Work in Orland Park, live in city?

[urza216]

Originally Posted by rparz

Hammond borders, or is a short jaunt to an expressway.

Orland is a good 20 minutes to an expressway. 159th to 57, ot 45 up to 55 -- I-80 is just out of the way unless you're on the far south side, but still get all the other traffic as you loop around. 355 connection is useless when talking about going to the city.

Orland Park is a 5-10 minute drive down to I-80 on Lagrange. And then you take this two exits east to I-57. Definitely faster than driving all the way over to the 159th street exit on I-57.

I-80 doesn't go to the city at all so I'm confused how you think it's "out of the way".

[rparz]

Originally Posted by urza216

Orland Park is a 5-10 minute drive down to I-80 on Lagrange. And then you take this two exits east to I-57. Definitely faster than driving all the way over to the 159th street exit on I-57.

I-80 doesn't go to the city at all so I'm confused how you think it's "out of the way".

If you're any further north then 151st street I wouldn't bother going to I-80, and Lagrange is always a mess. You'd want to skip over to 80th ave then zip over to harlem one block before 80. But still, that's going in the opposite direction.

I-55 is the shortest route, but always jammed with traffic.

Hopping directly onto 57 isn't too bad, 159th moves, so does Crawford (143rd) and it's a more direct route.


57-90/94 isn't as direct as lagrange / 55, but it's a frigging parking lot ever since bolingbrook, oswego, plainfield and all those suburbs built up.

[shaman1204]

I did this commute for 3+ years while living in Bucktown. My advice, from someone who has done it, is if you can afford the gas, live in the city. I had some co-workers who lived in Tinley Park and they would make the trek up to me almost every weekend. Now I had a company car/gas card, so the commute didn't hurt my wallet. You said you are making $30k, so you will have to have one (maybe two?) roommates if you are wanting to keep your car and live in the city. Gas is more expensive here than where you are now, and your insurance will almost certainly double. Mine did and I was a little older than you when I moved.

Another option is you could always keep your car in Orland near the Metra, ride the Metra down there and drive to work. You won't need your car in the city for the weekend anyway. If you are needing your car for something drive it back.

And the best route is to take 90/94 - 57/80 in the morning and taking LaGrange to 55 in the evening. At least that was the best route that I found.

[chicago103]

When I read that you are going to work in Orland Park and want to live in the city I immediately thought of the Beverly neighborhood. There is a Metra line that goes right through Beverly and many of the stops, like 95th, 99th, 103rd Street have lots of apartment buildings right next to them that will be quite cheap compared to more desirable parts of the city. You should be able to live there without a roommate on that salary and the drive won't be that far and if you spend most of your recreational time in the city using public transit you won't spend as much money on gas. That way you can tell people you live in the city even if the Beverly neighborhood is quite far from everyone's mind.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by chicago103

When I read that you are going to work in Orland Park and want to live in the city I immediately thought of the Beverly neighborhood. There is a Metra line that goes right through Beverly and many of the stops, like 95th, 99th, 103rd Street have lots of apartment buildings right next to them that will be quite cheap compared to more desirable parts of the city. You should be able to live there without a roommate on that salary and the drive won't be that far and if you spend most of your recreational time in the city using public transit you won't spend as much money on gas. That way you can tell people you live in the city even if the Beverly neighborhood is quite far from everyone's mind.

Beverly is always somewhere in my mind.

[BNboy07]

Well, thanks for all the continued advice, folks. I (the original poster) wound up in Hyde Park, blocks from the U of Chicago. It takes me about 35 (sometimes 40) minutes to get to my office in south Orland Park using 90/94 to 57 to 80. So far it's been pretty tolerable.

I'm realizing that Hyde Park is something of an island in a sea of troubled neighborhoods. Washington Park, to my west, where the green line runs, is quite derelict. Woodlawn, to my south, is pretty bad too. Oh well. Hyde Park is nice, it's just a task to get to the north side where most of my friends want to go out. Maybe I should have gone somewhere like Ukrainian Village and dealt with the 10 extra minutes of driving. But from Hyde Park it's closer to a half-hour, whereas with that it'd be closer to a full hour, so that makes me feel a little better.

In hindsight, Beverly might have worked out just as well and my drive would be even shorter.

I'm still getting adjusted to the whole Chicago thing. I'm hoping that in time I'll be able to find a job in the city or at least closer to the city, and then maybe I'll move. For now though, I'm pretty happy.

[chet everett]

Glad to here you have found a solution that is working out for you. Too few folks report back on how their efforts at finding a place to live that gives them a commute they can tolerate meet with their desire to be closer to the entertainment options of the region.

Originally Posted by BNboy07

Well, thanks for all the continued advice, folks. I (the original poster) wound up in Hyde Park, blocks from the U of Chicago. It takes me about 35 (sometimes 40) minutes to get to my office in south Orland Park using 90/94 to 57 to 80. So far it's been pretty tolerable.

I'm realizing that Hyde Park is something of an island in a sea of troubled neighborhoods. Washington Park, to my west, where the green line runs, is quite derelict. Woodlawn, to my south, is pretty bad too. Oh well. Hyde Park is nice, it's just a task to get to the north side where most of my friends want to go out. Maybe I should have gone somewhere like Ukrainian Village and dealt with the 10 extra minutes of driving. But from Hyde Park it's closer to a half-hour, whereas with that it'd be closer to a full hour, so that makes me feel a little better.

In hindsight, Beverly might have worked out just as well and my drive would be even shorter.

I'm still getting adjusted to the whole Chicago thing. I'm hoping that in time I'll be able to find a job in the city or at least closer to the city, and then maybe I'll move. For now though, I'm pretty happy.