traffic from downtown chicago to oakbrook (Oak Park, Forest Park: neighborhoods, university, living in)

[txskysurfer]

My son is moving to chicago for a new job in oakbrook. he just graduated from college in texas and has never been to chicago so he doesnt know anything about traffic flows and where to live (23 year old). He believes living in Chicago would be more fun than living in Oakbrook (big city vs suburbs). if he lives in downtown chicago, how long would it take to get to Oakbrook leaving at 7am? How long will it take for him to return after work leaving at 5 or 5:30pm? Also, any suggestions where to live downtown?

Thanks

[sfcambridge]

The "reverse" commute from Chicago to the suburbs is just as bad as the commute from the suburbs to the city.

The commute at 7am will be ....ok. Some traffic, but that's earlier then when the rush hour really packs up.

The drive back at 5/5:30 will be very bad. Of course, that is rush hour. Could be double or triple the normal commute time, depending on conditions.

But until you know where the job is (how far from the expressway) and where he is living, it is hard to approximate times of course. Chicago is a massive city and it can take hours to drive from one end to the other.

I'll let others get into the whole neighborhood discussion.

I would think about the suburb Forest Park, living close to Madison Street. Forest Park is straight West from Chicago, and inbetween Chicago and OakBrook. It's the suburbs, but has a decent nightlife for someone his age. And you are very close to Chicago, if you want to drive in or take the train in on weekends for fun.

Others will suggest neighborhoods on the North side of Chicago, but the commute will be so awful I would want to kill myself.

[txskysurfer]

thank you very much for your response and suggestions! This confirms what he has heard about the commute as well. Before he decides where he will live he will be commuting back and forth for 60 days from Houston to Chicago to try to figure all this out. I really appreciate you comments and any one elses. have a great day!

[rparz]

I used to try to make it out to the burbs from the city and it used to take an hour / 1:15 in the morning. That's if I avoided 290 and took 55 to 294 then back up to 88.

The ride back averaged an 1:30.

Welcome to Chicago!

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

The "reverse" commute from Chicago to the suburbs is just as bad as the commute from the suburbs to the city.

It depends on which suburbs, but going straight west to Oak Brook, yes, will be bad. Fortunately it's not as far out as some suburbs. If he lives somewhere near 290 (say West Loop or University Village) I would think it would be doable. I know people who do it. They don't love it, but they like it better than living in the suburbs.

[txskysurfer]

thanks again to everyone who posted comments. sounds like he needs to focus on living west of downtown and in between oak brook and downtown. i will have him check out West Loop, Univ Village and Forest Park.

[chet everett]

I really doubt that the kind of nightlife/entertainment scene that a recent college grad is looking for will be met in Forest Park. The extra 20 minutes or so a day that would potentially be saved vs living in that suburb vs a more traditional "recent grade" kind of place like Lakeview or Ukrainian Village is unlikely to be offset by the significantly less vibrant choices...
Ukranian Village, Chicago, IL to Forest Park, IL - Google Maps

[rparz]

Ukie Village is one of the places young people go to live AFTER they live in Lincoln Park and figure out they don't want to deal with the insanity there.

That said, it's a great place to be.

[txskysurfer]

so you would recommend Ukie Village? what about Oak Park?

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by rparz

Ukie Village is one of the places young people go to live AFTER they live in Lincoln Park and figure out they don't want to deal with the insanity there.

That said, it's a great place to be.

I thought about suggesting Ukrainian Village. It's one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. It would take a little longer to get to 290 from there than from West Loop or University Village, though, which is why I suggested those.

Since the guy is 23 he might like the college scene around University Village. Then again, he might be tired of that kind of scene, in which case he might like the others.

I agree that living in a suburb halfway between the city and work (Forest Park) would be pointless. If he's going to live in a suburb, he might as well live right by work. For the same reason, I would not recommend Oak Park. That would just be all the hassles of commuting with none of the things he likely wants in the city.