Best place in-between Schaumburg and Lincoln Park (Palatine: apartment, rent)

[chi-towngirl2011]

So here's the dilemma: my boyfriend and are in the market for an apartment however I go to school down near Lincoln Park and he goes up to school in Palatine. He has a car and would probably drive but I'm 100% open (and used to public transportation). Does anyone have any ideas of good neighborhoods that are in-between the two locations so that neither of us has a terribly long commute?

[northsiderebel]

There is really no perfect option. You can either stick near the Blue Line and make it a little easier on him or stick near the Red or Brown Line and make it easier on you. Any option is going to suck driving to Palatine.

[chet everett]

If he goes to school at Harper odds are he does not have to deal with rush hour traffic. In that case it probably is not too bad to drive out there. Obviously a place with parking and good access is going to make for a more pleasant daily routine, but all things considered this is not bad. If your schedules are such that you avoid rush hour this could work from any part of the city close to the Kennedy.

[SJaye]

The tough thing is that in general when you are going to school, you kind of want to be pretty close to school, as school hours are not regular like hours at a full time job. At least that is how I had always seen it. Living farther away becomes a hindrance with respect to taking part in school functions or activities with the people you will meet there. No option is ideal, but your have several options all with advantages and drawbacks

1. Expect your school to have more interesting activities going on, and just live in Lincoln Park. The problem is parking is tight there, and your boyfriend would have a pretty lousy commute.

2. Live somewhere like Logan Square, near the expressway. A little cheaper, definitely easier to park, but the commute will still kind of suck as the highway gets jammed sometimes, especially near and just after the 90/94 split. You would be able to take the bus to Lincoln Park... commute time 15-35 mins. also dependent on traffic.

3. Live somewhere out by O'Hare airport, maybe the Harlem or Cumberland stops on the blue line. This would give your boyfriend a fairly easy commute, but yours would be kind of long, and involve a transfer from a train to a bus. Also, that area has a lot less to do, less nightlife than the first two I mentioned.

4. Live separately by your respective campuses and see each other whenever you can. From Lincoln Park, it is a short bus or cab ride to the Clybourn METRA station, which goes to Palatine, giving you an option for when you go out to see him, and he could always drive in. Obviously involves paying more rent (unless you find roommates and such), and, well, not being together, but the campuses are almost thirty miles apart, so it may be worth considering.