Is this commute recommended? (Chicago, Oak Park: renting, condo, hotel)

[foreverblue]

We are a middle-aged couple who are planning to relocate to the Chicago area for work. After many years in the suburbs, we'd like to try city living. We are looking to buy a townhouse/condo and have a budget of 600K to 700K. One of us will have a commute to Oak Brook. Is that feasible by public transportation? What areas would you recommend we start our home search? We have been told Lincoln Park and West Lakeview are places to consider.

[lepoisson]

First of all, I'd definitely recommend renting before buying. There are so many neighborhoods in the city and each one has a different vibe. Lincoln Park is nice, but sort of pretentious. Lakeview is similar, but tends to have a younger crowd (it's one of the more popular neighborhoods with college grads moving to the city).

I have a few friends who live in the city and work in the suburbs and they hate it.

That would not be a fun commute from Lincoln Park or Lakeview. Driving will take an hour with traffic and CTA/metra will be at least 1.5hr. You could shave off some time by living near Ogilvie or Union station.

I would recommend spending a night at an AirBnB or hotel in the city and making your commute one day. I can guarantee it's not something you'd want to do 5 days a week.

[fusillirob1983]

That's not a great daily commute. It's not very doable on public transit. From Lincoln Park, it'll probably take more than an hour. When I lived in Lakeview, the handful of times I commuted to Oak Brook took 60-75 minutes. It would be a few minutes shorter had I been further west in the neighborhood. I often found myself taking side roads off the expressways to at least feel like I was moving. There's really no good route or shortcut from that area, unless you're able to get out the door by 6 am and end your work day earlier, though no matter how early you end your work day, you'll hit traffic heading back toward Lincoln Park.

[damba]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

First of all, I'd definitely recommend renting before buying.

That would not be a fun commute from Lincoln Park or Lakeview. Driving will take an hour with traffic and CTA/metra will be at least 1.5hr. You could shave off some time by living near Ogilvie or Union station.

Agreed, but the OP would have to state exactly *where* in Oak Brook. It's not on a Metra line directly (UP-W?) AFAIK, but perhaps a shuttle option exists for the employer in question.

[foreverblue]

Originally Posted by damba

Agreed, but the OP would have to state exactly *where* in Oak Brook. It's not on a Metra line directly (UP-W?) AFAIK, but perhaps a shuttle option exists for the employer in question.

Yes, an employee shuttle is at the Elmhurst Metra. 60 minutes doesn't seem too bad, but I suppose waiting for the bus in the winter would be a different story. We are coming from southern California, so long commutes are something we are used to. We are going to try and go down to one car, which is why public transportation to work seems like a nice option.

And I haven't thought of renting, but it is something we will have to consider. If we decide on city living, it would give us some leeway to consider our options.

[chirack]

1. I would not buy a house until I got a better feel for the area and a better idea of housing costs, and where you want to live. Renting is better at first.

2. If one of you drives I should warn you that the commute could be 3 times longer than a normal day in a snowstorm.

3. Consider the burb of Oak Park(or nearby Forest Park or somewhat River Forest). It would give you a more reasonable drive to Oak Brook. It is along the UP-West line should one of you want to use transit for work and it is a pretty urban burb. It is a little of a haul to some(but not all) areas of Chicago but it has good public transit into Chicago as well as near I290 should you want drive into town or out to work. Parking is not quite as insane as Lincoln Park and so on. Another place to consider is downtown Chicago(however parking here could be worse\far more expensive)and it is not the more trendy place to live(nice but parts of it go dead after work) however if you are near Ogilvie transit center it would be dealable.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by foreverblue

We are a middle-aged couple who are planning to relocate to the Chicago area for work. After many years in the suburbs, we'd like to try city living. We are looking to buy a townhouse/condo and have a budget of 600K to 700K. One of us will have a commute to Oak Brook. Is that feasible by public transportation? What areas would you recommend we start our home search? We have been told Lincoln Park and West Lakeview are places to consider.

No, a transit commute to Oak Brook is to be strongly discouraged. The biggest problem is that there are no commuter rail lines that serve Oak Brook directly. Two main ones go several miles to the north, and several miles to the south, and bus service that far into the suburbs is limited.

And even a car commute from the City to Oak Brook will be an hour most of the time, and potentially two hours if there is bad weather or a bad accident on any of the connecting highways. For people who are moving here and have a choice, I won't recommend living in the City if you have to work in Oak Brook. And I don't even own a car - I live car-free in downtown Chicago, and have been car-free for 20 years now. So I'm a long way from a car advocate, but commuting to Oak Brook from the parts of Chicago that have a good "city life" just isn't pleasant and would seriously compromise the entire point of living in the city.

If one of you must work in Oak Brook, I might recommend the Oak Park suburb. It's one of the two most urban suburbs, and is actually served by both commuter rail and the city's CTA 'L' service. It's a first-ring suburb, quite walkable, and if you choose a place near the CTA Green Line, you can take subway-type trains into Chicago - the ride is about 25 minutes from Oak Park to the Loop. If you locate near a commuter rail station, too, if one of you worked in the Loop or West Loop you could take 20-minute commuter rail trips into work every day. And it would cut the drive time to Oak Brook in half. So you get about 75% of city life (or more - Oak Park is more urban than some parts of actual Chicago) and a much better commute to Oak Brook.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

That's not a great daily commute. It's not very doable on public transit. From Lincoln Park, it'll probably take more than an hour. ....

Try nearly two hours to commute via transit from Lincoln Park to Oak Brook ... and that goes up if you miss any of the minimum three-four transfers the commute requires, especially the transfers in the suburbs.

[jonnynonos]

Public transit from LP puts you on a train downtown to the Metra to Elmhurst to your work shuttle. At least two hours door to door. You would be hating life quickly.

I would almost never tell people to choose the burbs over the city but in this case I think you’re getting some great advice to look at Oak Park. Elmhurst, Hinsdale and Glenn Elyn are also really nice. There are probably more but those are the ones I know.

Of course I guess it depends on where the other person will be working and their commute.

I can’t really comment on the driving angle because I don’t drive except to say the few times I’ve been caught driving anywhere near rush hour I simply do not understand how anyone, anywhere could live their lives like that.

[TBideon]

God no. That commute has to suck, whether by car or train. Just live in Oak Park, where you're next to Chicago (albeit a particularly awful part), have access to a lovely, walkable downtown, and are only 25 minutes from Oak Brook.