Bayarea to Chicago- please advice (Oak Park, Glenview: rent, condo, houses)

[betu814]

Hi

We'll be moving from Bay Area to Chicago in mid of February 2009. My husband will be starting part-time school in University of Chicago , Gleacher Center ( located in down-town, Chicago). This would require him to commute to the school 2 days a week.

He would be working for Motorola, located in Libertyville 5 days a week.
We're looking for place to live ( either in city of Chicago or in some suburbs) that's safe and close to public transportation and reasonable rent (max 1600 for 2 bedroom).

We've a 2 and half year old son so want some good pre-schools as well.

Could someone please suggest some ideal locations.

Thanks a lot in advance.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by betu814

Hi

We'll be moving from Bay Area to Chicago in mid of February 2009. My husband will be starting part-time school in University of Chicago , Gleacher Center ( located in down-town, Chicago). This would require him to commute to the school 2 days a week.

He would be working for Motorola, located in Libertyville 5 days a week.
We're looking for place to live ( either in city of Chicago or in some suburbs) that's safe and close to public transportation and reasonable rent (max 1600 for 2 bedroom).

We've a 2 and half year old son so want some good pre-schools as well.

Could someone please suggest some ideal locations.

Thanks a lot in advance.

$1600/month will get you a two-bedroom in most nice North Side neighborhoods. Are you looking for dense city living or something a bit more spread out? Chicago has a pretty good range of neighborhoods from high-rise dominated areas, to neighborhoods dominated by two- and three-flats, to areas dominated by single-family houses. It all depends on what your preferences are.

[chet everett]

Oh you poor dears. Libertyville is a miserably long commute via the ridiculous chopped up tollways. Get used to not seeing much of each other...

I sure hope hubby has some kind of "in blood" contract with Moto too as they are whacking people faster than a drive-by hitman with a Mac 10. More than a few people have been left high and dry with no job and a shaky committment from UofC, as when the employer sponsor cuts loose there is a grey area if the student can continue. I don't mean to scare you, but back when the internet bubble burst this same situation effects dozens of parttime MBA students at UofC and Kellogg.

As to "ideal location" if I was in your shoes I would focus on someplace that YOU as new-to-the-area spouse, mom, transferee feel GREAT about. There are going to be enough stresses with new job in troubled industry, young child, long commute, demanding school. If you want someplace with a very pleasant little downtown for shopping / meeting others with similar aged children there a lot of options. In the city itself hubby would face a worse commute, but areas like Roscoe Village, Lakeview, and Lincoln Park all spring to mind. Suburbs like Oak Park would not offer much of an improved commute but may offer some nice pluses. If you look in the broad north/NW corridor towns like Park Ridge, Deerfield, Glenview, Northbrook, and Libertyville itself all have a balance/tradeoff as far as the commute to work AND school.

Very very tough choices...

[betu814]

Thank you for helping us out. My husband has been with Motorola for almost seven years now. Hopefully things will be alright regarding his work. We don't have any preference regarding living in high-rise vs flats or houses. We're really concerned about safety though so would prefer living in some gated community initially.

When you say north-side neighbourhoods, could you be little more specific ?

Also we looked into area near union station (metra-rail stop) last night. It's very close to the school and walking distance to public transportation. Is this considered a good area to live for a family? We're also exploring lakeview and Lincoln park areas but not sure where to look to find access to metra-rail (that goes from Chicago to Libertyville). Can you please provide some suggestions on that too.

Thanks once again !

[mh7]

Originally Posted by chet everett

More than a few people have been left high and dry with no job and a shaky committment from UofC, as when the employer sponsor cuts loose there is a grey area if the student can continue.

Thats actually not true. Unlike Northwestern, U. Chicago does not require full time employment for students in their part time MBA program.

[knitgirl]

I don't think you're going to find a gated community for $1600/month. It sounds like you might be more comfortable in the suburbs. What kind of area are you living in now and do you like it? Are you looking for suburban or city? Here's a link for the train line to Libertyville. Metra / Milwaukee District North Line Information

[jdiddy]

Yeah, I'm a little confused by what the poster seems to want. Everything in her post says "suburbs", but she's looking at places in the West Loop?

Just because its easier to get into the city than out to the suburbs, I'd say anywhere along the Milwaukee North line is a good bet. Northcenter would be one of the city neighborhoods I'd recommend, if you're seriously considering taking an outbound train to Libertyville (and have factored in how you get to Motorola from the Metra station). There's a Metra stop near Irving Park (Healy, i think?) that has a few outbound stops in the morning. $1600 could probably fetch a pretty decent place, and there are good CPS schools in the area.

Other than that, though, suburbs would be the way to go.

[betu814]

Hi

Sorry for the confusion. We were exploring both options- suburbs as well as the city. There is a shuttle that goes from Libertyville station to Motorola campus, so that's not a problem for us.

We're inclined to living somewhere near the Metra path in downtown Chicago. Would the union station area be a good choice for us ? I think we'll have to pay around 2000 in that area for a 2 bedroom.
That's very close to the school as well. Are there some other areas in that part of city which can still keep us close to the Metra path and University as well ?

Thanks for your help.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by betu814

Hi

Sorry for the confusion. We were exploring both options- suburbs as well as the city. There is a shuttle that goes from Libertyville station to Motorola campus, so that's not a problem for us.

We're inclined to living somewhere near the Metra path in downtown Chicago. Would the union station area be a good choice for us ? I think we'll have to pay around 2000 in that area for a 2 bedroom.
That's very close to the school as well. Are there some other areas in that part of city which can still keep us close to the Metra path and University as well ?

Thanks for your help.

That area isn't typically thought of as family friendly. Most of the residential development in that area only occured in the past 10-15 years, and I'd guess a majority of the residents are single/dink condo owners. As you mentioned, its also a little pricier than you said you were willing to pay.

North Center is about a 10-15 minute bus ride away from the Metra stop. It's one of the safest neighborhoods in the city, filled with families, has decent public schools (at least k-8), and contains easy access to the brown line, as well as a quick bus transfer to the Red and Blue CTA lines.

[mh7]

Your husband would have to be crazy to want to commute to Libertyville from downtown everyday. Even if you lived on top of union station, he'd be looking at 3-4 hours of commuting per day. Without looking at a schedule, I'm sure that train has to take somewhere between 65-85 minutes & then he'd have to wait for & ride the moto shuttle, which I'm guessing is 5-20 minutes, depending on how far from the train it is & how often the shuttle runs.

I'd recommend looking at stuff in Libertyville, its really nice and has great schools, parks and tons of families. Its one of the few suburbs I would consider living in (if I worked anywhere nearby that is). That way, your husband can commute downtown 1-2 days per week for class (he should consider taking classes on Saturdays, most of my friends who live that far north in the MBA program at U Chicago do that), rather than to Libertyville 5 days per week.