Convenient Commute to IIT? (Bridgeport, Campus: apartments, for rent, condos)

[zetsoc]

Hi folks. I might be teaching at IIT in the fall and I'm looking for a little neighborhood advice. I would be looking into one bedroom places and can spend up to $1,000/month. What neighborhoods would you recommend for a guy in his late 20s who would like to be near coffee shops, organic/co-op groceries, and a bit more hipster/laid back bars? My understanding is that the red line runs through IIT and another thread suggested that Belmont would be as far north as I ought to go.

[chirack]

Originally Posted by zetsoc

Hi folks. I might be teaching at IIT in the fall and I'm looking for a little neighborhood advice. I would be looking into one bedroom places and can spend up to $1,000/month. What neighborhoods would you recommend for a guy in his late 20s who would like to be near coffee shops, organic/co-op groceries, and a bit more hipster/laid back bars? My understanding is that the red line runs through IIT and another thread suggested that Belmont would be as far north as I ought to go.

Yeah if you are using public tranist you don't want to go north of Belmont. Lakeview around wrigely field is another(that is on the red line).

Bucktown is probably the best fit and isn't that far north. However I think you will need to transfer from the blue line to the red line(or transfer to the green line) to get to work. This transfer would be free at certain stations down town(Jackson Dearborn to Jackson and state for the Red line(probably the best transfer.) Clark and Lake for the Green line.

Oak park near the green line would in theory be another but it might not be quite enough of what you want. Bridgeport and Chinatown are nearby IIT but probably not what you are looking for.

[zetsoc]

Bucktown sounds really interesting, and it looks like parts of the neighborhood have convenient access to both the blue line and the green line. I wouldn't mind the blue-red transfer, because it also looks like the city's major co-op is on the blue line near Logan Square.

[chirack]

Originally Posted by zetsoc

Bucktown sounds really interesting, and it looks like parts of the neighborhood have convenient access to both the blue line and the green line. I wouldn't mind the blue-red transfer, because it also looks like the city's major co-op is on the blue line near Logan Square.

Bucktown is on the Blue line but it is kinda distant from the Green line. In addition you could take the bus over to the Red line(I think north and clyborn is the nearest redline stop) from that area. The green line runs along lake street, while not way far away it is at least a 15 min drive so that works out to around a 30 min bus ride to lake street from that area.

Basically it would be better to live near division and walk to the Blue line or live near North Ave. and take the bus to the Red.

One warning about bucktown and lakeview. If you have a car parking can be a problem here.

[chirack]

ugh error on my part forgot about the division red line stop....you can take the bus over from that too.

[chet everett]

If you want a short commute definitely stay south of the loop -- the seats are about 1000x more plentiful too.

There are LOTS of apartments and condos for rent in South Loop and there are a nice mix of coffee / music locations,a Whole Foods, more and more interesting resturants -- though not as many as the more stereotypically hipster areas. The folks that live in the South Loop tend to be way more load back than the the "party every night " crowd in Lakeview of Bucktown. Even Greektown / West Loop and the UIC & Pilsen areas make more sense from a commute standpoint -- I would hate being jammed up through the core of the Loop for no good reason.

Other good options include Chinatown and Bridgeport -- you can walk / bicycle to IIT from those areas.

[zetsoc]

I suppose by "short/convenient commute" I basically mean reliably under an hour. I'm willing to give and take a little. I'd be perfectly happy with a consistently 45 minute commute if the apartment were within walking distance of a local food co-op (I'm wary of Whole Foods, but I'd be willing to do it if it were the only option in my neighborhood). Then again, I'd be fine with a 45 minute transit to a food co-op if I traded it for a really nice 15 minute commute to work.

[chet everett]

As far as I know the only traditional style co-op for groceries is in Logan Square. That would make for a longish commute just to be close to a grocer...

[emathias]

Personally, I'd take the Green Line to IIT rather than the Red Line, as the Green Line stops on Campus, while the Red Line stops in the middle of an expressway to the west of the Campus.

[zetsoc]

Thanks for catching that, emathias. I hadn't realized the green line stops on campus.