Moving to Chicago from Philly (Lincoln, Bridgeview: to rent, condos, townhomes)

[Comute18]

Hello,

Moving to Chicago from Philly. I will be working around the Dearborn Street area. I am trying to find out two things.

1) The areas to live in that would have a commutable distance under an hour. 30 minute commute would be preferred. An area that would be fairly safe for my husband and I to live as new to the area. We were considering Ravens Wood or Lincoln Park area.

2) Also , checking options not to take the train to work in the winter lol , so hoping to live close enough to drive into work in the morning with a 30-45 minute commute. Chicago traffic I have read is really crazy but just dont want to be on the train in the winter if I can help it. I looked online and saw a few parking garages around $200 a month.

Thank you in advance Chicago

[personone]

Chicago has long streets, so it's hard to tell where you are working on Dearborn St.

That said, Lincoln Park is more convenient to downtown than Ravenswood if you ever need to drive and even for public transportation.

Lincoln Park is a beautiful, safe neighborhood right near the park. Lots of restaurants, shops, bars. Renting is not too expensive. Buying, on the other hand, the townhomes start around $1 million, although there are lots of condos in high rises along the park. I'm assuming you're looking to rent. If you're looking to buy, Ravenswood would definitely be the better option unless you are wealthy.

Ravenswood is a great neighborhood, it's just a lot farther from the downtown core.

As someone moving from a new city, I'd probably start out in Lincoln Park.

[Comute18]

Yes I am looking to rent for sure. Thank you this was great advice.

[Comute18]

In the case of living and working downtown Chicago it seems like it would be more convenient or easier to get to and from work but do people generally stay in their neighborhoods ? If I live in Lincoln Park on a daily basis would it be easy to
1. Grocery Shop
2. Go to Malls, Movies
3. Parking for my car while I am running errands

I see plenty of restaurants but I cant image I would be going out to eat daily lol I know in NY which is another large city people in Brooklyn stay in Brooklyn , People in Queens stay in queens for the most part. It seems it would be easier to move around daily in your car living in the suburbs of Chicago however its a double edged sword. If you live in the suburbs your commute into the city daily is longer, harder and in the winter colder lol

What are your thoughts? Again I am from Philly so I have not really lived in a large city like Chicago before. Thank you in advance.

[BOBNCHI]

Use Google maps and zero in to the neighborhood(s) you are considering. In the city, I generally like to zoom in to see about 1 -1.5 miles of a area I'm interested in, then tap the the various search filters Google offers. Don't forget to tap the Transportation button to see the L, bus and Metra rail routes! You'll quickly get a sense of what is or is not, convenient or available. Everyone is different as to determining if a area is walkable, convenient, accessible...or not.

[G in MP]

So long as your $$ is right, you've got lots of good choices nearer to downtown, if not in downtown. Outside of it, I'd look at Lincoln Park, River North/Oldown/Gold Coast, Wicker Park and Bucktown.

[MarianRavenwood]

I live in Ravenswood. It's about 45 minutes by L to the loop. This might improve in the next year or so with the new Brown Line Flyover that the CTA is building at the Belmont interchange.

Lincoln Park is within 30 minutes; Other neighborhoods to consider are West Lakeview, South Loop, West Loop, West Town. You don't mention your age or budget. These are close...they are also expensive and tend to skew towards a younger 20-something population. Logan Square, Bridgeview, Pilsen skew a bit older, perhaps a bit less expensive.

As for driving downtown every day, trains are more reliable than roads with inclement weather. Especially when we get deep snow, it may be several days before side streets are cleared. You mention $200 parking--that's low for a monthly rate downtown. You may also pay close to that for monthly parking at home, unless you park on the street. If you park on the street, bank on shoveling out your car and the parking spot, and you'll either need to claim 'dibs' (that's a whole other thread) or shovel out a new spot when you get home. On average, Chicago has 12 measurable snowfalls per year that would require shoveling or snow plowing--some might be three inches, some might be 3 feet.

[SeriesOfTubes]

It really depends on what your budget is and where the work location is. Dearborn is many miles long so we need to know if the work location is downtown, south loop, river north etc.

[personone]

I live in Lincoln Park, and there is a Trader Joe's, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Mariano's (similar to Wegmans), the park for exercising. The later 3 are technically down the street in Lakeview, so as you can see, many people move throughout the city. But technically I don't really have to leave my immediate neighborhood, but many people move throughout neighborhoods.

Since COVID, I have been teleworking much of the time, so I don't move around the city as much as I normally did, but pre-COVID, I commuted to work and met up with friends, networking event, happy hours, sports leagues, etc. all throughout the city.

Parking can be tricky. I find that given how expensive parking is, and how tricky it can be to find; I generally rely on public transportation. But the public transportation is great here. I lived in Philly (University City) for 2 years and had a car, so I'm not as familiar with the SEPTA (I did ride it sometimes), but Chicago's public transportation is great. Parking downtown can be very expensive, but for a city as big as Chicago, it's actually not that bad to drive in.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by personone

I live in Lincoln Park, and there is a Trader Joe's, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Mariano's (similar to Wegmans), the park for exercising. The later 3 are technically down the street in Lakeview, so as you can see, many people move throughout the city. But technically I don't really have to leave my immediate neighborhood, but many people move throughout neighborhoods.

Since COVID, I have been teleworking much of the time, so I don't move around the city as much as I normally did, but pre-COVID, I commuted to work and met up with friends, networking event, happy hours, sports leagues, etc. all throughout the city.

Parking can be tricky. I find that given how expensive parking is, and how tricky it can be to find; I generally rely on public transportation. But the public transportation is great here. I lived in Philly (University City) for 2 years and had a car, so I'm not as familiar with the SEPTA (I did ride it sometimes), but Chicago's public transportation is great. Parking downtown can be very expensive, but for a city as big as Chicago, it's actually not that bad to drive in.

And Lincoln Park has a great high school right?