Commuting from SW Michigan to Chicago, Daily? (Buffalo: 2013, rentals)

[JCandKT]

I'm looking to be transferred from Indianapolis to downtown Chicago for work. My husband, however, does NOT want to live in the city. We LOVE Southwest Michigan (New Buffalo) --- Lake Michigan "beach towns" and he wants to get into the brewery/winery (booming) business in that area.

So I saw there is the South Shore train that I could pick up in Michigan City (about 10-15 mins from New Buffalo).

My question is: do people commute from Michigan City to Chicago (downtown/Magnificent Mile)? Getting on as early as MC, would I have a seat? Is it reliable service? What is the commute like? I know that it goes from Eastern to Central, and Central to Eastern time zones, so I would gain an hour in the morning, lose an hour in the evening.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Am I going to regret this decision to live in SW Michigan?

Thanks in advance.

[Ace Rothstein]

That is over 90 minutes just on the train. Then you have your 10-15 minute drive to the station and then 5-15 minutes to get where you need to go in Chicago. You'd spend at least 4 hours every day commuting, if everything goes perfectly. Sounds like a nightmare commute if you are doing it on a daily basis.

[marothisu]

Technically speaking there are people who do because Michigan City is located within the consolidated metro area for Chicago, which has to do with commute patterns. However, it would be a a long commute each way commute.

When you say he doesn't want to live in the city - do you mean the metro area or just the city? Because if he meant just the city itself, that would be easy. You could live in a suburb and still get downtown for work.

[JCandKT]

4 hours daily... when you put it like that... eek!

I think I'll be able to work from home a couple of days a week, or at least at another office (Merrillville or South Bend).

Lots to think about.

[Maintainschaos]

That is a really long way to commute. I knew someone who did a similar commute into Chicago from Kenosha, WI. They moved into the city after 6 months because it was way too hellish. There are plenty of suburbs in IL or IN that one could live in and not commute that distance. The craft brewery scene in IL is getting much better, so I imagine there'd be opportunities here as well.

[JCandKT]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Technically speaking there are people who do because Michigan City is located within the consolidated metro area for Chicago, which has to do with commute patterns. However, it would be a a long commute each way commute.

When you say he doesn't want to live in the city - do you mean the metro area or just the city? Because if he meant just the city itself, that would be easy. You could live in a suburb and still get downtown for work.

I don't think he understands that there are suburbs very much like Indianapolis that we could possibly live in. Cost of living is a major concern. Violence/crime freaks him out (obviously).

I think we both love SW Michigan so much, that's what he's hooked on.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by JCandKT

I don't think he understands that there are suburbs very much like Indianapolis that we could possibly live in. Cost of living is a major concern. Violence/crime freaks him out (obviously).

I think we both love SW Michigan so much, that's what he's hooked on.

Yes, there are suburbs that you'd find that are similar to Indy or its suburbs and the cost of living is really not terribly different. Maybe a little more for a house but not substantially different, depending on the suburb. Compared to the city, I actually have a friend who moved from Indy about a year ago after being there for 20+ years. He says the prices for rentals even in the city outside of downtown aren't that much different than Indy now. Prices in Indy are rising and he showed me listings that shocked me. He actually showed me stuff where I could get a Chicago equivalent for less than what you'd pay in Indy in still a great neighborhood of Chicago.

As far as the crime thing goes - that's media sensantionlism for you. There are dangerous areas of town, just like any other big city, but tell him to use his head about that. There's 2.7 million people in the city, including 45+ million tourists per year. If most people were living in fear for their lives or getting mugged on the street, the population of the city would be far less. 99.8% of suburbs are very safe too (a few of them aren't, but that's an exception). Most of the bad areas of town are segregated from the good areas, which you'd have not much reason to ever step foot in them, and the chances of you randomly wandering into one on foot is about 0.001%.

In the end, I'd let him know that the suburbs are very safe too, not much different than what you'd find around Indy, and it's really not going to be tons more expensive. There's 7 million people in the area outside of the city - everyone has to survive somehow.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by JCandKT

I don't think he understands that there are suburbs very much like Indianapolis that we could possibly live in. Cost of living is a major concern. Violence/crime freaks him out (obviously).

I think we both love SW Michigan so much, that's what he's hooked on.

Originally Posted by marothisu

Yes, there are suburbs that you'd find that are similar to Indy or its suburbs and the cost of living is really not terribly different. Maybe a little more for a house but not substantially different, depending on the suburb. Compared to the city, I actually have a friend who moved from Indy about a year ago after being there for 20+ years. He says the prices for rentals even in the city outside of downtown aren't that much different than Indy now. Prices in Indy are rising and he showed me listings that shocked me. He actually showed me stuff where I could get a Chicago equivalent for less than what you'd pay in Indy in still a great neighborhood of Chicago.

As far as the crime thing goes - that's media sensantionlism for you. There are dangerous areas of town, just like any other big city, but tell him to use his head about that. There's 2.7 million people in the city, including 45+ million tourists per year. If most people were living in fear for their lives or getting mugged on the street, the population of the city would be far less. 99.8% of suburbs are very safe too (a few of them aren't, but that's an exception). Most of the bad areas of town are segregated from the good areas, which you'd have not much reason to ever step foot in them, and the chances of you randomly wandering into one on foot is about 0.001%

If the husband was fine with Indianapolis, than he should be fine with Chicago at least in terms of crime. Indianapolis has higher overall crime rates and it's homicide rate is almost 50% higher than Chicago's.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

If the husband was fine with Indianapolis, than he should be fine with Chicago at least in terms of crime. Indianapolis has higher overall crime rates and it's homicide rate is almost 50% higher than Chicago's.

Well, the homicide rate isn't 50% higher, but they aren't far off from one another. Indy's homicide rate has climbed though - in 2012 it was almost 12 per 100k. In 2013, Chicago's rate was something like 15 per 100k.


Aggragated Assault (2012):
Indy: 711.5 per 100k
Chicago: 453.1 per 100k

Burglary (2012)
Indy: 1761.6 per 100k
Chicago: 839.9 per 100k

Property Crime (2012):
Indy: 5592.1 per 100k
Chicago: 4152.5 per 100k

Larceny-Theft (2012):
Indy: 3282.1 per 100k
Chicago: 2684.9 per 100k

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Well, the homicide rate isn't 50% higher, but they aren't far off from one another. Indy's homicide rate has climbed though - in 2012 it was almost 12 per 100k. In 2013, Chicago's rate was something like 15 per 100k.


Aggragated Assault (2012):
Indy: 711.5 per 100k
Chicago: 453.1 per 100k

Burglary (2012)
Indy: 1761.6 per 100k
Chicago: 839.9 per 100k

Property Crime (2012):
Indy: 5592.1 per 100k
Chicago: 4152.5 per 100k

Larceny-Theft (2012):
Indy: 3282.1 per 100k
Chicago: 2684.9 per 100k

Yeah, I got a bit ahead of myself. Year to date Indy's homicide rate is almost 50% higher than Chicago's. In 2013, Indy's homicide rate was about 18% higher.