Moving and job hunting in Chicago (Bedford Park, Mason: home, find a job, neighborhood)

[angelsfan068]

Hi everyone, I am currently living in Orange county, CA and relocating to Chicago (Wicker Park) to be closer to family. I have always worked in hospitals as a radiology clerical worker/assistant or registration person. I was looking for recommendations as to what hospitals are and are not good ones to work for. Please keeping in mind I do not really know the city and if the freeways are comparable to the nightmare out here. Also, I was wondering if anyone knows about what clerical is paid in the hospitals out there. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

[soulful]

Stroger Hospital (county government), University of Illinois (state), Rush, and Northwestern are all somewhat close and in the city.

Pay in some positions is actually more at Stroger due to the county scale. I am not as familiar with the other hospitals pay scales. Northwestern is certainly the most "chic/fancy" of those I mentioned above. People love working there, however, it doesn't necessarily translate into higher pay at the clerical level.

The University of Chicago is a bit more distant from your location but not really all that far. Also, Illinois Masonic isn't terribly far from Wicker Park.

The above are the ones that come quickly to mind. We also have a number of suburban hospitals.

good luck

[angelsfan068]

I have heard University of Chicago is in a bad part of Chicago, is that true? I am pretty street smart but do not want to work in the ghetto either! Thanks for the information.

[jahk]

University of Chicago is in Hyde Park, which is a very nice neighborhood. However, some of the surrounding areas are quite sketchy, and public transportation to U of C is not as easy as some other places in the city. Driving there is not bad, although I don't know what the employee parking situation is like these days.

You'll probably be surprised to find out how practical public transportation in Chicago is compared to LA. You'll probably find it easier and cheaper to bus or train to work than to drive.

[il_blguy87]

I recommend you find a job before move with your family. That's what I am currently doing but I am in IT field. I currently have a job out of state but wanna find another back home in Chicago area. My hunt has been going +4 months. My resume is strong but it's in entry level and does not get me many interviews. And if your English is not first language it's gonna be even harder. I speak at conversational level and communicate well although employers can be quite picky about your speech or accent.

[angelsfan068]

I found a job that seems promising and the pay is better than I expected but it is in Bedford Park. I know how traffic can literally double to triple your communte, any idea as to how the commute from Wicker Park to that location would be and is it even worth it? In addition, I thought anything around Midway was a bad neighborhood, is the same true for this area? Thanks for any help.