Relocating for job in Des Plaines, where to live so I can have my cake and eat it too? (Chicago: apartments, to rent)

[dfriedz]

Hi everyone, an advance thank you for any helpful insights or assistance.

I'll be relocating soon for a job in Des Plaines from out of state. I'm 29, male/single, and I've lived in Evanston before but don't know this side of Chicagoland really at all. I very much liked Evanston for the ability to walk/bike around, running group, city/suburb mix, proximity to public transit (metra/EL), and the beautiful lake.

Things that I'm hoping for in an area I live are:
1) Ability to walk/bike to things and not have to drive everywhere
2) A running group nearby
3) A gym/YMCA type of place to exercise, swim, and have group classes at
4) A commute time of 30 minutes or less in rush hour driving; the work location is near Main West High School and not near the metra stop

Yes I know this seems like a I'm looking for a lot and I know I may not be able to find all of these things together.

After doing some research the places I plan to look into more are in the northwest side of the city being Jefferson/Edison Park, and Norwood, as well as some of the suburbs nearby including Des Plaines, Mt. Prospect and Arlington Heights.

I found Arlington Heights has an organized running group, and I imagine other areas must also; they are just not turning up in my google searches. Thoughts?

I'm looking to rent and plan to pay a maximum of ~1,000 / month on housing expenses and wouldn't have a problem living with a room mate as long as it's a good fit for us.

Thanks.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by dfriedz

Hi everyone, an advance thank you for any helpful insights or assistance.

I'll be relocating soon for a job in Des Plaines from out of state. I'm 29, male/single, and I've lived in Evanston before but don't know this side of Chicagoland really at all. I very much liked Evanston for the ability to walk/bike around, running group, city/suburb mix, proximity to public transit (metra/EL), and the beautiful lake.

Things that I'm hoping for in an area I live are:
1) Ability to walk/bike to things and not have to drive everywhere
2) A running group nearby
3) A gym/YMCA type of place to exercise, swim, and have group classes at
4) A commute time of 30 minutes or less in rush hour driving; the work location is near Main West High School and not near the metra stop

Yes I know this seems like a I'm looking for a lot and I know I may not be able to find all of these things together.

After doing some research the places I plan to look into more are in the northwest side of the city being Jefferson/Edison Park, and Norwood, as well as some of the suburbs nearby including Des Plaines, Mt. Prospect and Arlington Heights.

I found Arlington Heights has an organized running group, and I imagine other areas must also; they are just not turning up in my google searches. Thoughts?

I'm looking to rent and plan to pay a maximum of ~1,000 / month on housing expenses and wouldn't have a problem living with a room mate as long as it's a good fit for us.

Thanks.

I prefer Edison Park to Jefferson Park, but L access is better in Jefferson Park. You'd also be closer to the Kennedy (I-90) in Jefferson Park and could take that out to Lee St., go left on Touhy, and then make a right onto Wolf. Oakton/Wolf is maybe a mile or so from Touhy/Wolf. Not a bad commute IMO. I'd suggest maybe looking near Milwaukee/Lawrence for apartments so you're within walking distance to the Blue Line and a short drive to the Kennedy.

[fusillirob1983]

Dick Pond in Park Ridge seems to have runs a couple times a week in the winter.
Dick Pond Park Ridge | Running, XC, Track, & Wrestling

I'd also suggest contacting someone at CARA to see where their groups meet in the areas you listed. Although I don't believe they have training groups below half marathon.

Here's some info on a couple gyms.

LA Fitness on Cumberland (just south of Bryn Mawr) has a nice indoor track of 6 laps per mile, which is good on those days you want to run but it's 0 degrees. I believe they have a pool. I'm not sure how great their classes are though. Typically I've just seen an older guy teaching some sort of Zumba or dancing on Saturdays or Sunday mornings but you can probably view a full class schedule on their website. Typically looks like an older crowd in that morning class. I haven't been there in about a year so it might be different now, but it was pretty consistent from 2010 until last winter.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/LA...!4d-87.8376176

There's another LA Fitness, I think in Niles or Morton Grove, but I've never been there.

Lattof YMCA on Northwest Highway in Des Plaines. I haven't been here but believe they have a pool. I don't know much after that.
Lattof YMCA of Metro Chicago

XSport in Niles near Golf Mill. I don't attend XSport but my wife has at various locations (not this one in particular) and enjoys the classes. They've also added an X-It class that sounds like some kind of circuit training.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/XS...!4d-87.8340597

Most of the areas you listed are pretty good, but I can't really speak to rent prices. Some of these areas have walkability to things like restaurants, depending where in a respective town you live, and it's possible to bike to most of these gyms 6 months of the year, although much more time consuming than driving regardless of when you go. Unfortunately that will make your everyday travel a bit more spread out than being in the city or Evanston.

[jman07]

Just live in tha city. West lakeview would be good.

[dfriedz]

Thank you for the thoughtful responses. I appreciate the assistance and advice!

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by jman07

Just live in tha city. West lakeview would be good.

That's unnecessarily far. Plenty of places further West that give you less of a headache and shorten your commute. You realize places Jeff Park and Edison Park are still in the city, right?

[jman07]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

That's unnecessarily far. Plenty of places further West that give you less of a headache and shorten your commute. You realize places Jeff Park and Edison Park are still in the city, right?

The poster wants to live on a vibrant, safe, and fun area that is desirable. That's the point of living in the city. I don't know anyone in the 10 years I've lived here that wanted to visit or live in the neighborhoods you mentioned. And I doubt there are many running groups in those areas. Arlington heights would be better than the areas you mentioned.

[svicious22]

I moved to the area years ago for a job in Des Plaines and lived near Cumberland and Bryn Mawr for the first year as I wanted to be on an el stop and have an OK commute. The commute was generally fine but I felt I was missing out on city life. So, I moved to Roscoe Village which is basically West Lakeview as someone above suggested. While the commute was tolerable if you left early enough in the morning, coming home was never, ever good. However, life was much more fun. Within a year I took a job downtown, for me Des Plaines just was too big of a compromise, hope you find otherwise.

[beaniemac]

Originally Posted by svicious22

I moved to the area years ago for a job in Des Plaines and lived near Cumberland and Bryn Mawr for the first year as I wanted to be on an el stop and have an OK commute. The commute was generally fine but I felt I was missing out on city life. So, I moved to Roscoe Village which is basically West Lakeview as someone above suggested. While the commute was tolerable if you left early enough in the morning, coming home was never, ever good. However, life was much more fun. Within a year I took a job downtown, for me Des Plaines just was too big of a compromise, hope you find otherwise.

I had the same problem. I always lived in the city and took a job in des plaines, but the commute was just too long for my taste due to the traffic, and I eventually got another job, that allowed me to work from home. all the time I wasted commuting I was able to use to spend time with my family and accomplish chores and errands normally reserved for the weekend.

[dfriedz]

I ended up finding an inexpensive one bedroom to rent in Edison Park. It seems like a quiet/nice area with some hip and trendy restaurants and small downtown area. The commute to Des Plaines looks easy peazy, and with good access to the metra and not far from the blue line either I can get into/out of the city with no problems.

Park Ridge Dick Pond running store seems to have a running group with two weekly informal runs in the evening and a more formal track workout during the warmer months which should be good. Now I'm also looking for pools/swim groups and a gym which maybe has a good 25m pool and swim group.

Good discussion and glad to hear opinions here! Thanks.