Safe, low cost housing between Waukegan and South Side?? (Chicago: apartments, condominiums)

[TeacherMan]

A quick question, hopefully not a repeat of previous ones. I have accepted a teaching job on the south east side (E. 72nd st.). My wife, a certified paralegal, has an interview with a firm in Waukegan. Is there any place that would be a safe, economical housing choice for us about halfway between the two? We had been focusing on the Bridgeport area for relocation from Michigan. However, if she accepts this job, we will need to re-think that location choice. Is it possible to get an approx. 1/2 commute for the both of us? Being a future CPS teacher, I will have to live in the boundaries of Chicago.

Let the ideas, suggestions, and dialog begin...

THANKS in advance!

-TM

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by TeacherMan

A quick question, hopefully not a repeat of previous ones. I have accepted a teaching job on the south east side (E. 72nd st.). My wife, a certified paralegal, has an interview with a firm in Waukegan. Is there any place that would be a safe, economical housing choice for us about halfway between the two? We had been focusing on the Bridgeport area for relocation from Michigan. However, if she accepts this job, we will need to re-think that location choice. Is it possible to get an approx. 1/2 commute for the both of us? Being a future CPS teacher, I will have to live in the boundaries of Chicago.

Let the ideas, suggestions, and dialog begin...

THANKS in advance!

-TM

In all honesty, I'd tell your wife to hold out for another firm closer to the city. You will waste your lives sitting in traffic.

[gallo]

Agreed. Trying to find a place in between is not worth it.

Chicago is one of the biggest and best legal markets in the country. Add that to an economy that is currently thriving, and she should be able to find something closer rather easily.

[reppin_the_847]

If you absolutely have to do it, I'd recommend the Evanston / Skokie area. These towns definitely have more affordable options compared to their North Shore counterparts further north (ie. Wilmette/Winnetka/Glencoe/Highland Park/Lake Forest, etc.) aren't too far from Waukegan like you'd be if you lived within the Chicago city limits, and I think are still a manageable commute to either the Waukegan area or the South Side of Chicago. Skokie puts you closer to Highway 94 (the Edens Expressway), whereas Evanston puts you closer to the Union-Pacific North line Metra trains (northbound trains bring you into downtown Waukegan, southbound Metra can bring you downtown where you can use CTA buses or trains to switch to southeast bound rail service probably on the Metra Electric Line from Millenium Station at Randolph St & Michigan Ave)...........if you're driving from Evanston to the southeast side, you're probably going to be better off than you would in Skokie, since you can take Sheridan Road southbound and navigate to Lake Shore Drive, which is the by far the best "highway" route for reaching the southeast side of Chicago. It is less clogged up & drivers are generally more sane than they are on the 90/94 expressway which the Edens 94 merges into (90/94 is known as Kennedy Expressway in the northwest side, and Dan Ryan in the south side).

So ultimately my vote would go out to Evanston, which is a rather large, urban, scenic, walkable suburb (a mini-city really) and contains a variety of housing options from single family homes to apartments to condominiums, with a variety of public transit options such as the Metra and CTA. Evanston - Central Street area is going to feel quieter and more residential, and almost like its neighbor to the north, Wilmette. Evanston - Davis Street area is going to feel busy....like you're in the middle of a city, because that is where downtown Evanston is located. Evanston - Main Street area is going to feel a bit more urban and grittier, a little more like the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago directly to the south of it. Don't get me wrong though, Main Street near the trains is just fine, it shouldn't be a dangerous area as far as I know. The dangerous part of Evanston is towards the west side of town (Dodge Avenue), and also near the Rogers Park border (Howard St). Other than those pockets, you should be just fine.

[TeacherMan]

Thanks so much for the info and suggestions... Any ideas for encountering paralegal job ops that do NOT require experience? (She is just finishing her certification program)
-Looking forward to the responses!
-TM

[gallo]

I would persistently apply to anything and everything -- even the places that say they require years of paralegal experience.

Companies always shoot for the moon in their job advertisements.

Many times, however, they end up hiring individuals that do meet every single requirement they list in their job advertisements.

Try Craig’s list. Lots and lots of paralegal job offerings in Chicago on there.

This was the second one I looked at. It says experience is preferable but not necessary, and that a beginner is acceptable if they are bright and eager to learn. Take a look:
PARALEGAL/LEGAL ASSISTANT (http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/lgl/370744645.html - broken link)

Trust me. Given she is about to have her paralegal degree, the Chicago legal market, and the Chicago economy right now, persistence will pay off on this one.

Good luck!

[Drover]

I remember suggesting a couple of legal staffing firms to you before... any luck with those?

Originally Posted by reppin_the_847

If you absolutely have to do it, I'd recommend the Evanston / Skokie area.

The OP stipulated that he is required to live in Chicago proper. That pretty much rules out Evanston and Skokie.

[TeacherMan]

Originally Posted by Drover

I remember suggesting a couple of legal staffing firms to you before... any luck with those?


The OP stipulated that he is required to live in Chicago proper. That pretty much rules out Evanston and Skokie.

Yes, you did make those suggestions. She has contacted them. They were interested in interviewing her, but not until we have made the move to Chicago. The reason for my question is because the interview is with a place that does advocacy for battered and assaulted women, something she has a deep passion for.

And you are right, I do need to live in Chicago proper according to CPS teacher requirements. Thus, I guess Evanston would be out. (I actually thought about posing this question directly to you, but did not want to take up your time unless it became more of a "sure thing" )

Thanks to all...we continue the search...

-TM

[gallo]

Employers can be hesitant about hiring someone from outside the area, who does not yet live in Chicago. Especially in the paralegal field where they can just pick one from the many already in Chicago. I would guess that establishing Chicagoland address will help greatly in the search.

I understand, admire, and compliment her on her passion, but if she really just needs to get some experience, if she cannot find a job in that specific area.

Don’t let that get in the way of her passion, or finding a job of in area of what she wants to do right off the bat, but a little bit of experience under her belt will open up the door for greater opportunity.

Hope I am not intruding too much here.

I think you both will be just fine.

[reppin_the_847]

Ah, that was certainly my mistake (for not reading TeacherMan's initial post more carefully). Keeping that in mind, I'm going to revise my suggestion a bit further and bring things down to whether you'd rather have a place closer to the lake (and thus closer to Lake Shore Drive, which makes things easier to get to the Southeast side), and possibly closer to the Union Pacific North Line as well (stations that come to mind are the Rogers Park station, Ravenswood station, and Clybourn stations). In fact out of those three stations I'd recommend being closest to the Ravenswood Metra station, although from the West Rogers Park neighborhood and other nearby neighborhoods, the Rogers Park Metra may also be an okay park & ride option. That train taken northbound can bring you into downtown Waukegan, although I do not know if your wife's potential office is going to be located walking distance from the Waukegan Metra station, nor do I know how safe that immediate area is during the night time hours (the areas surrounding the Waukegan Metra station). If your priority is to be closer to the highways, I'd suggestion the furthest north Chicago neighborhoods near the Edens Expressway (Highway 94), such as Albany Park, Edgebrook, Sauganash, West Rogers Park, etc. These are some of the northern most neighborhoods that are accessible to I-94 which can easily bring you northbound to Highway 41 and on up to Waukegan. A lot of these neighborhoods are more residential in character, and are also a manageable drive southbound (to 90/94) depending on traffic, or more realistically eastbound to Lake Shore Drive to reach the Southeast side of the city. Good luck!

Originally Posted by Drover

I remember suggesting a couple of legal staffing firms to you before... any luck with those?


The OP stipulated that he is required to live in Chicago proper. That pretty much rules out Evanston and Skokie.