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Old 03-10-2010, 04:55 PM
 
1 posts, read 3,874 times
Reputation: 11

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Hello!

I currently live in Houston, TX and I am pretty unfamiliar with the whole Chicago area. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I am a pharmaceutical sales rep and I am trying to relocate into the Chicago area....a position has opened up with my company in Oak Lawn. I am still young and would really prefer to live in the downtown-ish area of chicago (logan square, uptown, ukranian village, etc).

I need to be able to live like 30-45 mins (drive time) away from my territory..and from what i've seen on mapquest...oak lawn is only 20 or so miles away from some of the areas i would like to live in.

So...any suggestions on a good neighborhood that i will be able to accomplish both living in the city and be able to commute out to oak lawn for work? Is it possible? Will the drive be ridiculous?

Any thoughts on what is realistic and what to expect are greatly appreciated!!!

thanks so much!!!!!
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Old 03-10-2010, 05:11 PM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,370,617 times
Reputation: 18729
Oak Lawn technically adjoins Chicago, so the distance is not an issue, the real 'problem' is that in your line of work you NEED a car and you need to find a place where that is not terribly negative.

My gut says "Wicker Park" passed on access to Kennedy and Dan Ryan with likelihood of finding a place that is definitely hip enough and "downtownish" but also has a fair number of other car based commuters.

Wicker Park, Chicago, IL to Christ Hospital - Google Maps
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Old 03-11-2010, 08:13 AM
 
1,156 posts, read 3,750,378 times
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You might also consider the Beverly neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago, around 95th and Damen. Its would definitely be a lot closer for work, and there is some nightlife in the area, although it leans more toward family friendly/quasi suburban plus you'll run into the more insular "south side" quality of life a bit. However, there are places to go and things to do - do a search on the Beverly neighborhood and see what you think. You can get downtown into the city in about 30 minutes on the train.
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Old 03-11-2010, 01:17 PM
 
Location: Houston
279 posts, read 759,966 times
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West Loop, South Loop, and University Village may also be decent options. I'd say it's a little easier to keep a car in those areas than in the north side (at least it's fairly easy to find apartments that offer parking spots) and the commute is just a bit shorter as well.
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Old 03-15-2010, 08:06 PM
 
Location: Suburbs of Chicago
1,070 posts, read 2,920,483 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeAndBlue View Post
West Loop, South Loop, and University Village may also be decent options. I'd say it's a little easier to keep a car in those areas than in the north side (at least it's fairly easy to find apartments that offer parking spots) and the commute is just a bit shorter as well.
Definitely the South Loop. I hear so many things about that area now. I also second the Wicker Park (or how about Roscoe Village?)
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Old 03-15-2010, 08:14 PM
 
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Roscoe Village is pretty far north and the slighty more grown-up , not as 'radically hip' feel might be more laid back than the OP is looking for.

I'm guessing the OP will be a little disappointed with the South Loop too if they are really looking for "in our face hipsterness"...
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Old 03-15-2010, 08:19 PM
 
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The drive is not pleasant. I have been in Houston during rush hour and it isn't as bad as Chicago because we have a both ways commute. Just as many people going from city to suburb/suburb to suburb as suburb to city. My guess would be an hour each way during rush hour from Wicker Park/Bucktown/Ukrainian Village to Oak Lawn, which in actuality isn't the worst I've ever had or heard of in Chicagoland.

If you have a car in Wicker Park/Bucktown/Ukrainian Village, you can generally park it on the street and won't have to pay $100- $200 for a spot downtown like if you lived on the Near North Side (Streeterville, River North, Old Town, Gold Coast).
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Old 03-15-2010, 08:39 PM
 
Location: Suburbs of Chicago
1,070 posts, read 2,920,483 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
Roscoe Village is pretty far north and the slighty more grown-up , not as 'radically hip' feel might be more laid back than the OP is looking for.

I'm guessing the OP will be a little disappointed with the South Loop too if they are really looking for "in our face hipsterness"...
Ha, I guess you're right. I'm not really into that whole "hip" scene. I don't midnd shopping in "hip" establishments, but not living in that kind of area.

I only recommended RV because it has condos and apts with areas to park.

South Loop is pretty cool to me, though. I've seen some hispters round those parts. Hmm. I see I've got something to learn from this thread
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Old 03-15-2010, 09:01 PM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,370,617 times
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Default No way... Average speeds are not that low...

Quote:
Originally Posted by chitown85 View Post
The drive is not pleasant. I have been in Houston during rush hour and it isn't as bad as Chicago because we have a both ways commute. Just as many people going from city to suburb/suburb to suburb as suburb to city. My guess would be an hour each way during rush hour from Wicker Park/Bucktown/Ukrainian Village to Oak Lawn, which in actuality isn't the worst I've ever had or heard of in Chicagoland.

If you have a car in Wicker Park/Bucktown/Ukrainian Village, you can generally park it on the street and won't have to pay $100- $200 for a spot downtown like if you lived on the Near North Side (Streeterville, River North, Old Town, Gold Coast).
I will argue that that the bottle neck that occurs going through the section with all the exits to the Loop does get slow, and should there be a special event or terrible weather the speeds are going to suffer, but day-in & day-out that is under 20 miles and the average MPH is tracked by sensors: Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Corridor
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Old 03-15-2010, 09:15 PM
 
Location: Chicago: Beverly, Woodlawn
1,966 posts, read 6,076,182 times
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I assume you are doing the counter-commute -- going to Oak Lawn in the morning and coming back to chicago in the evening?? In that case 30-45 minutes is realistic from the center of the city (depending on how far west in oak lawn -- probably closer to 45 though). If you aren't doing the counter-commute then forget it -- traffic south on the Dan Ryan during rush hour is awful, and the jog over on 95th (or a similar road) is equally hellish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbasci View Post
Hello!

I currently live in Houston, TX and I am pretty unfamiliar with the whole Chicago area. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I am a pharmaceutical sales rep and I am trying to relocate into the Chicago area....a position has opened up with my company in Oak Lawn. I am still young and would really prefer to live in the downtown-ish area of chicago (logan square, uptown, ukranian village, etc).

I need to be able to live like 30-45 mins (drive time) away from my territory..and from what i've seen on mapquest...oak lawn is only 20 or so miles away from some of the areas i would like to live in.

So...any suggestions on a good neighborhood that i will be able to accomplish both living in the city and be able to commute out to oak lawn for work? Is it possible? Will the drive be ridiculous?

Any thoughts on what is realistic and what to expect are greatly appreciated!!!

thanks so much!!!!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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