Moving to Chicago...help with suburbs! (Naperville, Cicero: apartments, rentals, crime)

[tides88]

Hello,

My wife just took a job at Rush Medical Center. Coming from Buffalo, NY we are unfamiliar with Chicago and its many suburbs.

We are looking probably to rent a home for the 2 years we will be in the area. We have the two of us and a dog, school districts are of no consequence. Any suggestions on suburbs? Looking for a place that has a ~30 minute commute for her (including traffic) or around the same in train travel. We would like somewhere safe with easy access to the city.

Thank you!

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by tides88

Hello,

My wife just took a job at Rush Medical Center. Coming from Buffalo, NY we are unfamiliar with Chicago and its many suburbs.

We are looking probably to rent a home for the 2 years we will be in the area. We have the two of us and a dog, school districts are of no consequence. Any suggestions on suburbs? Looking for a place that has a ~30 minute commute for her (including traffic) or around the same in train travel. We would like somewhere safe with easy access to the city.

Thank you!

Budget?

[tides88]

Up to $3000/month

[oakparkdude]

As Rush lies just off I-290 (Eisenhower expressway), your best bet is looking in the western suburbs. Oak Park and River Forest are the nearest suburbs and full of highly educated professional families including many physicians who work in the Illinois Medical District (Rush, UIC, Cook County Hospital, VA.) Forest Park and Berwyn are adjacent to Oak Park and are an option for those who are priced out of Oak Park/River Forest, but have a more blue-collar vibe, fewer of the stereotypical high-end amenities and worse schools. A bit further out are suburbs like Riverside and LaGrange which are similar to OP and RF in demographics. A little bit further gets you to Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, etc which is about as far as you want to go to keep within 30 minute commute.

Oak Park (and to a lesser extent River Forest) are towns which arose in the pre-automobile era. Houses are old, lots are small, streets are narrow. Its quite urban for good and for ill. There are quite a few rental properties available ranging from pre-WW2 walk-up buildings to brand new high-rise apartments. SFH for rent are less common but also available. The further out from Chicago you go, the more suburban the towns become. Apartment rentals may be more difficult to find.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

As Rush lies just off I-290 (Eisenhower expressway), your best bet is looking in the western suburbs. Oak Park and River Forest are the nearest suburbs and full of highly educated professional families including many physicians who work in the Illinois Medical District (Rush, UIC, Cook County Hospital, VA.) Forest Park and Berwyn are adjacent to Oak Park and are an option for those who are priced out of Oak Park/River Forest, but have a more blue-collar vibe, fewer of the stereotypical high-end amenities and worse schools. A bit further out are suburbs like Riverside and LaGrange which are similar to OP and RF in demographics. A little bit further gets you to Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, etc which is about as far as you want to go to keep within 30 minute commute.

Oak Park (and to a lesser extent River Forest) are towns which arose in the pre-automobile era. Houses are old, lots are small, streets are narrow. Its quite urban for good and for ill. There are quite a few rental properties available ranging from pre-WW2 walk-up buildings to brand new high-rise apartments. SFH for rent are less common but also available. The further out from Chicago you go, the more suburban the towns become. Apartment rentals may be more difficult to find.

Pretty honest summary, though I know MANY physicians who work in the Medical District and live in Hinsdale, Elmhurst, Oak Brook and surrounding suburbs -- commute options include relatively wide range of surface streets that many physicians enjoy as they do have reserved parking at the various hospitals. No need for them to take transit...

You've missed the boat on rentals. There has been a literal EXPLOSION of high quality rentals in pretty much all the desirable suburbs. For folks looking in the whole corridor from Brookfield through Naperville have MANY MORE options than they did just a few years ago.

[JJski]

This is primo location - easy train walk and downtown LG. Uptown La Grange

There is a similar (smaller) luxury apartment going in downtown western springs. Its the construction across the water tower - Both locations are super nice, safe, train and core walkable and brand new in highly desirable areas...

[ronv11]

Forest Park or Oak Park would be good for you. There is something called the L. It is a commuter train that runs from these two towns, and stops right in front of rush hospital. Oak Park will cost more, and they probably have better schools. Forest Park is nice too and a little cheaper

Good luck in your search

[chet everett]

I would not recommend relying on CTA for the OP.

While there is a stop for the L that is right in the Rush / Medical Center complex at Polk, that stop is on the Pink line that runs to Berwyn which terminates near Laramie, close to the border with Cicero, hardly the ideal location for a young female medical professional.

The Blue line stop runs down the middle of the Eisenhower and if you're coming from the west you should know it goes through some of the most crime ridden areas in the entire city; if you were to be coming from the east / north it goes through the Loop that is much safer but adds significantly to travel times...

https://www.rush.edu/patients-visito...transportation

[ToriaT]

It depends also on when you are doing the commute. If its during day commuter hours the pink line might not be a bad bet and Berwyn might be a place to look. Berwyn is multicultural and you could probably rent a whole house there for your price range. If you could get close to Cermak Road, you can hop the bus to the Pink Line and get to work really easily. My son does it and he likes it. Of course he is a guy and he takes it during regular commuting hours. If he has to be downtown late for a class for example he takes an uber car. He also uses the CTA bus tracker. Its an app where you can track the buses so he stays in the pink line station until he sees a bus is close and then he goes out.

Here is the kind of vintage home you can rent in Berwyn. Its close to Cermak Road which will have buses that go to the pink line. https://hotpads.com/1927-home-ave-be...rtyTypes=house

I would not recommend taking the CTA from Forest Park or Oak Park. I think the Pink Line is safer. All CTA lines go through some dangerous areas. I also think the train is safe and good but its not ideal to go where you are going. A real pain in the butt to get to Rush. If you want to see a clip of the Pink Line commute in real time take a look at this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0zZlij52oc

[tides88]

Thanks for all the replies. Oak park really looks great. So the train seems like a bad idea. Would the drive in be a safety concern as well?