Single female moving to Chicago....need help with neighborhood. (Naperville: sales, apartments)

[FITGIRLFIVE0]

I am a single 40 something female that is more like 30. I am very athletic and love the outdoors. I train at the gym and run and paddle, etc and I have a dog and cat. I am possibly moving to Chicago (never been before) for work and I'm looking for a location in the city to live. I'm looking for a high rise with all the amenities and especially parking and laundry. My budget is between $2-$3k. I like going out to restaurants, healthy places, movies, nightlife, shopping, parks with dog, hiking, water sports, gyms, and I like being in the action of a city, etc. I'm also lookig to meet ftiends between 35-50 years old. I will be working in the Wheaton area and would probably take the train to work in bad weather (I'm from Hawaii and don't like to drive in snow), so looking for a place near whatever train line close to Wheaton College. Thank you very much.

[theuptowner1992]

Your budget leaves you with a lot of options. I would recommend looking at the South Loop, particularly along Roosevelt Road. It's a little quieter than most areas in the city, but you have easy access to running paths on the lakefront. Museum Park, a relatively new pet-friendly condominium complex, overlooks Grant Park, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, and Adler a Planetarium. Nightlife, as I implied, isn't great, but South Loop is only a couple CTA train stops from the Loop with plenty of shopping and eateries. Also, when the weather gets warmer, it's always nice to walk along Michigan Ave. to the bars and restaurants just north of the Chicago River (in the Magnificent Mile and Gold Coast neighborhoods).

To get on the Metra heading toward Wheaton, you would take the Orange Line CTA train from Roosevelt Rd. to the western end of the Loop and walk west about 5 minutes to Ogilvie Transportation Center. The train to Wheaton is about 45 minutes from Chicago.

[chet everett]

If you will be working in Wheaton it may be a rather unpleasant commute -- figure about an hour each way, morning and evening in moderate traffic, much longer when there are weather related tie-ups or lanes blocked by collisions.

There are not a lot of high rises that are eager to rent with to folks with multiple pets either.

Wheaton and surrounding areas have many outstanding locations for enjoying the outdoors, and plenty of options for athletic training. There are even apartments in high rises -- Welcome to Wheaton Center Apartments | DuPage Apartments

Kayaking in Dupage County, Illinois | USA Today

Home - Naperville Kayak

Wheaton, IL Sports Center and Health Club - Adult Programs

[beaniemac]

I'm not advising living in the city if you're going to commute to wheaton daily. that will not be fun. especially in the winter time or if there's construction on I88.

[FITGIRLFIVE0]

Thank you all for your replys. I don't mind the commute. I'm coming fro Los Angeles. I'm not a suburbs type of gal. I love the inner city and all it has to offer.

[jwaiter]

Sure, but the problem is, how do you get from the Wheaton train station to the office and from the office back to the train station?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by jwaiter

Sure, but the problem is, how do you get from the Wheaton train station to the office and from the office back to the train station?

Yep. If that can be worked out and the OP doesn't mind it then the best place for her would be downtown area within a little bit of the lakefront. My initial reaction would be to live in somewhere like Gold Coast, Streeterville, or South Loop. Again though - the commute has to be worked out even though the OP has said she's from LA and used to it.

[chet everett]

I would be sure that a) any place you are considering is OK with two pets b) there is some kind of doggie day care that you will be able to drop your pets off on your way to work and then pick them up on the way home so that they are not impacted by your decision to spend 10+ hrs away from home c) that the relative "urban vibe" even a very fit young looking person might experience in various neighborhoods in Chicago can range from "meh" to "I am so annoyed"...

Some factors that you may not be considering -- Chicago is at the extreme eastern edge of the central time zone. It at a northern latitude. That means for a significant portion of the year you will likely leave home and return when it is dark, that by itself changes the kinds of things you can do after work. Add in the fact that the climate in Chicago is often a limiting factor in what sorts of outdoor activities are possible and the commute is quite different than something one might experience in LA. Add in the fact that the relative costs of EVERYTHING from vehicle ownership to food to sales taxes in Chicago leave less money in your pocket compared to living closer to work and the pluses of an "urban vibe" that really is not soaked in much getting back to your apartment with pets picked at from daycare after 7PM is harder to quantify...

Even if work location was someplace like Oak Brook or O'Hare area you would have LOTS more reasons to choose a spot inside Chicago. The most convenient neighborhood for a commute to Wheaton would likely be near United Center or the Medical Center district, neither of which compare all that favorably on a "urban vibe" scale to areas further east / north, but they would add significant length to your commute...

[emathias]

Originally Posted by theuptowner1992

Your budget leaves you with a lot of options. I would recommend looking at the South Loop, particularly along Roosevelt Road. It's a little quieter than most areas in the city, but you have easy access to running paths on the lakefront. Museum Park, a relatively new pet-friendly condominium complex, overlooks Grant Park, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, and Adler a Planetarium. Nightlife, as I implied, isn't great, but South Loop is only a couple CTA train stops from the Loop with plenty of shopping and eateries. Also, when the weather gets warmer, it's always nice to walk along Michigan Ave. to the bars and restaurants just north of the Chicago River (in the Magnificent Mile and Gold Coast neighborhoods).

To get on the Metra heading toward Wheaton, you would take the Orange Line CTA train from Roosevelt Rd. to the western end of the Loop and walk west about 5 minutes to Ogilvie Transportation Center. The train to Wheaton is about 45 minutes from Chicago.

If someone will be commuting via train to Wheaton with any frequency at all, I wouldn't recommend living anywhere except the West Loop. The West Loop is far more vibrant than it was even five years ago and is just getting better, and the eastern parts of the West Loop are very walkable to the Ogilvy Metra station she would be departing from.

But if it's really just a backup plan then, other Loop-proximate neighborhoods are okay, too, or even Lincoln Park. Personally, I would recommend the Gold Coast, southern parts of Lincoln Park, or maybe Lakeshore East (aka the "New East Side"), if proximity to the lakefront is a high priority followed by easy access to nightlife. River North is another option, a little further from the lake (though still not far) and a lot of restaurants and cinemas and some lounges and clubs.

If being close to the lake isn't important to you, you could also consider portions of Bucktown near the new 606 trail, which provides nice running options and, depending on exactly where, can also provide good access to nightlife.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by emathias

If someone will be commuting via train to Wheaton with any frequency at all, I wouldn't recommend living anywhere except the West Loop. The West Loop is far more vibrant than it was even five years ago and is just getting better, and the eastern parts of the West Loop are very walkable to the Ogilvy Metra station she would be departing from.

But if it's really just a backup plan then, other Loop-proximate neighborhoods are okay, too, or even Lincoln Park. Personally, I would recommend the Gold Coast, southern parts of Lincoln Park, or maybe Lakeshore East (aka the "New East Side"), if proximity to the lakefront is a high priority followed by easy access to nightlife. River North is another option, a little further from the lake (though still not far) and a lot of restaurants and cinemas and some lounges and clubs.

If being close to the lake isn't important to you, you could also consider portions of Bucktown near the new 606 trail, which provides nice running options and, depending on exactly where, can also provide good access to nightlife.

While I agree that the West Loop would might afford decent access to the UP-W line via Olgivie Transportation Center, the reverse commute schedule along that line is among the worst -- Union Pacific / West (UP-W) Schedule Realistically there are maybe two options that work with a normal office type schedule and either would be more than 55 minutes of rail riding...

I would also question the recommendation of Bucktown, which is so poorly located for any kind of drive to Wheaton that either the "long way around" via the Kennedy, TriState, and E-W Tollway or the slightly less circuitous route of the Eisenhower would each tell well over an hour through numerous choke points...

River North at shaves off a few bottlenecks, but has relatively few locations with any kind of greenery for dog walking...

Gold Coast is similarly unable to hold a candle to Lincoln Park when it comes to pet friendly environs.