Please Help! What areas of Chicago do the young professionals live/hang-out in? (Aurora: apartment)

[dr.nikki]

Hi everyone,

I just got a great job offer in Mount Prospect. I am moving out from Los Angeles and am not very familiar with Chicago, but I think it looks like a great city!

My question is: given my office is in Mount Prospect, where should I start looking for an apartment/condo? I would love to live in a place where I could just walk to bars, shopping, coffee, etc.

I am used to paying a lot for rent, so I am willing to pay more for a good location...any advice is definitely appreciated!!

Thanks,

Nikki

[aragx6]

That's tough because you want city living, but you'll be working in the burbs, so you'll need to decide how long is too long of a commute. Even without traffic you're job will be about 40 min from the city (you don't even want to know how long it will be in traffic- even the backwards commute can be a *****)

[jessiegirl_98]

I have a friend who lives in West Lakeview (around Roscoe and Paulina) and commutes to Mount Prospect everyday....she has about a 1 hour drive each way. That's an option (there are a lot of bars, food, etc), but it depends on how you feel about commuting!

[Drover]

Originally Posted by aragx6

That's tough because you want city living, but you'll be working in the burbs, so you'll need to decide how long is too long of a commute. Even without traffic you're job will be about 40 min from the city (you don't even want to know how long it will be in traffic- even the backwards commute can be a *****)

Mount Prospect is less than 10 miles from the city. How do you reckon that's a 40-minute trip without traffic? Take the Northwest Highway through Des Plaines and Park Ridge and you're there.

To the OP: Here's a compromise that I recommend to people in your situation who want city life but have a Northwest Suburban job: pick a neighborhood along the northwest reaches of the CTA Blue Line such as Jefferson Park, Irving Park, Norwood Park, Oriole Park, Union Ridge, or the city of Harwood Heights (technically a suburb but almost completely surrounded by the city on all 4 sides). The Blue Line runs 24/7 and provides direct access to dining & nightlife spots like Wicker Park/Bucktown, Logan Square and University Village/Little Italy, plus indirect access via connections the Belmont and Lawrence 24/7 bus lines to other nightlife spots like Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Wrigleyville/Lakeview, Uptown and Andersonville.

None of the upper Blue Line communities I recommend are nightlife areas themselves, so if you go this route, you wouldn't be in the middle of the action. But you can get to the action is as little as 20 to 30 minutes via public transportation. Additionally, your rent will be much lower (or conversely you can get a lot more space for the same price) and it would cut a lot of time off your commute -- anywhere from 25 to 40 minutes less than living right in Lakeview or Lincoln Park, depending on how far west you live. It's something to consider.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by Drover

Mount Prospect is less than 10 miles from the city. How do you reckon that's a 40-minute trip without traffic? Take the Northwest Highway through Des Plaines and Park Ridge and you're there.

What I meant was the loop... apologies for confusion. And its definitely about 35-40 minutes, as I have made this drive.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Without traffic? Maybe. Hard to tell. On those rare days when there is no traffic, I tend to speed

[Drover]

Originally Posted by aragx6

What I meant was the loop... apologies for confusion. And its definitely about 35-40 minutes, as I have made this drive.

Still nonsense. You can get from Aurora or Hoffman Estates to the loop in 40 minutes traffic permitting, much less from Mount Prospect.

I'm looking at a traffic report right now. It says 42 minutes from Lake Cook Road to the Loop via the Tri-State to the Kennedy.

[sbd78]

If you are looking to live in a neighborhood with good nightlife and restaurants, I recommend Wicker Park/Bucktown since they are right off the highway. Places like Lincoln Park and Lakeview/Wrigleyville also have great nightlife, restaurants, and shopping but are a farther drive from the highway. Your commute is not going to be great even from Wicker Park/Bucktown but at least you will be almost home when you exit the highway, and this area has all the criteria you are looking for.

[jimboshanz]

Licoln Park is the place to be. the commute will be worth it if your weekends are spent in this area.

[bigjersey]

If you work near the Metra you can live in the loop (or north) and reverse commute by train, but I agree that Mount Prospect is too suburban for you to experience the real chicago lifestyle. But spending your whole life in a car sucks and is bad for the environment. So basically you can live in the city and reverse commute, enjoying the city one the weekends or days off. Or you can live in the suburbs, have no commute, enjoy the city on weekends or days off. From my perspective, late night drives back to the suburbs are no fun. I like transit or cabs, but since you're from LA it may seem like no biggy.