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Thread summary:

Relocating to Chicago: buy a house, great schools, transport system, financial stability, real estate.

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Old 04-11-2008, 08:14 AM
 
Location: Tower Grove East, St. Louis, MO
12,063 posts, read 31,549,370 times
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Originally Posted by NYrules View Post
Of course there is the other way to get downtown WHENEVER you want, of which I know I will get tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, and whatever else thrown at me but you can always drive in. (I know I know... Boooo hissssss) lol. Some of the interstates such as 90/94 on the south side have been redone recently and actually move right along even during rush hour, so its just a thought.
There are several major reasons why for many people driving into the city doesn't make sense, and OP you'll have to gauge all of these.

1. Parking. In the loop it's nightmarish and very expensive

2. Traffic. Stop and go crap makes me want to pound my face into the steering wheel. I'd far rather sit on a train, drink my coffee and read the paper, even if it makes the commute slightly longer.

3. Gas Prices. Need I say more?
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Old 04-11-2008, 09:00 AM
 
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The other fact is that with rare exception it is MUCH SLOWER to drive all the way into the City. While parts of 94 do move OK when there is less than peak traffic, most of the day and evening DOES have peak traffic. Once you get off the expressway you have to deal with the surface street, which Ald Burke thought were so crowded that he wanted to have some sort of London style tax for congestion. It is not just commuters, it is construction people, some of whom have tools and supplies, it is all the various trucking needs of the stores and businesses in the City, it is folks that work outside the Loop/near vicinity and/or work a schedule that includes shift work. It is people heading to sporting events and museums.

Believe me I have nothing against people who HAVE to drive, but for people who work downtown and can take the commuter trains, especially those that have really useful schedules, you'd have to be sick to if not make that your top choice.

Similarly I have nothing against the south suburbs. For folks for who can make living there a convenient commute to work, wherever work is, they are great option. It is not as popular a location for people relocating from outside the Chicago area, and I doubt it is any sort of conspiracy. You read some articles about places in DuPage Co or the NW burbs and you get here with a Realtor to check things out. My guess is that if some employers down there that DO have a higher percentage of relocations (Andrew Corp? the hospitals? {especially Christ}) made more of effort to get transferees to live in south suburbs they'd have some success and it would blossom, but the companies probably don't want to be too intrusive and if they were really successful and real estate got more pricey than that "secret" of the folks that live there would be lost...
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