near Harlem).

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by mendelman

Actually, my experience is that the L is the loudest (think rattling an empty soda half filled with coins), the freight trains that next loudest (but not nearly as loud as the L) and the quietest is the Metra (though I am on the east side of the village and don't have to deal with them slowing and stopping for the Oak Park stop near Harlem).

It really doesn't go by enough on that track for this to be too much of a problem -- except during weekday rush hours when you're probably going to or coming from work anyway. Plus the Green Line's last run is around 1 a.m. I believe and they're only going by every 15 minutes or so after 7 p.m. The major concern for me was the air quality from the freights.