Commute from Chicago downtown to Warrenville - is that crazy? (Naperville: construction, living)

[Csanad]

hi, i will work in warrenville, and so far i have looked at neighbouring suburb, but as we are a young couple without children, and we are used to live in city centre it dawned on me that maybe we could live in chicago and commute warrenville.

is that a crazy idea?

if not:
- what would the commute be like with a car? would i be sitting in traffic jam for most of my morning/afternoon?
- which districts of Chicago should i consider (looking for fairly middle-upmarket)
- would i be better of by usin the train to commute?
- incase train is a better option from commuting time point of view - what areas are good which are clode to major train station 8serving the line towards warrenville)

thanks for any advise in advance.

[jimmythegreek]

Originally Posted by Csanad

is that a crazy idea?

Pretty much.

[pvande55]

Not entirely. BNSF has some express trains out that way. As long as you can get transportation to your workplace from the station you should be fine. You can even bring a bicycle aboard on reverse commute runs. Be sure to live convenient to Union Station. Driving that way every morning would be a pain, though many do so.

[pvande55]

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Schedule
Whoops, forgot this. Navistar is about three miles from the Naperville station.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by Csanad

hi, i will work in warrenville, and so far i have looked at neighbouring suburb, but as we are a young couple without children, and we are used to live in city centre it dawned on me that maybe we could live in chicago and commute warrenville.

is that a crazy idea?

if not:
- what would the commute be like with a car? would i be sitting in traffic jam for most of my morning/afternoon?
- which districts of Chicago should i consider (looking for fairly middle-upmarket)
- would i be better of by usin the train to commute?
- incase train is a better option from commuting time point of view - what areas are good which are clode to major train station 8serving the line towards warrenville)

thanks for any advise in advance.

I know metra serves winfield which is right next to warrenville.
only problem is how to get from the station to your job.
everyday.

i am not sure if pace runs routes out there or not in that specific area.

[chet everett]

There are bus routes that link both Cantera and the Warrenville Rd corridor to the rail lines. I am pretty sure that the east end lines link to Lisle.

Not sure if there are line to the west end from the UP west line (which is where Winfield would be, but that stop is quite far to the north...) but I do know there are buses from downtown Naperville. The trip is about 15-20 minutes. I know some people that can bicycle the route in about half the time, but you need to factor in weather ( raining again...), bikes are allowed on the routes that are not crowded, so a reverse commute is gnerally OK for bicycles, unless the train fills up with folks heading into Chicago for baseball or a fest in the evening.

Either way I think your total commute time is likely to be far greater and options for arrival / departure more limited than if you drove / car pooled. Car pooling might be a good option as fuel prices could be split. There are lots of jobs in that corridor and I gotta think some folks from the city would be happy to split up driving duties.

[Csanad]

thanks for all the valuable inputs. this forum rocks!

[OrangeAndBlue]

Like others have said, this is doable if you can get to your office in Warrenville relatively easily and quickly from a metra station out there (BNSF line). Driving would take over an hour each way during rush hour.

The BNSF is one of the only (maybe the one) metra line that actually has express service in the reverse commute direction, although this service is very limited. However, if you can catch the express train and then have an easy way to get to your office, the commute wouldn't be all that bad. Similarly on the way back home, but if you miss the express run, you'll sit on the train for probably an hour going through all the stops.

To make this commute as painless as possible, I would recommend to live close to Union Station (walking distance). The last thing I would want is to have to rely on another city train or bus for this commute. The area right around Union Station isn't the most exciting in terms of amenities, but once you go a few blocks west or north it's not too bad actually. Look in the West Loop. Once you're west of the expressway it gets a bit more residential. It's also not bad north of Randolph east of the expressway.

[Los Guys]

Not a regular poster in the 'burbs area, but as a city of Chicago resident who did this drive for one year, I would highly recommend against it. The situation was worse back then (2007) because people were still employed (more on the roads) and I-290/I-88 were under major construction. In climate weather the average time was 1.25hr and in the winter up to 2.5hr each way. I think its gone down with the recession and lack of construction, but regardless, its not fun. Also, consider that at ~72miles roundtrip, and $4 gas, you could be spending up to $100 every 4-5 days to fill up depending on the fuel efficiency of your ride. Finally, even with the metra to bus option, don't expect much difference in time, since you need to wait for the bus. So with that said, I hear Oak Park is a very nice suburb and a good compromise.

[PunjabiBuckeye]

I need emphathetic posters like those here to help me on my thread.
https://www.city-data.com/forum/chica...rrenville.html