Moving to Chicago -- Commute/Location help! (Naperville, Joliet: rent, neighborhood)

[kcramp]

Hi guys,

I am moving from San Diego to Chicago for a job located in Joliet...I am a 22 year old guy who loves going out to bars, craft beer hunting, the gym, meeting women, etc...

However, I keep hearing I would only have fun in Wicker Park or Wrigleyville, but those areas seem really far away for my commute. I wanted to live in Wicker Park!

However, now I have a dilemma: I can live in Wicker/Wrigleyville, and make the commute everyday(buy a car), or I can live in The Loop and hop on the LaSalle Metra everyday(not buy a car, and park my little old Camry at the Joliet station to go to/from work)

Can someone weigh in on this/give me their opinions/other options?
P.s. rent max is ~2000

[rca215]

A few things:

1) There are far more options than Wicker Park and Wrigleyville for what you're looking for (coming from someone who has only lived in Wicker Park/Bucktown and Wrigleyville in Chicago).

2) Holy hell Joliet is far away. My measly commute to Skokie makes me want to off myself. Anyway, a quick Google Maps glance showed a 1.5 hour Metra commute from the Loop to there. That is insane even if you lived in the Loop. Can you handle a 3 hour commute every day?

3) The Loop is not a very normal place to live, except maybe that boring (IMO) upstart neighborhood north of Millennium Park, which isn't very close to the Metra station you need.

4) West Loop might be a better option, in terms of decent neighborhood and proximity to the Metra.

5) I don't know what traffic is like on the highways that go out to Joliet, but I would investigate that and then seriously investigate commuting by car. If feasible (which doesn't seem highly likely given it's almost 50 miles each way!), I would then seriously consider living in the South Loop, West Loop or Pilsen.

Disclaimer: Maybe I've totally failed on evaluating the Metra options to Joliet.

[rca215]

P.S. You'll do fine with your max rent.

[kcramp]

Thanks for the quick reply! I have had some future coworkers say that they make the drive in 45 minutes from "downtown Chicago," so that is why I was thinking about living in Wicker..I don't know if they were exaggerating or not. I tried setting up a traffic mapping website to record times for me, but traffic.com won't let me register. Blah.

By my estimates it's about an hour and 3 minutes metra ride, then 8 miles from the Joliet station..

I know it's far, but I am too young for living out in the burbs :/

[mattywo85]

Originally Posted by kcramp

Hi guys,

I am moving from San Diego to Chicago for a job located in Joliet...I am a 22 year old guy who loves going out to bars, craft beer hunting, the gym, meeting women, etc...

However, I keep hearing I would only have fun in Wicker Park or Wrigleyville, but those areas seem really far away for my commute. I wanted to live in Wicker Park!

However, now I have a dilemma: I can live in Wicker/Wrigleyville, and make the commute everyday(buy a car), or I can live in The Loop and hop on the LaSalle Metra everyday(not buy a car, and park my little old Camry at the Joliet station to go to/from work)

Can someone weigh in on this/give me their opinions/other options?
P.s. rent max is ~2000

As someone who used to live in the Joliet area and commute to Chicago let me tell ya, its about 45 min-1 hour drive to those areas, the train is about the same. They are TONS of bars in TONS of suburbs and the city. If you are looking for a "walkable downtown atmosphere" check out downtown Naperville, probably about 20-30 min from Joliet. Joliet also has a downtown and it has some bars, a casino, and a triple A(I think its triple A?) ball park but downtown Joliet honestly isn't that great and can be sketchy at night. Don't get me wrong Wrigleyville is fun to go to from time to time but your options are wide and far. If you absolutely want to live in the city go for it!

[marothisu]

I agree - Wicker or Wrigleyville...there's a hell of a lot more areas than that for someone of your description. $2000/month will afford you a 1 bedroom comfortably in any neighborhood. The Loop is boring, don't live there. I think the South Loop/Printers Row or West Loop would be better IMO both logistically for your commute, although IMO South Loop/Printers Row would be better especially for the Metra aspect of things.

Now for your commute..I'm assuming from your description that your work place is not near the metra station in Joliet..and your employer doesn't provide any sort of shuttle (sometimes with PACE suburban bus)? Driving in the metro area, depending on where, can be a hassle sometimes like for this long distance. In the winter if the weather sucks, you might be facing much worse delays in the car that the train won't have as much of. Also for the city in a more high rise area like South Loop or West Loop, if you were to live in a high rise then realize that parking spaces for those areas can be at least $175/month..

There are a lot of bars in the suburbs too BUT I know exactly what you mean. There's nothing like actually living in the city even if there's suburbs with some life.

[kcramp]

mattywo85:

You think I could make it a ~45 min commute? I only wanted a walking bar city atmosphere because I'm moving to somewhere I've never been, and know absolutely nobody there. Figured if I lived in the middle of it all it would be easy to meet people..

I wasn't really trying to live in the burbs...been doing that all my life!

[kcramp]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I agree - Wicker or Wrigleyville...there's a hell of a lot more areas than that for someone of your description. $2000/month will afford you a 1 bedroom comfortably in any neighborhood. The Loop is boring, don't live there. If you end up doing the Metra thing, it's in the south part of the Loop so living somewhere near there like the South Loop/Printers Row would be better IMO.

Now for your commute..I'm assuming from your description that your work place is not near the metra station in Joliet..and your employer doesn't provide any sort of shuttle (sometimes with PACE suburban bus)? Driving in the metro area, depending on where, can be a hassle sometimes like for this long distance. In the winter if the weather sucks, you might be facing much worse delays in the car that the train won't have as much of.

If I go the train option, I would park a Camry at the station and essentially only drive it to and from work and the station (8.3 miles). I was looking at printers row, but it's hard to find someone who wants a roommate! I have no problems living alone, but it would be nice to have a wingman.

I would buy a car if I choose wicker/wrigley...

Edit-- I also have every other Friday off !

[mattywo85]

Originally Posted by kcramp

mattywo85:

You think I could make it a ~45 min commute? I only wanted a walking bar city atmosphere because I'm moving to somewhere I've never been, and know absolutely nobody there. Figured if I lived in the middle of it all it would be easy to meet people..

I wasn't really trying to live in the burbs...been doing that all my life!

If you take the train you can make it in 45 most days unless there is a delay of some kind. In traffic driving I doubt you will make it under an 1 hour minimum during rush hour but w/o traffic you can make it in roughly 45 minutes. O yeah and don't park your car in the downtown Joliet metra overnight, its not the best place lol.

[chet everett]

Even if it is legal to park overnight at the Joliet Metra station I would caution that it is probably the least safe "terminus" on any Metra line in the region...