Possibly moving to Chicago... (Downers Grove, Elmhurst: rentals, condos, townhomes) - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

jay-gee34 · 02-09-2013, 05:47 PM

I might be transferring to Oak Brook for work in the next month or so. My wife and I are city people and are much more familiar with neighborhoods of Roscoe Village, Bucktown, Lincoln Park and Lakeview and really prefer to live in that area. We are not huge into the suburbs but if it is necessary we will find rentals out near Downers Grove or Elmhurst. Would it be absolutely ridiculous to try to commute from say RV to Oakbrook if my schedule is 7am-3:30pm?

marothisu · 02-09-2013, 06:41 PM

7:30am from RV would kind of suck IMO. Leaving at 330pm from your job, things are clear-ish for a little bit but start to fill u pretty fast. If I were you, in all honesty, I would look at an area in Bucktown, Wicker Park, or Ukrainian Village/East Village. From there you would cut down your time...or better yet, if there's an easy way to get to/from the Metra at this job, that's even better for your sanity.

chet everett · 02-09-2013, 07:34 PM

I agree that Roscoe Village would atrocious. If you simply MUST live somewhere that you can ride the El to drinking establishments of Lakeview you could live as far west as Forest Park and have a much more sane commute.

If you have kids I would recommend a town with better schools.

jay-gee34 · 02-09-2013, 09:23 PM

Okay that's what i was thinking. I'm okay with Bucktown and the others. The main thing is that I don't think we are ready for suburban life just yet. No offense to suburban dwellers, but with no kids yet and hopefully none for a couple years, we want to take advantage of that. I don't know much about Ukrainian Village, what is that area like?

marothisu · 02-10-2013, 01:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay-gee34

Okay that's what i was thinking. I'm okay with Bucktown and the others. The main thing is that I don't think we are ready for suburban life just yet. No offense to suburban dwellers, but with no kids yet and hopefully none for a couple years, we want to take advantage of that. I don't know much about Ukrainian Village, what is that area like?

I'm not a fan of the burbs either, don't worry. Ukrainian Village/East Village is just south of Wicker Park. Kind of artsy-ish but there's a lot of nice condos/townhomes/whatever there if you know where to look (nicest one I've been in, in Chicago, was in UK Village). UK Village has a good amount of bars/restaurants, but on average it's maybe a little quieter than a Wicker Park. South of Division Street, which is kind of the cut off for Wicker Park. Just think of it this way. If you like Wicker Park and Bucktown, UK Village is right there, a little quieter, and even closer to I-290 for your commute. The crowd is less frat/big 10-like there. You can pretty easily get to Wicker Park/Bucktown from UK Village. It's just south of it.

Bird4Prez · 02-10-2013, 06:37 AM

You are getting sound advice so far. Ukranian Village would be good, but the West Loop would be the best for you IMO. Getting close to 290 and away from the Circle is going to be crucial. Even if you have a reverse communte, there are tons of variables involved with communting for at least a half-hour. The West Loop would give you access to 24 hour trains (which is one of the best things this town has going for it).

chet everett · 02-10-2013, 07:38 AM

I completely understand the desire of those without kids to try to keep their nightlife options as open as possible. The sort of delays that one can avoid be choosing a location that allows you to be home while others are stuck in parking lot levels of congestions at the Kennedy / Eisenhower could easily give you MANY hours per week of additional time to enjoy the attractions of the city.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bird4Prez

You are getting sound advice so far. Ukranian Village would be good, but the West Loop would be the best for you IMO. Getting close to 290 and away from the Circle is going to be crucial. Even if you have a reverse communte, there are tons of variables involved with communting for at least a half-hour. The West Loop would give you access to 24 hour trains (which is one of the best things this town has going for it).

jay-gee34 · 02-10-2013, 02:07 PM

Thanks for the advice everyone. We are definitely looking for a walkable living area, with a lot of options for local restaurants, bookstores and bars etc. Obviously not having a long commute would be nice but I think it would be worth liking where we live if I have to drive an extra 10 minutes to and from work.

Is there reliable public transportation from the Ukrainian Village out to Oak Brook?

Also, we have friends in the Bridgeport area, is that too far of a commute or is that do able?

marothisu · 02-10-2013, 02:17 PM

Let me ask you this. What's your budget? Ukranian Village and East Village don't necessarily have the train going through it, although there's a stop right outside of East Village on the Blue Line. Since these areas are right south of Wicker Park, there's still the blue lines there.

Unfortunately, now that I think of it, I don't think Oak Brook has a Metra going to it. It has PACE bus service, but not a Metra...which sucks.

From the Wicker Park/Bucktown/UK Village/East Village area, the easiest way to get to Bridgeport is to take the Blue Line a few stops and then xfer to Orange Line. There are some buses and stuff, but buses as you can imagine are "slower" for longer distances than trains.

jay-gee34 · 02-10-2013, 02:26 PM

It would be nice if we could get something for $1200 or under. We are looking more at Chicago rather than our first choice of Washington, DC because of the lower cost of living so we obviously want to see a difference.

I imagine I would end up driving to work most days, without the Metra going out to Oak Brook, I don't think I have many other options on that front.

We want to also take advantage of summer baseball games, though being Tigers fans I'm not sure if we should show up at The Cell. =) Wrigley might be more neutral even if it means rarely seeing the home team win!