Members Thunderbroom Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 This is a companion to my recent spam thread. My wife and I, while we think we've settled on an area of the city that we want to live in, are open to suggestions. We want to know places to avoid and places to investigate. Our initial gut is for the Loop, South Loop or West Loop. My wife's sister and family lives in the South Loop (14th & Michigan). While we'd like to buy immediately, I'm not sure it's in the cards financially. With two teenagers (one will have about a year left at home upon our move), we ideally need a 3BR but think a larger 2BR loft would work as we could put up temp walls. What we want out of city living is: easy access to public transportation, relatively safe, vibrant community...restaurants, shops, entertainment, parks. I don't think we want to go south of Cermak nor do we want to go too far north. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frunobulax Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 my $.02 worth as a non-Chicagoan, but one who has visited. As great as the Loop is, my impression is that it's not really a neighborhood set up for residents, but more for workers. by that i mean it's a 7am-7pm M-F world. and a bit of a ghost town on Saturday and Sunday my sister-in-law lives in Evanston. (not that i'm recommending Evanston) but we've been to numerous cool neighborhoods on the North Side. it's urban, but it's where people live, so you get the shops, coffee houses, restaurants theater, food stores, etc that cater to a population that's there all the time. f'rinstance, it's Sunday morning and you need milk. in a neighborhood, there's a good chance you'll be able to walk a block to the store and get it. and on the weekends when we were there, the sidewalks were happening. that's what i'd be looking for if moving into the city. EDIT: and Good Luck! do your homework. check out areas, daytime and nighttime, weekday and weekends, check listings, go to open houses and get a feel for what's for sale. and another thing to consider - you've been master of your own domain for years. a condo association is a whole 'nother thing. when we moved we opted for a small single family, having decided that being in an association would drive us crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted September 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 I think you're right about the Loop specifically, but the South and West Loop areas seem a bit more residential. The north side is an option; however, since I'll be commuting 45 miles to work I'd like to keep closer to the I55/I94 junction to make the commute more bearable. On the north side, Lincoln View (?!?) has come recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les_Izzmor Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 Where will you send your kids to school? I know you said one will have a year left at home. Does that mean you'd transfer them for their senior year? Plus. I know all my friends who still live in any 'downtown' area all send their kids to private schools. You're no dummy, I'm sure you're planned for this. I'm just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frunobulax Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 I think you're right about the Loop specifically, but the South and West Loop areas seem a bit more residential. The north side is an option; however, since I'll be commuting 45 miles to work I'd like to keep closer to the I55/I94 junction to make the commute more bearable. On the north side, Lincoln View (?!?) has come recommended. you definitely want to keep access to the highway in mind. i did a 36 mile commute for nearly 3 years. finally drove me nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted September 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 you definitely want to keep access to the highway in mind. Agreed. I may make a move once I become Dr. TBroom, but that's a couple of years away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P1gg1e Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 You should move next to Kindness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted September 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 You should move next to Kindness I wish I could afford to move next to Kindness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarvinDog Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 To where are you commuting? I was doing a 75 mile round trip commute for a while, and it drove me nuts-- I was in a bad mood every evening. Even if you don't have kids, school districts are still important as they effect the kids in the neighborhood, and that will have an impact on your quality-of-life. My wife and I have been kicking around the idea of buying something in the city as a weekend place. We're out in far SE Aurora, sort of between Aurora, Naperville and Oswego. We've been looking in Lincoln Park and Lakeview, but we're not fully committed to the idea. I second the info on buying in the Loop-- it doesn't have that good city-residential feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted September 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 To where are you commuting? I was doing a 75 mile round trip commute for a while, and it drove me nuts-- I was in a bad mood every evening.Even if you don't have kids, school districts are still important as they effect the kids in the neighborhood, and that will have an impact on your quality-of-life.My wife and I have been kicking around the idea of buying something in the city as a weekend place. We're out in far SE Aurora, sort of between Aurora, Naperville and Oswego. We've been looking in Lincoln Park and Lakeview, but we're not fully committed to the idea. I second the info on buying in the Loop-- it doesn't have that good city-residential feel. I work in Joliet and will continue to do so most likely for at least two more years. I commute to school on Saturdays and can get to school door-to-door in 50 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarvinDog Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 Only on Saturdays? That's not bad then. If you're going to be Dr. TBoom, then it's Lincoln Park for you. I know a doctor who lives in the old Playboy building on LSD, right by the VA Hospital. Beautiful building and area, but a bit pricey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted September 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 Only on Saturdays? That's not bad then. If you're going to be Dr. TBoom, then it's Lincoln Park for you. I know a doctor who lives in the old Playboy building on LSD, right by the VA Hospital. Beautiful building and area, but a bit pricey. Not an MD. I'll be moving into higher ed admin. Good money but not MD money. My commute will be from Chicago to Joliet during the week. I go to school on Saturdays in Chicago now. A friend just recommended the UIC area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted September 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 24, 2009 Your commute is on I-55, you don't want to start your drive from the north side. The south and west loop areas are good places to start looking. Tri-Taylor (UIC) is a decent suggestion as well. All three of those areas are fairly insular and are not going to feel the same as living on the north side, which doesn't feel like living in Hyde Park, etc. You (we, if you'd like) should spend some time in each neighborhood so you get a sense of the feel of each. You may connect with one more than the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SA Rios Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 Thats going to be one hell of a commute. The 55 from the city just to 355 averages about an hour each way at rush hour. Thats still about 15 miles Joliet. You'll be looking at a min of 1.5 hour commute. If you're ok with that, then go for it. I work in the south loop area and live in Lake Zurich. Takes me 55 min in the a.m. and a little over an hour in the evening. Thats in nice weather. In winter the commute was as much as 2.5 hours if it snowed. I'd consider moving close to a Metra line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarvinDog Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 I cross over/next to 55 on my commute to Romeoville (12 miles, surface streets, no traffic, no tolls, 20 minutes, woo-hoo!). A little bit of snow and 55 is a parking lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lokidecat Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 Orland Park splits the difference and was in the top 100 cities to live in the nation. May be worth looking into. On top of that you're a hop-skip to ChiTown, and a highway-free commute to Joliet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frunobulax Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 i reduced my commute 10 years ago from 1-1.5 hours each way, to 5 minutes. the quality of life benefit was enormous. it was like i discovered a new day in the week. it would have to be a helluva setup to make me go back the other way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pickdust Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 i reduced my commute 10 years ago from 1-1.5 hours each way, to 5 minutes. the quality of life benefit was enormous. it was like i discovered a new day in the week. it would have to be a helluva setup to make me go back the other way. I did the same thing about 10 months ago. Reduced my commute from 1+ hour each way to less than 15 minutes each way (if I catch all the red lights). I'm much happier now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted September 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 24, 2009 I did the same thing about 10 months ago. Reduced my commute from 1+ hour each way to less than 15 minutes each way (if I catch all the red lights). I'm much happier now! We should start a club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted September 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 Orland Park splits the difference and was in the top 100 cities to live in the nation. May be worth looking into.On top of that you're a hop-skip to ChiTown, and a highway-free commute to Joliet. Moving to another suburb is not a consideration. We want to live in the city. Moving to Orland would be like living where we live (green lawns and strip malls) but we'd get less bang for our buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pickdust Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 We should start a club. Let's see.........."He-Man-Woman-Hater's" is taken (and besides...... I likes the wimins) so........um......what would we call it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted September 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 24, 2009 The "my commute is shorter than my dick club." Just a suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BottomHeavyKate Posted September 24, 2009 Members Share Posted September 24, 2009 The "my commute is shorter than my dick club." Just a suggestion. damn....my commute will always be longer than my dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted September 24, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 24, 2009 damn....my commute will always be longer than my dick You're still welcome in our clubhouse. [/derail] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knuckle_head Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 South Loop - my old lead singer lives there. He used to live in Lincoln Park (right on Clark) and up by Kindness but is near 14th and Michigan now. He digs it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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