Chicago to Wood Dale, best area to commute from? (Naperville: rentals, condos)

[Lhc213]

Recently got a job in Wood Dale IL and moving to Chicago. What's the best area for shortest commute if you're driving? (Public transit is sadly not an option) I'm already used to driving an hour, and I am hoping for something no longer than that. Any suggestion welcome, thank you!

[chet everett]

Wood Dale is decent enough suburb with good access to Rt 83, I-290, and IL 53. There are nice homes, condos and rentals. If you have kids the schools in Elmhurst, directly south, and probably enough of a step-up that it makes sense to shop their. What is your budget? Othwr factos / desires?

[Lhc213]

I'm a recent college graduate college and thankfully got my current teaching job shortly after. I'm living in Skokie currently and just am done with the suburbs entirely and am looking to start a new chapter in the city. My budget would be preferred on the lower end and will be considering roommates.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Lhc213

Recently got a job in Wood Dale IL and moving to Chicago. What's the best area for shortest commute if you're driving? (Public transit is sadly not an option) I'm already used to driving an hour, and I am hoping for something no longer than that. Any suggestion welcome, thank you!

Dunning.

[chet everett]

Dunning is probably the Chicago residential area physically nearest to Wood Dale but I think Drover, assuming he has actually been to Wood Dale, also knows that since one would have to drive completely around O'Hare / across Bensenville it really is not going to save much time. Further, as Dunning was once land reserved for cemetaries / waste disposal it is almost unquestionably the least likely spot to provide any of the options for the kinds of entertainment / social life a recent college grad would like to have nearby. It is also rather poorly served by transit so you cannot easily get to / from hipper neighborhoods. It is, however, often among the more affordable of Chicago's non-unsafe neighborhoods...

Still not exactly sure what you want to acheive. You say you "done with the suburbs" but a job in Wood Dale (I assume at a public school) is going to have you spending an awful lot of time getting the suburbs. And as far as suburbs go Skokie is not exactly is the best place -- it is has a dearth of nightlife, has about the most boring residential architecture in the region, is home a large regional mall with a somewhat unusual mix of higher end stores but a mostly sprawling and inconveneient layout. Though Skokie has direct links to the CTA rapid transit via the Yellow line, it is far less appealing than Evanston or Oak Park. The latter may be you best bet for reasonable commute "for this next pause of your life".

If you want to be told that it would be easy to live in some hipster hotspot like Wicker Park you won't hear that from me. It would be a terrible commute. You'd put a ton of miles in your car and be really miserable fighting traffic choke pints every morning and evening. In bad weather you'll probably risk your sanity / losing you job. Although Wood Dsle is not as far from Chicago as Naperville or some town in Lake Co it is not close enough to be really "convenient" to commute even from Chicsgo neighbor right alongside an expressway.

Basically if you thought this "new phase of your life" is one where you dine at exciting eateries / party at hip hang outs after a brief drive you clearly should have checked a map before you accepted the new job...

[Drover]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Dunning is probably the Chicago residential nearest to Wood Dale but I think Drover, assuming he has actually been to Wood Dale, also knows that since one would have to drive complete around O'Hare / across Bensenville it really is not going to save much time. Further, as Dunning was once land reserved for cemetaries / waste disposal it is almost unquestionably the least likely spot to provide any of the options for the kinds of entertainment / social life a recent college grad would like to have nearby. It is also rather poorly served by transit so you cannot easily get to / from hipper neighborhoods. It is, however, often among the more affordable of Chicago's non-unsafe neighborhoods...

Sure I've been to Wood Dale. Used to live right next to it in Itasca. It's an easy shot from Dunning down Irving Park Road, maybe 5 miles or so.

I doubt many 20-somethings (who don't speak primarily Polish anyway) would find it terribly stimulating, but even after responding to a request for elaboration, The OP'S only stated criteria are the closest commute to Wood Dale from Chicago with a "lower end" budget. Absent additional elaboration, the neighborhood that best fits the bill is Dunning.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Drover

Sure I've been to Wood Dale. Used to live right next to it in Itasca. It's an easy shot from Dunning down Irving Park Road, maybe 5 miles or so.

I doubt many 20-somethings (who don't speak primarily Polish anyway) would find it terribly stimulating, but even after responding to a request for elaboration, The OP'S only stated criteria are the closest commute to Wood Dale from Chicago with a "lower end" budget. Absent additional elaboration, the neighborhood that best fits the bill is Dunning.

I suppose that part of the whole region would prompt one to rename from the "Irving Park Rd corridor" to "Boring Park Rd" and as such Dunning could be titled the "City's Gateway to Boredom"...

[Lhc213]

"You should have checked a map before you accepted your job"

...alright then, that was a bit judgmental in my opinion. If you haven't noticed lately, it's pretty damn hard to find a job these days, especially in my field. I have been extremely lucky to have found one without having to relocate out of the state. (Most of my graduating class has because IL is so hard to find a job)

Also this description you assumed I would want to be living of fancy eateries, hip hang out and a short drive is something I know won't exist in my position. Of course someone in their mid 20's would love that, but I'm not oblivious to reality. I already find myself driving out to the city very often to see my friends, family (my nieces especially) and the fact I have lived in Skokie for over 2 decades is why I can say I'm ready for a change of scenery. Other co-workers live in the city and commute to where I work just fine, I just thought I would get more opinions and research my options. Not be accused of not checking a map.

[ToriaT]

I am in Wood Dale at least twice a week working on getting my condo ready to sell. Its a nice enough place and it has various transport options. One thing I hate is the travel around the air port to get past it and into Wood Dale. That would not be my favorite commute option. Wood dale can also be accessed by the Grand AVe Lake street corridor and the Eisenhower expressway. Oak Park might be an option as well as points east that are accessible to the Eisenhower although as said above the commute will be a nightmare at times.

[chet everett]

I will second ToriaT's comments about some nightmare commutes to/from Wood Dale -- though it is somewhat "central" the weird way that is about halfway between the very congested Thorndale / 53 interchange and the nearly as bad 83 / Thorndale intersection makes for some challenges.

I find it odd that given that this sounds like a new job, that apparently is increasingly hard to find, the primary concern is getting a place in the city. I mean I sorta wonder where you went to college. There are not a whole of schools close to Skokie, if you went to UIC you must understand how nasty the traffic in the region was. As you say you've spend two decades in Skokie it is far to assume all but about the last 4 years of that has been without a driver's license and at your parent's home so it is fair that you at leat know how public transit in the region works works though you know it won't work to Wood Dale.

Honestly if you are jsut dying to have a 606xx zip code Drover's suggestion of Dunning is about the only way you can keep the commute below an hour, but Dunning makes Skokie seem exciting by comparison.

Maybe you should have moved out of state like your classmates...

BTW -- Sorta curious about where you went to college. Was it in the region or downstate? Public or private? Not that long ago the region had enough openings for teachers educated here to get employment here. I am curious which school saw most of of its new teacher candidates have to seek jobs elsewhere.