Commute downtown to Oak Brook (Chicago, Elmhurst: extended stay, sublet, college)

[intern99]

Hello everyone,
I recently accepted a great summer internship in Oak Brook and can't wait to live in Illinois for the summer. I want to try to live downtown at one of the intern buildings (like the buckingham) as I feel like it will be a much better alternative/quality of life then spending my summer alone at an extended stay in oak brook, which doesn't seem like a great quality of life for a college student. The company does not offer a shuttle to the train station (the closest station I believe is hinsdale). So my question is will this be possible? How long would driving each way take? Aside from driving myself as far as the train goes my only option would be to find somewhere near the station to leave my car then drive the 10 minutes or so to the office. Thank you for any input!!

[via chicago]

The commute will suck. The commute will suck less than a summer spent at an extended stay in Oakbrook.

[reppin_the_847]

Can you afford to Uber it every day from Hinsdale Metra to Oak Brook? I'm not sure where in Oak Brook you are interning, but assuming it is a large company like the McDonalds Corporation, the distance from the Hinsdale Metra is only 4.1 miles (10-11 minutes right now non-rush hour). I'd imagine that travel time is a bit longer during rush hour, but probably not more than 20 minutes. There are also express trains to Hinsdale from the city, but not that many. There are much more trains going into the city in the morning than out to the suburbs in the morning. You may also need to factor in a cab within the city just to get to Union Station. Unless you get up early enough to walk to the station or decide to take a CTA bus (to Union Station).


Anyway, as long as you can get your alarm clock to get you up pretty early, I'd say it's do-able if you can do a Metra + Uber (or cab) combo.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by via chicago

The commute will suck. The commute will suck less than a summer spent at an extended stay in Oakbrook.

I completely agree. OP, are there other interns you can carpool with?

[intern99]

Vlajos,
at this point in time due to legal reasons they can't give me contact info of other interns which sucks as I thought of that also.
As far as the Uber suggestion goes I'm not really sure I could reliably depend on it to get to work and the cost from the would probably be far too substantial if i needed to use it twice a day.

[Lookout Kid]

If you can afford to park downtown, this one makes sense to drive. The "Ike" (Eisenhower Expressway I-290) is one of the worst traffic choke points in Chicago, but I-88 is a piece of cake once you make it through the "Hillside Strangler" (interchange where I-290, I-88, and I-294 meet near Hillside, IL), and you will be reverse commuting. I'm guessing an hour each way. Probably less.

Maybe find a sublet in the West Loop with parking?

[reppin_the_847]

Gotcha. Unless the pay is really good, those kinds of transit costs (ie. Uber) will quickly eat into your budget for sure.

Originally Posted by intern99

Vlajos,
at this point in time due to legal reasons they can't give me contact info of other interns which sucks as I thought of that also.
As far as the Uber suggestion goes I'm not really sure I could reliably depend on it to get to work and the cost from the would probably be far too substantial if i needed to use it twice a day.

[intern99]

Does anybody happen to know of a way to park at the train station or near it in hinsdale possibly?? At this point it looks like I'm pretty much out of luck as even if I did want to commute via car the cost of parking it would exceed my budget by far. The train is the only way that would make sense. Thanks!

[oakparkdude]

Elmhurst has overnight parking passes. Elmhurst, IL - Official Website - Overnight Parking Looks like you'll probably need both a daytime and overnight permit which costs $55/month.

You should call the village of Hinsdale for parking info. Looks like they have parking spots available for commuters, but there's no info on their website about overnight parking regulations.

[CatWarmer]

You could try contacting Grant Square management. Hinsdale Retail Space | Grant Square | Hinsdale Management Corporation It's a privately owned little shopping center a block from the Hinsdale train station with a huge lot. They have free three hour parking during the business hours, but maybe you could arrange for overnight/weekend parking.

Another possibility is Union Church, also a block from the train station. Contact | The Union Church of Hinsdale, U.C.C.

I don't know if either place rents spaces but it's worth checking out.

Oh - another idea is Cine, a restaurant also a block from the train station (yes, just about everything in town is a block from the station). They have valet parking (which always makes me laugh) so maybe they contract privately with someone you can contact. Cine Hinsdale

There is no street parking allowed overnight in Hinsdale without police authorization.