Confused need to make a decision :( (Naperville, Des Plaines: day care, house, construction)

[rajbhatia79]

Need some help and advice from subarbanites. Situation:

1) we live in northwest suburb (naperville/plainfield) border and cannot move now

2) I work in naperville/aurora border

3) Have a great opportunity fr a job in Des plaines ( will really give me a boost in terms of career + pay).

Been at my current company for 10 years. I dont dislike what i do but this new opportunity will be a big boost. I have young kids and this will be main reason I am confused.


How is the commute from Naperville to Desplaines in the AM and back to Naoerville in PM?

Is it sustianable to do this? Am I crazy to even consider this opportunity?


HELP

[MillennialUrbanist]

Allow me to be the first one to pitch in. I once did a very similar commute for a job. It consisted of the following:
HOME --> 15 min on surface streets --> 30 min on I-294 --> 30 min on I-88 --> 5 min on surface streets --> WORK

Going home was the same route in reverse. The evening traffic was much worse, so it took 20 to 30 minutes longer. I tolerated the drive pretty well. Plus, I could do my shopping in DuPage County on the way home, and take advantage of its lower taxes.

Of course, there's a catch: I was 23. And it was a 6-month contract. Today, I wouldn't have the patience for that much driving, and probably wouldn't have taken a job that far out, unless I was desperate for work. But that's just me.

[rajbhatia79]

Thanks. It is extremely tempting with a 20% boost overall but is it worth the long commute in winters? I have never done it so dont even know what to expect. On the other hand...its always like am I losing on a geat opportunity? Hard decision to take hence I have not been able to decide.

[MillennialUrbanist]

No idea on the winter driving. My job was in March thru September, with one or two severe snowstorms. Safe to say it's nothing good.

Perhaps it'd help to do some budgeting in Excel, to see how raise compares against additional commuting costs.

[rajbhatia79]

great idea...the 20% includes the commuting costs...damn wish it was that easy

[ToriaT]

If you have young kids keep in mind that day care or caregivers have deadlines they like them to be picked up and your stomach will be a bundle of knots in the winter trying to get there in time. Been there done that.

[chet everett]

Depending on where EXACTLY you start and end this commute the "best case scenario" might be about 35 miles and probably about an hour most mornings / under 90 minutes most evenings to MAYBE something that is more like 50 miles / 90 minutes most morning / closer to two hours most evenings. Factoring in WEATHER that include not just snow but heavy rain and things like construction delays and this would be a "bad but still worth it" commute IF you are in the "best case scenario"...
If you are further from the tollways AT EITHER END for work or home so that you end up spending more time on surface streets it would be much harder to justify...

I would suggest that you make the trip at least a couple of time before you decide to accept or reject the position. Even if you don't want to take time off from your current position you should be able to get some sense for the "raw distance" by driving this on a weekend. Pay close attention to your average speed for each segment of the trip -- speeds on major thoroughfares like Rt 59 are generally severally reduced during rush hour. The bottlenecks where 88 joins 294 and where 294 routes around O'Hare can be counted on to come to a STANDSTILL during peak rush hour -- that drops your "weekend speed" to an "average commute speed" on those portions by a huge factor -- figure from 60+MPH to something that is closer to 25MPH. The "surface road portion" on commercial streets like Ogden Ave does not vary nearly so much -- maybe a drop from average close to post 35MPH to maybe 30MPH factoring increased wait time at intersections and such...

[whakru]

I did this trip for 8 years (2008 -2016) and it was brutal. I live in central Naperville and I drove to Mount Prospect (right near border of Des Plaines) every day. There is no good way to go there from here.


The two main ways to go are 355 to central or golf or Algonquin rd....doesn't really matter which because 355 north is packed every morning. Usually from Boughton or I55 to I88 and then usually past the Army Trail toll plaza through 290 and onward.


The other way is 88 to 294 to Dempster. Awful. 88 used to be decent but now has pockets of traffic leading all the way up to 294 exit and I don't even want to talk about 294 north in the morning.


The alternatives like 53 or 83 or even Mannheim are sometimes better from the traffic perspective, but take as long due to the speed limits and indirect routes. And, believe me, I tried all of them and then some.


My usual time was leaving between 7:00 to 7:30am and it was a solid 75 minutes most days....sometimes longer. Going home was usually worse...at least 90 minutes (leaving after 5pm from work). Add accidents or bad weather and forget it.


If you live on the Plainfield Naperville border, then this will be even longer for you. Unless your commute times are going to be outside of normal rush hour or the amount of money you are going to make outweighs the gas, tolls, and loss of sanity, then I wouldn't do it. Especially if you have children.....I lost out on time to spend with them and they got the grumpy, cranky Mom when I came home because of sitting in traffic for so long.


Hell, I commute to Oak Brook now and even that has become miserable. During rush hour it is a minimum of 45 minutes, sometimes an hour, and that is only half way to Des Plaines.


Good luck with your decision, I know it can be tough when you have to choose between career and commute.

[rajbhatia79]

Thanks Chad and Whakru.

I did the drive this AM. My plan is if I take this position it will be from 6;30 AM and leave by 4 PM.

Last days it took me a solid 1 hr and I will try to leaving at 4 PM to see how long it takes.

so it will be leaving at 4 getting to naperville at 5:15 (hopefully) and picking up kids to go home around 30 mins.

So in total 2 hrs v/s 30 mins going back home now.

Is this worth the extra money~ 20%? not sure if I know the answer ((

[Maggie_]

I commuted from Naperville to Highland Park for 6 1/2 months (November to June)...would never do it again. And I worked at a school, so my commute time was at least a little abnormal. The only way I survived was knowing there was a definite end in sight. The expenses of time, gas, tolls, car maintenance, audible account, dog walker etc. really added up.

It would typically take me 1 hr 20 to get there (leaving my house at 6:15am), and around 1 hr 30 - 2 hours to get home (leaving work around 3:15pm). On a rainy Friday before Memorial Day weekend, it took me 3 hours to get home despite leaving at 3pm. Luckily this winter was mild, and there weren't any bad storms. If that had happened, I had planned to stay with a co-worker overnight.

I would recommend driving the commute during real time (when you would actually be driving it) at least once.

I would also recommend calculating the commute time and expense when you decide if the bump in pay would be worth it. E.g. instead of working 9-5, you might be working 7-7.