Best Chicago Neighborhood Advice (Chester: home, neighborhoods, university)

[Tom Berquist]

Dear Knowledgeable Helpful Chicagoans;

My daughter, who will be teaching at Notre Dame in SouthBend and her spouse, who will work downtown, are moving to the area. They can't afford the expensive suburbs but want a city/cultural life. Where are some good living areas that aredecent, close enough to South Bend to be able to do the commute and still be safe? Really appreciate some suggestions.

[NSH]

Beverly on the south side is a great option. Home prices range from $275K to 1.4 million. It is close to the skyway and downtown.

Hyde Park (more expensive) is also an option as the South Shore train Line stops here and it would make for an easy (albeit long) commute to South Bend.

[j33]

I echo NSH's suggestions. If she wants a commute to South Bend that won't drive her insane, I would suggest the south-side (that is still a long commute though). Also, as NSH mentioned she should be able to catch the south shore train to south bend from hyde park (however I don't know if the limited schedule would be to her liking, the south shore doesn't run that often out to south bend). Hyde park is a lovely area as is Beverly (I know people who live in both neighborhoods), but if I had to chose between them to live, I'd probably chose Hyde Park due to its proximity to University of Chicago and the cultural offerings that would provide.

[domergurl]

Chesterton, Indiana ... less than an hour via the toll road to South Bend ... a little over an hour via the SS to Chicago.

[prairiestate]

You'll need to forget about combining city life with a commute to South Bend. There's no way to do that without quickly going crazy from the commute. I would second looking at NW Indiana. He can take the South Shore downtown, and it will be a relatively easy trip to South Bend. Plus, you'll get a lot more home for your money there, and taxes are lower.

[j33]

Chesterton is actually a very good suggestion, it is a cute little town close to the lake and close to the south shore commuter train. I've visted Chesterton on more than one occasion and while I've never lived there, it seems like a quaint town with a pretty decent downtown area. Oh, and Lucrezia Café is pretty good too, and they have a decent farmers market in the summer.