Single mother moving to Chicago (Evanston, Wheaton: apartment complex, hotel, house)

[4122]

Flossmoor is a good option. Munster is also a good option and it's even closer to work.

[marothisu]

I think it will depend on the OP's commute needs. Flossmoor is still 20 miles away, and while there's no traffic, the OP has to be willing to commute 40 miles/day for that. Just an example. Some suburbs may be better for school stuff, but it'll depend on what the OP wants regarding a balance of commute, that, and some other things.

[NilesoR]

Thanks everyone... the comments on CPS was a real eye opener, I had thought I could just find a good school and move into the area for the school but just learnt things dont work like that there, all this "lottery/waiting list" is scary .... I cant afford private schools. Guess its suburbs for us

...but why is everyone saying Flossmoor?
(my girls think that's a funny name...leading to a dentist joke)

any other recommendations, (good public school but short commute to Jackson park please)

[marothisu]

Define "Short commute"?

[NilesoR]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Define "Short commute"?

lol

20 miles was my max, however I was hoping for something less. 10 -15 miles or less than 30 minutes commute by car. Unless there is good reliable public transportation, then no limit/preference

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by NilesoR

lol

20 miles was my max, however I was hoping for something less. 10 -15 miles or less than 30 minutes commute by car. Unless there is good reliable public transportation, then no limit/preference

The nearest good area (city neighborhood or suburb) is Hyde Park, which is just a few miles away and can easily be reached via bus. Pullman is also another semi-close one.

There is a Metra (commuter rail) stop not far from the hospital, though it doesn't go directly there. This line goes directly through Flossmoor/Homewood. You'd have to hop off and wait for a bus (75) and go 4 or 5 stops on the bus before you're dropped off at the hospital. I'm not *that* familiar with that particular area so no idea if it's safe for a woman to wait out there alone or what. Otherwise, you could go north to Hyde Park and take the 28 bus south again.

[MichaelReilly]

Originally from NY but I am very familiar with Chicago and Hyde Park where I was a student.


I don't know why you all are suggesting Flossmoor. The town is alright but it is surrounded by horrific areas and suburban ghettoes. If you are from a smaller town and you are not African American I do not recommend living in Flossmoor at all. It is nice now but the outlook is not good for Flossmoor.

Right across the state like you have Northwest Indiana, Munster, Shererville (sp?), Dyer, Crown Point all lovely inexpensive towns with good schools. You can take the South Shore line train or park and ride to the Metra or drive but again you will have to drive through some dicey areas.


Hyde Park and Kenwood. Hide park is touted as "the most diverse neighborhood in Chicago" and if you just look at Census tracts it is, however it is essentially two neighboorhoods. The part by Kenwood is an extension of Kenwood which is the "Black Gold Coast" where rich and upper class African Americans live. The south part of the area is a student ghetto. Safe and lovely but not for children. The schools suck and most people who live over there of all colors go private. That's because although those areas are alright, they are on the South Side of Chicago which contains the most deprived neighborhoods in the country. Chicago is two cities essentislly. There is the North/NW/SW side which is mostly white and Mexican and a mix of middle class, hipster, yuppie, blue collar etc. then you have the south side where you will be working which is mostly black and except for a few pockets of wealth, it has more in common with Detroit than the areas of a Chicago to the North.

For people who want good schools and live in Chicago with children, there is two options. One is go private and live in a family friendly north side area like Roscoe Village, parts of Lakeview, Near North, or live on the Far Northwest side as close to the suburbs as you can be. The schools here are far from stellar, but safe and sufficient for a decent education and this is what public servants beholden to city limits do. The first option is out of your range and the second option is stupid because that area is essentially a suburb with worse schools than the actual suburbs and it would give you the commute from hell, as would all N/NW suburbs.

People here will flout two towns, Flossmoor to the South and Oak Park to the west. Like I said Flossmoor was a gorgeous and exclusive community back in the day and while it is still safer than its neighbors..it is surrounded by bad areas and the schools are not good. The only thing it has is "diversity" which people use as a talking point but the reality is that it is declining and surrounded by towns so bad that the county has had to take over policing because they have no money...Oak Park has held up a little bit better but again it is butted by an area where the cops won't even go without back up and the biggest employer is selling Heroin and their government does kitschy, publicity stunt things like declare the town "a nuclear free zone" etc and their fun is financed by exorbitant taxes. Also it is overpriced because it offers worse schools compared to similarly priced suburbs, but again people will say "but it's diverse!" but diversity and idealism doesn't teach your kids how to read..


Listen, if you want safe, affordable, good schools and decent commute. Look at Northwest Indiana right over the Chicago City Limits (which is also the state line) it is a nice middle class family oriented area and has filled the void that the south burbs left when they declined from solid working class to solid "I'm on section 8 and smoke crack" class.

Again, NW Indiana is really the only sensible option. It's an easy commute and checks all your boxes and is essentially to Chicago what Long Island is to NYC. Only places to avoid are Whiting (unless you're Latino), Hammond, Merrillville, and Gary. But Munster and the tri-towns are seriously perfect.


I REPEAT: NO MATTER WHAT THESE PEOPLE SAY DO NOT RELOCATE TO FLOSSMOOR UNLESS YOU ARE
AFRICAN AMERICAN YOU WILL BE VERY OUT OF PLACE AND POTENTIALLY A VICTIM OF CRIME. THE ONLY NON-AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE SOUTH SUBURBS ARE ELDERLY WHITE PEOPLE WHO WAITED TOO LONG TO SELL AND NOW HAVE A WORTHLESS HOME THAT THEY ARE STUCK IN. IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE IN THE SOUTH BURBS NOT BETTER IT IS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE MOVE FROM, NOT TOO

[treemoni]

Originally Posted by MichaelReilly

I REPEAT: NO MATTER WHAT THESE PEOPLE SAY DO NOT RELOCATE TO FLOSSMOOR UNLESS YOU ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN YOU WILL BE VERY OUT OF PLACE AND POTENTIALLY A VICTIM OF CRIME. THE ONLY NON-AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE SOUTH SUBURBS ARE ELDERLY WHITE PEOPLE WHO WAITED TOO LONG TO SELL AND NOW HAVE A WORTHLESS HOME THAT THEY ARE STUCK IN. IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE IN THE SOUTH BURBS NOT BETTER IT IS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE MOVE FROM, NOT TOO

OP, this comment embodies everything you need to know about the mindset of Chicagoans who aren't people of color. Welcome.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by MichaelReilly

Hyde Park and Kenwood. Hide park is touted as "the most diverse neighborhood in Chicago" and if you just look at Census tracts it is, however it is essentially two neighboorhoods.

It's actually not - there are census tracts in West Ridge (West Rogers Park), Uptown, etc that are more, but the ones in Hyde Park are among the more diverse in the city. I made a heat map awhile ago showing diversity by tract and a sort of standard deviation. It's the average percentage of 5 groups away from even (20%). The greener something is, the more races live in that tract. The redder something is, the less groups there are in that area. Red-brownish is in the middle - probably 2 of the 5 race groups share the majority of the residents of that tract.

https://www.google.com/fusiontables/...l-8QQ#map:id=4

The #1 tract for Hyde Park ranks 14th "most diverse" on this calculation. For the 13 tracts that rank as more diverse, the communities are 6 tracts in West Ridge, 3 tracts in Uptown, 2 in Near West Side, and 2 in Edgewater. On this map you can clearly see the segregated parts of the south side, west side, and parts of downtown/north side. Outside of that, at least in my opinion the map is more green/red-brown than I thought it would be before making this map. It's a shame there's still large swaths of segregation.

Regardless, Hyde Park, Kenwood, etc are good areas of the city for sure. They aren't as attractive to some people because there's not tons of bars, but they're solid areas.

[knitgirl]

Originally Posted by treemoni

OP, this comment embodies everything you need to know about the mindset of Chicagoans who aren't people of color. Welcome.

We are not all like that!