Portland to Chicago - where would you live?

[chet everett]

I agree that prior to the nightmarish mess that has been created with the resurfacing of 290 you could easily get from J-Park to Wooddale in less than an hour. The actual numbers of either sticking it out on the 'expressways' or trying to snake through surface streets have SOARED. There are dozens of streets that are torn-up / reduced in capacity and will remain that way for a long time.

Really, times like this I want to warn folks that living more than about 8-10 miles from where you work is recipe for terrible commute when IDOT lies between where you are and where you need to be...

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

While I agree that Jefferson Park is what it is, a fairly sleepy far NW side city neighborhood that doesn't offer many more 'urban' benefits than living near downtown Elmhurst would, I doubt the typical commute between Jefferson Park and Wood dale would take more than 45 minutes or so. Just stay off 90.

I'd say that downtown Elmhurst actually has quite a bit MORE to do than Jefferson Park. I've tried to like Jeff Park over the years. The Chicago bungalow is truly a versatile housing type, and I do like some of the residential streets. But I really don't see any benefit to living there over a compact, walkable suburb. I guess you get the street cred of a city address, but that wears off after, say, age 27.

Now, Lincoln Square is great. But I wouldn't want to do that commute to Wood Dale every day.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I'd say that downtown Elmhurst actually has quite a bit MORE to do than Jefferson Park. I've tried to like Jeff Park over the years. The Chicago bungalow is truly a versatile housing type, and I do like some of the residential streets. But I really don't see any benefit to living there over a compact, walkable suburb. I guess you get the street cred of a city address, but that wears off after, say, age 27.

Now, Lincoln Square is great. But I wouldn't want to do that commute to Wood Dale every day.

Right. The 'urban' advantage being its at the nexus of the Blue line, Metra, and a few CTA bus lines. But the neighborhood itself doesn't quite seem to live up to what the OP has in mind.

[linicx]

Hey Chet! The OP specifically mentioned Oak Park in is second post. It seemed like a good reason to provide the information.

[ortoil]

Thanks for the great discussion. We are trying to balance the benefits of city living with my wife's car commute and my transit commute. The idea was to find something that is somewhat geographically centered. I appreciate the input on Elmhurst, not something we had considered but will review. We like what we've read on Oak Park thus far, a little concerned about the increase in crime and now on notice regarding the traffic issues.

For Lincoln Square, what's the opinion on the daily commute? I have seen 45 minutes to an hour. And thanks for the heads up on Jefferson Park. Good to know that although convenient, it might not be what we had in mind.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by ortoil

...For Lincoln Square, what's the opinion on the daily commute? I have seen 45 minutes to an hour...

That is on a really good day or night. Most days or nights it will be more.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

...I doubt the typical commute between Jefferson Park and Wood dale would take more than 45 minutes or so. Just stay off 90.

Exactly.

[chet everett]

I hate to hammer on the traffic thing but it is really impossible to convey to folks that may not be familiar with how the roads are laid out in the region just how slowly traffic moves regardless of whether it is on a surface street or expressway.

I have been in many other towns that have choke points like river crossings and such and even there the absence of grid often means that there are surface streets that move pretty good compared to highways as they were laid out to be true arterial routes with good intersections and any rail lines above / below. Not so in Chicago and our suburbs.

Just the other day I attempted to get from Wooddale to DesPlaines in the EARLY part of rush hour (about 4PM) and my AVERAGE SPEED on surface streets (as reported by my GPS) was 16.9 miles per hour over a distance of 8.9 miles for a travel time of 29.8 minutes. Many of the roads to Jefferson Park from Wooddale are the same and the distance is closer to 15 miles SO I really would not bank on travel times much under 45 minutes REGARDLESS OF ROUTE...

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by ortoil

My wife and I are moving to Chicago in July and are looking for an apartment/condo in between her work (in Wood Dale) and mine (in the Loop). She will drive daily and I will commute, ideally via Metra. We'd like to keep the commute for both to ~45 minutes.

Our budget is <$2,000/month We have a labrador that enjoy walking the neighborhood and thus would like a place that's safe during the day and night. Any places with good restaurants and grocery shopping nearby are ideal. Thanks for the help!

I suppose you've already checked to see if your wife's place of employment is anywhere walkable from a Metra station.