Neighborhoods on northwest side (Chicago, Rockford: apartment, renting, how much)

[simon100]

Hello, I just recently graduated and I got a job where I will be working between two offices in Elgin and Schaumburg and visitin clients in that general area. I started looking at where to find an apartment and I was wondering how realistic it would be for me to live whithin the city. Being young, living in the city attracts me more than living in the suburbs.

I was looking at neighborhoods like Jefferson Park, Irving Park etc. Ones where I could get quick access to I-90 and is near a train line. What I am mainly looking for is a neighborhood that will give me a balance between distance to work and the nightlife areas lile Lincoln Park Wrigleyville etc.

Are there any suburbs in the area that also offers a decent night out and a young crowd? Someone suggested Palatine to me but I have never visited the area.

Any suggestions?

[jonnynonos]

I don't really know the answers to your questions, except to say that living on the far northwest side of Chicago wouldn't really be a compromise. There is not much going on up there in terms of nightlife, etc. You might as well live in the burbs.

At least Jefferson Park.

If you can get a little closer to the city center, like North Center or Logan Square, that is a different story.

Some people on this board know those neighborhoods better than me. Although, i do know Jefferson Park.

[simon100]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

I don't really know the answers to your questions, except to say that living on the far northwest side of Chicago wouldn't really be a compromise. There is not much going on up there in terms of nightlife, etc. You might as well live in the burbs.

At least Jefferson Park.

If you can get a little closer to the city center, like North Center or Logan Square, that is a different story.

Some people on this board know those neighborhoods better than me. Although, i do know Jefferson Park.

Yea a friend of mine told me that as well about leaving in the far northwest neighborhoods. I just like having that access to the blue line to get me to the more lively neighborhoods on the weekends. But if those neighborhoods like Jefferson Park are the same as living in the suburbs i might just save my troubles and live out in the burbs to make my work commute shorter.

That is why I am also looking for some fun suburbs for young people for those weekends that I decide to not go into the city.

[jonnynonos]

Again, I don't know all that much about it, but those sound like pretty hefty commutes.

Normally I just advise people to live where they want and suck up the commute--you only live once!

But, those kind of commutes would get to be intolerable pretty quick. Chicago has a lot of great suburbs, and you can enjoy the city at your leisure. Forutnately the Metra will take you into the city whenever you want.

I think Elmhurst is a really nice suburb.

[jdiddy]

Irving Park to Schaumburg is a tolerable commute, and the neighborhood does give you convenient access to both the blue line neighborhoods and the lakefront neighborhoods. Sure there is Metra from the burbs, but there's a big difference from a once an hour train that takes you downtown (or to a station requiring 1-2 additional CTA transfers) and a cta train/bus arriving every 5-10 mins.

Getting to Bucktown from Irving Park is no big deal. Getting to it from Elmhurst is.

Not to mention being a 10-15 min bike ride from a lot of these neighborhoods.

The commute to Elgin, however, I'm not so sure about.

[chet everett]

I'll start where jdiddy left off. Bluntly you would have an absolutely miserable commute to Elgin from anywhere east of Schuamburg / Hoffman Estates! The distance, congestion, lack of alternate roads means that even off peak in perfect weather the drive from even the far western edge of Chicago to Elgin is going to be a loooong ride. Throw in any kind of normal rush hour traffic and you are looking at over an hour. Weather events like we've had recently and sitting in your car for multipe hours is a real possibility...

I suppose if you can a find with decent parking somewhere close enough to the Blue line you could maybe justify that as a way to get into the hipper areas when the weather is better but there are only a handful of such places that have truly affordable rents -- don't forget that the proximity to O'Hare means there are folks in Edison Park renting out rooms to airline employees at a premium. Edison Park and Jefferson Park have some resturants and decent casual bars, but so too do Rosemont, Park Ridge and DesPlaines -- it is going to come down to how much suffering you can endure for the haul out to Elgin for the possibility of connecting to the Blue line on the rare occaisions that you get home not totally wrung out. It might make more sense to be closer to work and just stay close with pals that live in / near a hipper area for weekends and such. This is really one of the worst commutes as Elgin does have it own little subset of towns that sort of feed into it -- places like Huntley and neighboring towns still have a distinctly "rural" mix of little farms scattered between the newer subdivisions.

[simon100]

Thanks for the replies guys. Yea that commute to elgin is the reason I question living in the city. If all I had to drive to is Schaumburg I would do it.

I live in Rockford right now so for the first month or so I will have to drive to work until I find a place. So I will see how I handle this commute and if it is not too bad I might do like jonnynonos said and suck it up and live in the city.

I want to move down to Texas whithin next 5-8 years so this might be my only opportunity to live in the city.

[Pantless1]

If you are just picking between those two neighborhoods then I'd go with Irving Park. There's at least some stuff to do out there and has quick-ish access to places with more nightlife.

[knitgirl]

for suburbs, take a look at Arlington Heights.