Job in Prospect Heights, Want a Walkable Area with Reasonable Commute (Chicago: rent, crime)

[engineer23]

Hi all,

The title basically says it all: I'm a young professional (23) that recently got a job in Prospect Heights and am moving in from out of state. I'm bringing my car, but I'd like to live in an area that's walkable and possibly close to a Metra stop (so I can go out to bars/restaurants without worrying).

I've been looking at the northern neighborhoods of Chicago (such as Lincoln Square) and the N/NW suburbs such as Mt. Prospect, Arlington Heights, Schaumberg, Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka. I feel like Lincoln Square will be too long of a daily commute (probably an hour during rush hour) and I feel like Mt. Prospect and Arlington Heights would be boring so lately I've been looking at Evanston/Wilmette/Winnetka as a compromise between walkability and commute time. I'll probably be working 10-11 hours/day so I don't really want a commute longer than 30 min one way.

However, as I said, I'll be new to Chicago so any comments regarding my reasoning or suggestions of other areas would be welcome. What do you all think?

[mr roboto]

Evanston is great but the commute east/west is all 4 lane roads with stop lights. Can get really backed up at rush hour. Arlington Heights has the best downtown of the NW Burbs but is only maybe 6 blocks square. All up and down 14 (Park Ridge, Mount Prospect, AH) there are little downtowns.

If you can handle a stop-and-go commute Evanston would be your best mix. It's got a lot of energy (Northwestern is there) and bonus it is connected to the CTA trains so you can get on a train there and get into the city. No other burb really has that (Skokie does but for you I don't know if Thats gonna be any better than AH). The Metra is the commuter train so from the Northwest Burbs you could go downtown but that's it. It doesn't connect to many of the neighborhoods in the city. It's designed for suburban commuters.

[engineer23]

Thanks for the reply! Do you think if I left at 7am and got back around 6:30pm the traffic would still be bad? Also, I've read that the south of Evanston is a little sketchy. Are the areas a block or two south of Dempster St. still ok?

[ToriaT]

Most of Evanston is good except the very south part near the border of Chicago and one other area that I lost track of.....those more familiar will chime in. Evanston is very good but it will not be a short commute to Prospect Heights.
However its possible you might find some short cuts and make good time. I like Arlington Heights quite a bit. I would encourage you to look there as well. Its much closer.

[4122]

Crime in Evanston really depends on the area. The bad areas are south of Main and near the high school. Arlington Heights is a good option. You should also look at a neighborhood in the city on the same line as Prospect Heights, so you don't have to live in a boring area, but the commute to work isn't too bad.

[mr roboto]

Originally Posted by engineer23

Thanks for the reply! Do you think if I left at 7am and got back around 6:30pm the traffic would still be bad? Also, I've read that the south of Evanston is a little sketchy. Are the areas a block or two south of Dempster St. still ok?

7am would be fine because you'd be going opposite traffic vut you have to cross over both 94 and 294 (probably using Lake/Euclid). But you'd have like 20 different iterations to take so you could find the best path.

Going home may be trickier. I don't really travel that area often during rush hour. Take a look at a map though it's clear that you would be cutting across the typical north-south commute.

[engineer23]

So after living in Evanston for close to a year, I can offer the following insights for others in a similar situation (scroll down if you don't care about Evanston, because I'd like your take on the discussion I've started below):

-In general, Evanston is a nice community. It regularly has events going on, though I've really only been to a few. Northwestern does have a large impact on the community (as you might expect), but Evanston still has character outside of the university. I don't know if I would characterize the feel more as a city neighborhood or a small town, but the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.

-Nightlife options are fairly limited in Evanston, though there are a few nice places. It's really more of a "let's go to this bar tonight" sort of place rather than "a night out in the city".

-Makeup of the community seems to be centered around three main demographics: NU students, mid-career professionals starting a family (young children), and much older, retired folks. As a young professional, there's not really too many people in a similar situation here and if you don't know anyone at NU then that scene is pretty much out of the question.

-Evanston does have good options for getting into the city (numerous CTA + Metra stops) and Lake Shore drive. Have gone out in River North a number of times and it is easy to either take a cab/Uber back to OTC and take the Metra back or just take an Uber ($20-25) all the way (for the really late nights). (Trust me, you don't want to spend 50 min on the CTA when you're drunk).

-In terms of crime/safety, beyond the occasional mentally ill person screaming as they walk down the street, I've really never felt unsafe.

-I would say at the end of the day that it's not really worth my commute to Prospect Heights (45 min pretty much regardless of when I leave) or the rent I pay ($1050 for a studio + cooking gas/electric, parking included). It's a nice place to live but as someone mentioned on another thread, you should really "go big or go home", that is, just bite the bullet and live in the city (and deal with the commute). Or move close to work (10-15 min drive).

Here's where I'd like to keep the conversation going:

I've been oscillating between those two camps for the last month or so. I often stay later at work and if I go to the gym afterwards, then I get home between 830-930. If I lived in the city, I'd get home even later, which begs the question of does it make sense to live in the city if you can really only enjoy it on the weekends. People that live in the city usually come back with "there's more to do" but is there really MORE (i.e. more types of activities) or just more variety for the same activities (i.e. more types of bar, restaurants etc). That being said, I do appreciate that the majority of 20-somethings live in the city, and it's obviously more fun to hang out/party/etc with people your own age. And as a holdover from college, I would enjoy living in a walkable neighborhood. On the other hand, my job pays me overtime so the time I spend commuting is a double-whammy in terms of money out of my pocket (I think I would work the same hours regardless).

So...what are your thoughts?

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by engineer23

So after living in Evanston for close to a year, ...
Here's where I'd like to keep the conversation going:

I've been oscillating between those two camps for the last month or so. I often stay later at work and if I go to the gym afterwards, then I get home between 830-930. If I lived in the city, I'd get home even later, which begs the question of does it make sense to live in the city if you can really only enjoy it on the weekends. People that live in the city usually come back with "there's more to do" but is there really MORE (i.e. more types of activities) or just more variety for the same activities (i.e. more types of bar, restaurants etc). That being said, I do appreciate that the majority of 20-somethings live in the city, and it's obviously more fun to hang out/party/etc with people your own age. And as a holdover from college, I would enjoy living in a walkable neighborhood. On the other hand, my job pays me overtime so the time I spend commuting is a double-whammy in terms of money out of my pocket (I think I would work the same hours regardless).

So...what are your thoughts?

I have basically had the same advice for anyone in the situation -- lots more options for a single person in the city. If you want to have casual dates, even just talk to others your own age / don't have a regular group of friends / co-workers it probably makes sense to live in a "hot" area of Chicago for a year or so.

For anybody in a committed relationship or with a schedule that makes travel for work part of the equation a nice short drive to work from a town close by might make more sense.