Downtown to Orland Park commute (Chicago, Oak Forest: apartments, insurance, neighborhoods)

[mckonest]

I will be moving to Chicago in June and hope to live downtown (the loop area). I'm wondering what to expect if I decide to drive to Orland Park where my office will be located. I've heard the commute around rush hour is about as bad as you can expect, but wonder if this particular direction may be easier than most. In addition, if I find the loop area to be too expensive to live, are areas like Washington Park, Bronzeville, Hyde Park (U of Chicago area) decent places to buy? I'm wondering how safe it would be because I have heard these are "up-and-coming" communities.

[oakparkdude]

Any chance you could take public transit to work?

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by mckonest

I will be moving to Chicago in June and hope to live downtown (the loop area). I'm wondering what to expect if I decide to drive to Orland Park where my office will be located. I've heard the commute around rush hour is about as bad as you can expect, but wonder if this particular direction may be easier than most. In addition, if I find the loop area to be too expensive to live, are areas like Washington Park, Bronzeville, Hyde Park (U of Chicago area) decent places to buy? I'm wondering how safe it would be because I have heard these are "up-and-coming" communities.

Forget mass transit, won't be an option unless your office is located right next to the train station because the trains may get you out to the OP but once you are out there standing on the platform... Then what? Orland Park is huge, what are you going to walk 6 miles to your office? lol! This isn't NY where you walk out of Penn Station and there is a line of cabs a mile long waiting to take you somewhere, so that being said, plan on driving. To take I-55 on a flip side commute where you are going out as everyone is trying to come into the city, then reverse in the PM you will be fine. Plan on looking at about 45 min in and out. If you were going with the flow however instead of against it, then plan on 75-90 min in and out during rush hour.

[Drover]

Hyde Park is not "up and coming." It arrived a century ago and has stayed there ever since. Its fortunes have fluctuated up and down alongside those of the entire city, but it has always been one of the nicer, safer parts of town relative to the rest of the neighborhoods.

Washington Park is still pretty rough. I'd avoid it.

Bronzeville is really starting to take shape. A lot of the commercial strips still need some help, but there is some amazing housing stock in Bronzeville, both new and old. But it's worth knowing that there's some resistance to white people moving into Bronzeville, and not just your average "say no to gentrification" resistance. Bronzeville has deep cultural roots in the Black community; it was at one time Chicago's equivalent to Harlem in terms of being the center of Black culture, entertainment, nightlife and what-not. (Sam Cooke, Louis Armstrong, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lou Rawls and Marla Gibbs all either hail from or made their name in Bronzeville.) So there is an stronger-than-usual undercurrent of "Keep It Black" running through the area.

As for driving to Orland, it would be a difficult drive because there's no expressway that takes you right there. It's going to involve a lot of surface-street driving. I'd guess about 45 minutes from Hyde Park to Orland Park in moderate traffic, plus or minus 15 minutes with more or less traffic volume.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by NYrules

Forget mass transit, won't be an option unless your office is located right next to the train station because the trains may get you out to the OP but once you are out there standing on the platform... Then what? Orland Park is huge, what are you going to walk 6 miles to your office? lol! This isn't NY where you walk out of Penn Station and there is a line of cabs a mile long waiting to take you somewhere, so that being said, plan on driving. To take I-55 on a flip side commute where you are going out as everyone is trying to come into the city, then reverse in the PM you will be fine. Plan on looking at about 45 min in and out. If you were going with the flow however instead of against it, then plan on 75-90 min in and out during rush hour.

That's kind of what I was asking. Is his job close to a Metra station? Obviously if not, transit won't be an option.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by Drover

Hyde Park is not "up and coming." It arrived a century ago and has stayed there ever since. Its fortunes have fluctuated up and down alongside those of the entire city, but it has always been one of the nicer, safer parts of town relative to the rest of the neighborhoods.

Washington Park is still pretty rough. I'd avoid it.

Bronzeville is really starting to take shape. A lot of the commercial strips still need some help, but there is some amazing housing stock in Bronzeville, both new and old. But it's worth knowing that there's some resistance to white people moving into Bronzeville, and not just your average "say no to gentrification" resistance. Bronzeville has deep cultural roots in the Black community; it was at one time Chicago's equivalent to Harlem in terms of being the center of Black culture, entertainment, nightlife and what-not. (Sam Cooke, Louis Armstrong, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lou Rawls and Marla Gibbs all either hail from or made their name in Bronzeville.) So there is an stronger-than-usual undercurrent of "Keep It Black" running through the area.

As for driving to Orland, it would be a difficult drive because there's no expressway that takes you right there. It's going to involve a lot of surface-street driving. I'd guess about 45 minutes from Hyde Park to Orland Park in moderate traffic, plus or minus 15 minutes with more or less traffic volume.

From the Loop area, you take 90/94 south to 55 outbound to La Grange Road south... La Grange has been completely redone a few years ago to the point that it is nearly like an interstate now and many people on there are doing about 60 mph, so I'm not understanding how it is difficult to get out to Orland?

[mckonest]

I believe my office will be about 1.5 miles from the Metra station (near the mall), sukwoo. It didn't look like there was a bus that would take me from the station close to the mall. When I did the RTA trip planner, it had me get on a bus at the Metra station that took me to a different Metra station, change busses & finally arrive at the mall. It looked very inconvenient and long. If the drive commute from downtown is around 45 minutes, that's better than what I was thinking. I'm moving from Detroit where the commute is about 30 minutes. Thanks for the advice all, I appreciate it.

[reppin_the_847]

If that's the case, perhaps the only way you can make this work is if you can acquire and leave a beater vehicle at the Orland Park Metra. Chances are slim that you'd be able to pull this off, but in order to do so, you'd need approval from the Orland Park police most likely, and you'd probably need to purchase a long-term parking pass. A backup option could be finding a similar parking spot for a beater car right next to the station. Keep in mind that you'd still need to pay annoying insurance on such a vehicle (plus the initial investment of even getting one probably), and it might still be a pain in the ass. It would probably be better than relying on cabs in Orland Park though. When you're back in the city you'll have no problem finding cabs, although out in suburbs like Orland Park though it might be a bit difficult.

Originally Posted by mckonest

I believe my office will be about 1.5 miles from the Metra station (near the mall), sukwoo. It didn't look like there was a bus that would take me from the station close to the mall. When I did the RTA trip planner, it had me get on a bus at the Metra station that took me to a different Metra station, change busses & finally arrive at the mall. It looked very inconvenient and long. If the drive commute from downtown is around 45 minutes, that's better than what I was thinking. I'm moving from Detroit where the commute is about 30 minutes. Thanks for the advice all, I appreciate it.

[Patty0802]

I live in Orland Park. There is a train station west of the mall on 153rd Street, but it is probably a mile or so away. And if the weather is bad, that's not fun and I'm not sure there are sidewalks all the way there for safe walking. The other station is at 143rd off of LaGrange Road, farther north of the mall. Where exactly is your office? Commuting from downtown might be tolerable from spring to fall, but in the winter, you'll be sorry when the weather turns nasty. Why don't you try living in a southwest suburb instead. There are apartments available throughout the various towns and much cheaper than the downtown, Chicago area.

[dinesh72]

Actually I drive from the Loop area to Orland Park during non-peak hours and it takes about 35 minutes. I've found the best way to be to take 90/94 South to 57 South and take the exit for 159th Street - of course, I'm on the very east end of Orland (almost near Oak Forest).