relocating from overseas to a Chicago suburb

[ontheroad46]

JustJulia, it would be nice to have some type of covered parking. I don’t know why rental sites don’t have covered parking as search criterion. I don’t have any fond memories of going out in the morning and scraping snow and ice off the windshield.

Thanks for the insight Chet. I’m learning more each day about the surrounding areas as I search for apartments. This information will come in useful when we begin house hunting. Hopefully, my better half gets a job nearby so neither one of us has a long commute.

BurrRidge, I forgot to answer the early question about flying from Midway. Currently, Midway doesn’t have flights to my destinations.

I have been reading comments on various apartments. Some are helpful and others are just comical. Bait and switch seems to be a common ploy. They show the nice apartment and then give the renter the crummy old apartment during move-in. It seems like the general trend is a lot of apartment buildings were nice, but over time and after multiple management changes their quality has deteriorated. The later management does surface repairs but doesn’t reinvest into the building (or staff). Based on the comments, there are several reports of busted pipes during the winter and a trend toward accepting less than "ideal" tenants. Maybe the later is angry former tenants or due to the current economic situation and management’s need to cover operation costs. Anyway, it's not reassuring.

Are there any resources available besides the Better Business Bureau that has official complaints or statistics on apartments/rental properties/management companies?

There are no comments on the Avalon Lombard. I take that to be a good sign.

Is there any thread similar to “Your Favorite Suburb and Why” for apartments? I have tried different search combinations to get information on apartments in a specific area, but it hasn't yielded much results. Has someone tried this type of thread and I'm late to the party?

Thanks

[Ophidian14]

You said you could afford up to $1,500. Have you ever considered renting a small single-family house? No chance for a bait-and-switch there.

[fairmarketvalue]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

1)If you are going to O'Hare on a regular basis your first 6-12 months you do not want to live in any of the areas below unless you don't mind leaving really early for your flight in the winter and sitting in your car more than an hour on a regular basis:

Glen Ellyn
Wheaton
Winfield
Warrenville
Naperville
Downers Grove
Aurora

Now of course after that period of heavy traveling is over those locations make a lot of sense if you are going to be working in Warrenville.

2) No. Not for the city neighborhoods. It is close in some areas generally speaking but in others it is way off.

I just read this and wanted to say how incorrect you are. At least speaking for Winfield, Wheaton, and more so, Glen ellyn. It is much less than an hour from wheaton, and even less from GE. And that is in traffic. Now if you are in the southern most part of Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, I might see that on the worst of scenarios. We live in N. Wheaton, and get right on North Ave through Elmhurst to 294 N straight to O'Hare. On a good day, you can go from our Driveway to the O'Hare exit in 1/2 hour. Just wanted to let you know that. Also, O'Hare is much closer than Midway. Midway would take you an hour or more. Thought I'd clarify. Have a good day.

[linicx]

I'm going t chime in on this because you mentioned Oak Park. and because this website has a little more information. The group that sponsors is non-profit. They can help you get settled. You can take a short lease while you search. The downside is it is farther to O'Hare. The upside is you can tour all the Sample Apratments. They list size and price and you may be able to arrange for covered parking. I"m including a little informaton on the Village of Oak Park.

The village: Oak Park Tourist - Touring, Living and Working in Oak Park, Illinois
Click on Sample Apartments. Prices rance from $750-$2000. Several routes to airport. http://www.apartmentsoakpark.org/: (broken link)

[Hatchetman]

Couple of thoughts. Elmhurst would seem to fit your criteria pretty nicely. Oak Park would also, but make sure you do your homework on location, there are a few sketchy areas.

[ontheroad46]

Thank you all for the additional information. I was wondering about the traffic on North Ave (and Roosevelt Rd). I'll be in the area next week for about a week so I will have a chance to check out the places mentioned and the traffic.

[fairmarketvalue]

Originally Posted by ontheroad46

Thank you all for the additional information. I was wondering about the traffic on North Ave (and Roosevelt Rd). I'll be in the area next week for about a week so I will have a chance to check out the places mentioned and the traffic.

While all the areas recommended are nice, I think some didn't read that you will eventually end up in the warrenville area. Elmhurst and Oak Park are really nice suburbs, but the commute to warrenville would be really bad. Settling in the Wheaton/Winfield/Warrenville area seems to make the most sense. And it is not a difficult commute to O'Hare from any of these towns, if you have to go for the 1st 6mo. Also, since you will eventually end up going downtown occasionally, these are all accessible train, and at close proximity, you would not spend a lot of time getting to the train stations.

There are countless apartment possibilities in the cantera area(warrenville), which is very very nice, and within your financial parameters. Same with south wheaton....amli developments at Danada, in addition to the countless condos available to rent in downtown Winfield, right by the hospital. Daycares, also plentiful in these areas, including, but not limited to Creme de la Creme on Deihl rd. in warrenville, a kindercare on Geneva rd. in Winfield, a Greentree preschool/daycare on Jewel rd. in n. Wheaton, another kindercare in danada in s. Wheaton, and a chesterbrook academy in s. Wheaton. You can't possible go wrong with these areas when grounded here, and while your wife and little one are home without you.

As for traffic on N. ave/Roosevelt....the 2 much different. N. ave(rt.64) is a 6-8 lane rd that resembles a highway, while roosevelt is a 4 lane through several towns that gets more congested as you head east from west, as reversed in the evening. If you were trying to get to 355 or 294, n. ave would be a better bet. Even though both have stop lights, the multiple lanes on n. ave. make it less congested. If you end up in the warrenville area, Roosevelt rd. gets backed up pretty badly near warrenville rd/west st./main st. in Wheaton at rush hour. You could avoid this by heading north on county farm to North ave and shoot straight east to 294/O'Hare. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[ontheroad46]

Thank you FMW for your insight.