Commuting from SW Michigan to Chicago, Daily? (Washington, Benton: 2014, home)

[Teddy52]

Ask yourself these 2 questions............

Are many people were I want to live commuting to Chicago for work ?

( if the answer is...no ..)...........Why not ?


Simple !

[nearnorth]

Originally Posted by Teddy52

Ask yourself these 2 questions............

Are many people were I want to live commuting to Chicago for work ?

( if the answer is...no ..)...........Why not ?


Simple !

The only problem with this logic is that living in a place where many people who make the same commute as you generally means your commute is going to have worse traffic, among other things. Some would rather take the literal road less traveled.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by nearnorth

The only problem with this logic is that living in a place where many people who make the same commute as you generally means your commute is going to have worse traffic, among other things. Some would rather take the literal road less traveled.

...is that "people vote with the wallets and their feet" and that is why towns like Naperville have tens of thousands of folks boarding the Metra weekly for an efficient and pleasnt ride into the Loop. The degree to which a town is desirable to the white collar workers in the region is a quick way to judge the quality of housing stock, the schools and the overall economic conditions of a town. Although the towns of SW Michigan are lovely and it can be a lot of fun to spend time there the fact is when the tourists go home there is not much money circulating, the schools are not very desirable, the houses are generally overpriced for what they are and all-in-all it does not make sense for most commuters with families to consider this as an option.


When it comes to "roads less traveled" I can tell nearnorth that DOES NOT APPLY to stretch of 94 leading to New Buffalo and ESPECIALLY not the to 80-94 portion which is often a SOLID WALL of trucks during rush hour and on holiday weekends is a parking lot of vactioneers... Not a good option for someone that wants an easy commute!

[nearnorth]

Originally Posted by chet everett

...is that "people vote with the wallets and their feet" and that is why towns like Naperville have...

...gawd-awful commutes. One could walk to the city as fast as some of the inbound commute times from the west, northwest, and north suburbs.

Originally Posted by chet everett

When it comes to "roads less traveled" I can tell nearnorth that DOES NOT APPLY to stretch of 94 leading to New Buffalo and ESPECIALLY not the to 80-94 portion which is often a SOLID WALL of trucks during rush hour and on holiday weekends is a parking lot of vactioneers... Not a good option for someone that wants an easy commute!

Meh. The Skyway and Indiana Toll Road are a breeze, and there aren't enough commuters out past that for there to be any "rush hour" to speak of. Yes it sucks at weekend-vacationer-times, but by definition that's not when most people are commuting to work. Even then, the parking lots headed to and from NWI and Michigan on summer weekends are the same parking lots one sees between the city and the Illinois burbs during rush hour every day all year.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by nearnorth

...gawd-awful commutes. One could walk to the city as fast as some of the inbound commute times from the west, northwest, and north suburbs.
Meh. The Skyway and Indiana Toll Road are a breeze, and there aren't enough commuters out past that for there to be any "rush hour" to speak of. Yes it sucks at weekend-vacationer-times, but by definition that's not when most people are commuting to work. Even then, the parking lots headed to and from NWI and Michigan on summer weekends are the same parking lots one sees between the city and the Illinois burbs during rush hour every day all year.

It is quite obvious that you are utterly unfamiliar with traffic volumes to / from NWI and SW MI. The level of industrial / commercial traffic that absolutely does impact the rush hour is among the worst in the country. The 80/94 junction is often the site of horrific multi-vehicle carnage.
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/25...igan-city.html

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/22...anes-of-i-8094

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/05/...erstate-80-94/

In contrast the level of congestion experienced by folks in traditional suburbs is far less dramatic, in large part becuase it is mostly just regular passenger cars. Beyond this, the fact is that in any of the desirable suburbs one can rely on express diesel-electric commuter trains that are far more appropriate to our climatic conditions than the pantograph fed trains serving NWI. From many of the desirsable towns along well run lines like the BNSF commute times are literally three or four times faster than anything experienced my beleaguered city residents dealing with CTA service.

[reppin_the_847]

Chet, to be quite frank, these accidents that you referenced are anomalies really. The Michigan City pileup was a horrific accident that occurred due to a terrible weather related incident (which drastically reduced visibility). Possibly the result of a lake effect driven snow squall. The other two accidents seem to be results of idiotic aggressive drivers (I think on motorcycles if I'm not mistaken). This type of thing is NOT uncommon on Chicago highways like the Kennedy Expressway which north suburbanites often use to get to the city.

Originally Posted by chet everett

It is quite obvious that you are utterly unfamiliar with traffic volumes to / from NWI and SW MI. The level of industrial / commercial traffic that absolutely does impact the rush hour is among the worst in the country. The 80/94 junction is often the site of horrific multi-vehicle carnage.
At least 3 dead in pileup on I-94 near Michigan City - Post-Tribune

Fatal crash involving motorcycle closes EB lanes of I-80/94 - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Crash Snarls Interstate 80-94 « CBS Chicago

In contrast the level of congestion experienced by folks in traditional suburbs is far less dramatic, in large part becuase it is mostly just regular passenger cars. Beyond this, the fact is that in any of the desirable suburbs one can rely on express diesel-electric commuter trains that are far more appropriate to our climatic conditions than the pantograph fed trains serving NWI. From many of the desirsable towns along well run lines like the BNSF commute times are literally three or four times faster than anything experienced my beleaguered city residents dealing with CTA service.

[chet everett]

I disagree.

I have spent literally decades visiting SW MI and the frequncy and severity of vehicilar accidents on 94 has long been an issue. The frequency of these "life flight" is too easy to assess, google has hundred of hits on such events in the corridor. These kinds of accidents are pretty rare on the major Chicago roadways becuase there is not nearly as much heavy truck traffic and studies have shown that when vehicles of different sizes - with different speed restrictins, tango the devastation much worse.

When considering this past winter it is true that heavy snow such as was experienced this year in Chicago is somewhat on anomly the FACT is the configuration of the 94 near New Bufffalo (as well as the Indiana Toll Road) given the geography of Lake Michigan makes heavy squalls rather common. Further even in in seasons other than winter the degree to which dense fog blankets the roadway far exceeds anything like what is experienced on the "regular" Chicago area roadways because of the climatic rarity of moisture not being added to the atmosphere around our insignficant rivers / streams / suburban ponds.

The added dimension of crossing into a second time zone is also a factor that contributes to the problems of commuitng back and forth, as not only is one's schedule literally out of sync with "local area" rush hour, but even one's own "body clock" will not match that of the "local" drivers -- although only an hour this added time effect can compound the effects of fatigue and especially when daylight hours are short increase the risk of poor judgement.

While some of these things could be mitigated by reliance on rail service, the fact the downsides of these were already discussed. The is distance alone ought to give one pause, and frankly even within the Metra system ridership to the far flung terminals for lines that reach outside the counties adjacent to Chicago there are far fewer trips than for folks that can rely on fast express trains to DuPage, Cook or Lake County...

[ChicagoMeO]

Originally Posted by chet everett

...is that "people vote with the wallets and their feet" and that is why towns like Naperville have tens of thousands of folks boarding the Metra weekly for an efficient and pleasnt ride into the Loop. The degree to which a town is desirable to the white collar workers in the region is a quick way to judge the quality of housing stock, the schools and the overall economic conditions of a town. Although the towns of SW Michigan are lovely and it can be a lot of fun to spend time there the fact is when the tourists go home there is not much money circulating, the schools are not very desirable, the houses are generally overpriced for what they are and all-in-all it does not make sense for most commuters with families to consider this as an option.


When it comes to "roads less traveled" I can tell nearnorth that DOES NOT APPLY to stretch of 94 leading to New Buffalo and ESPECIALLY not the to 80-94 portion which is often a SOLID WALL of trucks during rush hour and on holiday weekends is a parking lot of vactioneers... Not a good option for someone that wants an easy commute!

especially when there is road construction for miles (i think there is road construction right now right there.)

I know someone who commutes from that area of Michigan, who lives there. not nice when he wants to visit his neighborhood diner when all the tourists are there, he has to wait 2 hours for a seat when the tourists are there. thats the only bad thing.

I'd love to live in that area though . maybe one day i will. I would just go to the diners when there is less traffic.

[chet everett]

I do know a handful of folks that have transitioned from "vacation home owners" to "full time residents" and the crowds on weekends can be a negative. Even in the "transition phase" where they may have been sort of winding down their Chicago area based business presence it was not much fun to have to deal with the wait for a table at a local resturant. A few have migrated further up the coast to St. Joe or Grand Haven specifically becuase there is fewer weekenders. If you are into sailing / power boats those are real factors to consider...

[adele115]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I disagree.

The added dimension of crossing into a second time zone is also a factor that contributes to the problems of commuitng back and forth, as not only is one's schedule literally out of sync with "local area" rush hour, but even one's own "body clock" will not match that of the "local" drivers -- although only an hour this added time effect can compound the effects of fatigue and especially when daylight hours are short increase the risk of poor judgement.

This is purely speculative. It is not really an issue for all the "bi-residential" and "transitioned" I know. Most stay on "Chicago time" and don't give it a second thought. There is no "local area rush hour" and no separately wound body clock . As NB and the Harbor Country region cater to the Chicago area, while officially on Eastern Time, it's not really an issue as many in service arena (restaurants) politely remind you you're reservation is at such and such "EASTERN" time. Time Zone differences are only a MINOR issue if any - nobody is suffering jet lag.

There is no rush hour except dinner time at Redamak's

Also, waiting two hours for a table is a generalization and exaggeration, and not much different than busy popular hot spots in the city - one works it out.

Finally, the schools may not be the highest scoring, but New Buffalo is a frequent "school of choice" for kids who live outside the district. Due to the 4 winds, lots of $$ has gone into the facility, they have a brand new gym/weight room, are completely redoing their outdoor track and field with the same astro turf that Notre Dame is getting. PLUS…each graduate gets $5,000 for each year of college, up to five years. So, great facilities, great $$ source, and up to $25,000 in free money for college make the schools a choice for engaged parents.