Oak Lawn vs. Evanston vs. Park Ridge Hospital Programs! (Chicago: home, neighborhoods)

[MDCB]

Hey all.

I am a medical student, soon to be resident. I am interviewing at UIC/Advocate Christ, Evanston Northshore, and Lutheran General Hospital for positions.

I know that all these suburbs are outside of downtown Chicago. I was wondering what these suburbs are like. Can anyone give me a quick rundown?

Would I be able to go enjoy the nightlife/culture/museum/plays/etc. in the city fairly easily if I had a car in one of these suburbs?

Thanks for all the help.

[oakparkdude]

Most of the young professionals in Chicago live and play in the north lakefront neighborhoods, basically everything between the lake and a few months west, from the Loop (downtown) all the way to Evanston. It'd be fairly easy to live along the north lakefront and commute to Evanston Northshore, in fact you could even take the el/subway to ENH. Evanston itself isanice place to live with lots of young adults due to the presence of Northwestern University.

LGH is north but inland without good transit options. You could still live on the north side of Chicago but the drive might be more painful than you'd care to tolerate.

Christ Hospital is on the southwest side of the metro so obviously a bit further away from the most desirable areas.

You should obviously consider which residency program will best fit your career goals, of course.

[chitown85]

I remember you from another forum and you stated that you are also looking for a large young single professional community.

Evanston is the most urban suburb. Since it is home to Northwestern, it has a large young professional population, but still not like compared to the city. There are plenty of restaurants, but the bars and clubs are lacking.

You could live in Edgewater, Lakeview, or Lincoln Park and take the train up to Evanston (red line switching to purple line). I recall you also saying you wanted a large Indian population. Edgewater on the far north side near Loyola University has a large Indian population, particularly in the high rises along Lake Shore Drive. It is also a convenient drive to Evanston Northshore.

Lutheran General Hospital is located in Park Ridge, a very close by NW suburb of the city. This one is not accessible by CTA train, but there could be buses serving the location. There is a METRA commuter rail stop that is too far to walk to, especially in winter. Check on the bus routes serving LGH.

If you were to work here, you would probably have to drive. You could still live in Edgewater and the commute would be about 30-45 minutes each way. Your other options are NW side neighborhoods to keep the commute to a minimum. Look into Jefferson Park, Edison Park, and Norwood Park. You might also like Avondale although it is a little further SE toward the city. The benefits of Jefferson Park and Avondale are you are right on the blue line for easy access to major nightlife spots (Bucktown, Wicker Park, downtown, Near West Side) and major bus routes to Lincoln Park/Lakeview.

Option 3 is Christ Advocate in Oak Lawn. I am not as familiar with the SW suburbs, but from my understanding, there is somewhat of an Indian population, although families, not young singles. If you wanted to live in the city and commute out to Oak Lawn, your best options would be South Loop or Near West Side. These commutes would run about 30-45 minutes each way.

Generally speaking, the suburbs lack in nightlife. In my opinion, its better to do an extra 15 minute commute each way and enjoy the city on weekends than to have a shorter commute by 15 minutes and have trouble finding things to do. It is hard to get into the city from the suburbs without driving, which inhibits the social life. The exceptions are Evanston and Oak Park since they have "L" and CTA bus access. Plus you will have to drive to all the cultural stuff, like museums, art galleries, theatre, etc.

[chet everett]

If you, like 95% of all physicians in the region, the difference in getting from any of those hospitals to the popular northside nightspots is trivial, Christ is very easy to drive to and any disadvantage in linear distance is easily made up with open highways. Similarly Lutheran General has multiple options for using either highways or surface streets depending on congestion / time of day.

Evanston may be closest as the crow flies, but slow moving surfaced streets negates any edge...


Choose which ever won't make any real difference in social options for someone that drives.

[MDCB]

Originally Posted by chet everett

If you, like 95% of all physicians in the region, the difference in getting from any of those hospitals to the popular northside nightspots is trivial, Christ is very easy to drive to and any disadvantage in linear distance is easily made up with open highways. Similarly Lutheran General has multiple options for using either highways or surface streets depending on congestion / time of day.

Evanston may be closest as the crow flies, but slow moving surfaced streets negates any edge...


Choose which ever won't make any real difference in social options for someone that drives.

Thanks Chet Everett.

Are these roads manageable in the infamous Chicago winters?
Thanks again.

[chitown85]

The plows move quickly thru the city and suburbs. They know what they are doing. The problem is ice and that slows things down. But the roads are manageable as we do it every year.

[ajolotl]

Christ to the city via the Dan Ryan will be pretty bad during the morning rush but pretty open (at least to the south loop) otherwise. I live pretty close to the highway (beverly) and can get to the south loop outside of rush hour in 20 minutes. Figure 15 more to Christ. I recommend 87th street. It's not so bad.

[chet everett]

While ajololtl is correct, the assumption they are making is that travel from the hospital to the northside / central city during rush hour probably is not. South side "reverse commute" is what the OP would be dealing with, and that is very different...

[ajolotl]

To clarify my point, I meant to suggest using 87th street as your route from Christ to the Dan Ryan (as opposed 95th, which is more congested). The Dan Ryan is backed up going north from 87th street in the morning -- not awful, but pockets of congestion. Any other time it is open. Opposite is true returning -- congested, sometimes badly, during the evening rush. This likely would not affect someone who wants to go to the city in the evening, but just so the facts are out there ...

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by chitown85

The plows move quickly thru the city and suburbs. They know what they are doing. The problem is ice and that slows things down. But the roads are manageable as we do it every year.

Many suburbs are really bad if there is significant snowfall. Some suburbs of note are along the lake on the north shore.