Chicago Feedback (Lincoln, Union: houses, safe neighborhoods, subdivisions)

[Anarchy]

Hey all

I have a job offer in chicago in the area ELK GROVE, although I have been to many places in the US I have never been to chicago apart from o, hare airport got snowed in one yr anyways I have heard many good things about chicago and want to know what the ELK GROVE area is like if anyone knows?


Any feedback appriciated

[mdz]

the residential part of Elk Grove is safe, middle class, family oriented, American suburbia. Lots of warehouses, a bit of industry in the suburb.

Basically the suburbs around there are nice places to live if you're settled down with a family. If I was single and 24 I'd much rather be in the city proper--closer to the music venues, bars, sporting events, etc. The problem with your case is that the commute to Elk Grove from Chicago would be long and quite annoying.

[Attrill]

You might want to split the difference and look at the NW side of Chicago - specifically Portage park and Jefferson park. Both are safe neighborhoods, family oriented, but you could live close to the Blue line and get to Wicker Park and the Division restaurant strip pretty quickly if you want some of the city nightlife.

[ahava]

I agree with what mdz said above. The industry is mostly near O'Hare; I believe United Airlines is headquartered there. My in-laws live in Elk Grove and their neighborhood is beautiful, it's surrounded by a huge forest preserve. Most of the housing in Elk Grove was built over 30 years ago, except for a few newer subdivisions west of I-290/53. Woodfield Mall (the 5th largest mall in the U.S.) is nearby - a ton of shopping and restaurants in that area.

[Anarchy]

Thanks for all the replies

I have been looking at places actually in chicago as mdz stated because I am 24 and single and the bars etc would apeal to me, so is Elk Grove too far away from the city and would I have traffic problems commuting to Elk Grove?

I will look at the NW side of Chicago Portage park and Jefferson park as stated

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by Anarchy

Thanks for all the replies
is Elk Grove too far away from the city and would I have traffic problems commuting to Elk Grove?

I've driven out to Elk Grove for client meetings and I think it would take about 30-40 minutes to get from the NW side to Elk Grove at rush hour. If you were closer to the city center it would take longer, maybe an hour from the Ukrainian Village/Wicker Park area. You could also look at neighborhoods closer to the lake (Lakeview, Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park, etc.) but the further you get from 90/94 the longer the commute will be. Some place along 90/94 and the Blue line would probably be most convenient for you.

I don't commute everyday, so other people may be able to give you more accurate commute times from different neighborhoods.

[Anarchy]

30-40 minutes actually thats not bad where I am at the minute it takes me about 40mins to 1hr to get to univesity so I could cope with that. I will check out some closer neighbourhoods that you have mentioned Attrill thanks for your help.

[marothisu]

Back on topic OP, I would check with your employer about one thing. There is such a thing called Metra trains in the area which go between Chicago (mainly downtown/west side) and the burbs. There is a Metra train that drops off just south of EGV in Wooddale. Some employers offer shuttle service between this and work, so I would check with them if they offer it. The ride from Union Station there is probably 35-40 minutes on the train which you can of course do other things you can't do when you're driving yourself.

Since you're mid 20s and single, the city is the best place to be IMO. There's some decent suburbs for "young professionals" but there's nothing like the city at all. There's a reason even the suburban young professionals come party in Chicago on the weekends.

[chet everett]

Thread was from 2007...

Originally Posted by marothisu

Back on topic OP, I would check with your employer about one thing. There is such a thing called Metra trains in the area which go between Chicago (mainly downtown/west side) and the burbs. There is a Metra train that drops off just south of EGV in Wooddale. Some employers offer shuttle service between this and work, so I would check with them if they offer it. The ride from Union Station there is probably 35-40 minutes on the train which you can of course do other things you can't do when you're driving yourself.

Since you're mid 20s and single, the city is the best place to be IMO. There's some decent suburbs for "young professionals" but there's nothing like the city at all. There's a reason even the suburban young professionals come party in Chicago on the weekends.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Thread was from 2007...

That's weird....I have noticed some threads being bumped up for no reason to the top of the list. Before that lunatic commented on it too, this was up there and I was reading it. I have noticed it in other threads. Weird bug..