Elk Grove commute (Chicago, Lincoln, Forest View: hardwood floors, apartments, rent)

[HappyHero]

Hi all,

I posted earlier about a job in elk grove village and wanting to live in chicago. Well I have taken the job and will be moving to the beautiful city of chicago within the month.

I have decided I want to shorten my commute to work and would appreciate any advice for a place to live.

I am a 25 year old male who loves to go out to bars, sporting events, live music, restaurants, love the night life, make friends easily and am super excited to be moving to a place where I know no one.

I am working in elk grove village as mentioned and am thinking that instead of living right in the middle of all the action with a long cummute, it would be best to find a place that is between dowtown/the night life action (I'm not sue what everyone considers downtown, i consider it where everyone goes out at night to have a good time - if there are other areas to do this please mention) and where I work.

What are good areas to live in with cool, trendy apartments that would give me access to public transportation to downtown/restaurants/the night life/fun stuff and also shorten my drive to elk grove village for work. Somewhere between the two to "split the difference" on commute to work/easy access to a fun lifestyle??

what would you experienced chicago dwellers do in my situation?

[Drover]

Well, I'll just repeat what I said the first time you asked this question...

You can split the difference by living as far along the CTA Blue Line as possible -- near the Cumberland or Harlem stops for instance, or maybe near the Jefferson Park stop. The Blue Line runs 24/7 and gives you access to numerous of the city's dining/entertainment/nightlife spots either directly (Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Little Italy) or by connection to 24/7 bus lines (Lawrence Avenue bus line to Lincoln Square, Andersonville or Uptown, Belmont bus to Lakeview and short walk from there to Lincoln Park). And from, say, the Higgins and Cumberland area, your commute to Elk Grove could be as little as 20 minutes. "Cool, trendy apartments" are in short supply in these areas, but you can find a nice, clean, spacious pad nonetheless, some with hardwood floors and high ceilings and what-not.

[HappyHero]

Hey man, thanks for the help! It's much appeciated.

What are the specific neighborhood names along those stops, are they called cumberland, harlem, and jefferson park?? I only have a month before I need to settle in so what would I search for on craigs list.

Could you tell me what you know about those areas - rent prices for 1 bedroom apartments, the overall vibe, etc.

Thanks

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

The Jefferson Park stop is in Jefferson Park. The Harlem stop is at sort of a 'four corners' of Oriole Park, Norwood Park, Union Ridge, and Old Norwood Park. Cumberland is in the "O'Hare neighborhood", according to official City of Chicago neighborhood names. I know part of the O'Hare area is called Schorsch Forest View. Not sure what the boundaries of that are.

[Drover]

CBC pretty much has the neighborhoods covered. The overall vibe is sort of a blend of city and suburban. It's more family-oriented like suburbia but denser. The area is quiet and I daresay even a little boring. But the Blue Line can get you to less boring places in fairly short order.