Safe Downtown Location for Young, Single Professional Female Living Alone (Chicago: apartment, for rent)

[millennialmom]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

One of the drawbacks of the Oak address is its close proximity to the "Viagra Triangle."

What area comprises the Viagra Triangle? Doesn't sound like an area I want her in. I know she's aware of it and made references to it ... like no big deal. What's your perspective?

[mh7]

Living that far north and east would be bad I think. You're looking at probably needing 30-35 minutes just to get to union station, figure you need to be there 10 mins before the train leaves to get to the platform, sit on the train for an hour, then walk or whatever from the train station. Thats probably 4 hours per day (or 20 hours per week), which is borderline insane.

Seriously, if that is what she decides to do, tell her to start looking for a new job now, because there is no way she will want to do that for an extended period of time.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by millennialmom

What area comprises the Viagra Triangle? Doesn't sound like an area I want her in. I know she's aware of it and made references to it ... like no big deal. What's your perspective?

I will let you read these links. I probably do not need to explain then. I would not rule out the Oak address because of the "Viagra Triangle" though. If you wish to that is your choice.

Caution the 2nd link has some rough language.

Viagra Triangle :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Chicagopedia (http://www.suntimes.com/chicago/chicagopedia/1057976,CST-NWS-pedia16.article - broken link)

Urban Dictionary: viagra triangle

[mstengle]

The commute is ridiculous. She will hate it after a while and move back to wherever she is coming from. Can't have it all- will have to be a sacrifice in where she lives and visits downtown anytime she want.

[millennialmom]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

I will let you read these links. I probably do not need to explain then. I would not rule out the Oak address because of the "Viagra Triangle" though. If you wish to that is your choice.

Caution the 2nd link has some rough language.

Viagra Triangle :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Chicagopedia (http://www.suntimes.com/chicago/chicagopedia/1057976,CST-NWS-pedia16.article - broken link)

Urban Dictionary: viagra triangle

It's safe to say that she won't be one of the trixies out there looking to reel in any of these guys. I wouldn't rule the Oak St address because of this. But, based on Lookout Kid's post I started to look around in the Loop and found The Fisher Building Apts at 343 S Dearborn. What's your (or anyone else's) take on this location?

[NearWestSider]

As a former reverse-commuter, I have two comments:

1. A long reverse commute by train is not as bad as by car. As long as you have a cell phone and a laptop, it is possible to be productive, and you sure can get caught up on your reading.

2. The last thing in the world any sane person would do is put the CTA between themselves and a Metra train schedule. The Metra trains leave on the clock, and are few and far between. You miss it and you are screwed, simple as that, and the CTA is simply not reliable enough to depend on without adding substantial time to an already long commute.

Assuming you don't want to needlessly stress your daughter out, you should be putting her within walking distance of Union Station, which probably means somewhere in the vicinity of Adams, between Clinton and Morgan.

As far as the "safety" issues, the comments I have read bear little resemblance to reality. The West Loop is a low-crime area, plain and simple. Why anyone would mislead you beyond me, but suffice it to say that the statistics do not substantiate much of what has been said. And just to put some of this banter in perspective, the homeless shelter was the Christian Industrial League, not the Salvation Army, and it was torn down years ago for an upscale condo project.

Since your daughter has friends who live in the West Loop, I would suggest that you talk to them. They are the best source of information.

[millennialmom]

Originally Posted by NearWestSider

As a former reverse-commuter, I have two comments:


2. The last thing in the world any sane person would do is put the CTA between themselves and a Metra train schedule. The Metra trains leave on the clock, and are few and far between. You miss it and you are screwed, simple as that, and the CTA is simply not reliable enough to depend on without adding substantial time to an already long commute.

Thanks for responding. Between you and mh7 I think I have a dose of reality here. Her train ride and shuttlebug to her office are givens. The only thing she can control is her starting point. I didn't realize how much flex had to be built into her daily schedule to account for buses not being on time. I guess the objective now is to find a place that is a SAFE walk to US for a 7:10am train and 6:40pm return with appx $1,200/month budget. She lives in a house with 15 other girls right now (at school) so pretty much anything will be better than that. Any suggestions?

[mh7]

I spend exactly 0 time west of union station so I really don't know whats there in terms of rentals (surely there are some rental buildings in that area, I just can't help with addresses or costs).

In terms of river north, the two places I mentioned are about a 25 minute walk to union station (a little long but probably doable & at she won't have to worry about going to the gym...). Studios at grand plaza look like they start around 1600, so that might be too much - any chance she can find a roomate & split a 2 bedroom? I just bought a place so I'm moving out in about 6 weeks, but its been an awesome (although expensive) place to live the last few years.

440 n wabash has rentals that are a lot more affordable (it has fewer perks, like not every unit has a washer/dryer, etc). Its a condo building, but they have a management company on site that handles leases of units there, again, I'd be careful because I've heard rumors about foreclosures going on there but perhaps the management company has some ability to mitigate issues of those sorts for renters - certainly something to ask them about. For similar reasons, I'd be very leery of renting any condo in the downtown area from an individual owner these days, but perhaps I'm just being paranoid...

Although I'm sure there will be some who disagree, I vastly prefer river north over living west of the train station for a few reasons. Likely many of her friends live in lakeview/lincoln park - travelling from river north to there is a snap (red line stop @ state & grand) & is safe pretty much any time of the day, where travelling from west of the train station to popular areas on the north side of the city is a lot more of a challenge. There is also a lot more activity in river north in terms of restaurants, shopping, people, etc. And finally you have the closer proximity to the lake, which is always a bonus (my wife & I walk over to the lake 5-6 times a week during the summer). The tradeoff is that rents are probably a higher and the walk to the train station a little longer.

[NearWestSider]

Originally Posted by mh7

Although I'm sure there will be some who disagree, I vastly prefer river north over living west of the train station for a few reasons. Likely many of her friends live in lakeview/lincoln park - travelling from river north to there is a snap (red line stop @ state & grand) & is safe pretty much any time of the day, where travelling from west of the train station to popular areas on the north side of the city is a lot more of a challenge. There is also a lot more activity in river north in terms of restaurants, shopping, people, etc. And finally you have the closer proximity to the lake, which is always a bonus (my wife & I walk over to the lake 5-6 times a week during the summer). The tradeoff is that rents are probably a higher and the walk to the train station a little longer.

I work in River North, right by Grand and State, and frankly, I would NEVER want to live around there. WAY too much auto traffic, WAY too many high rises, WAY too much congestion and pollution. The West Loop is clean, relaxed, and laid back, and as far as the restaurants, I'll take the Greek Islands, Melli or Artopolous (hell, even Wishbone) over the Weber Grill any day of the week.

But that's fluff, not substance.

A commute is something that must be done at a minimum twice a day, five days per week. Going out is something that most people do once or twice a week at the most, and most people in Chicago either have cars or take cabs precisely for that purpose.

So even if I were to agree with you about the North Side - which I do not (it may be great for you or me, but it hasn't been the happening part of town for the early twenties crowd for 20 years), adding a lengthy walk to an already lengthy commute because you MIGHT occasionally want to take the L to meet up with friends instead of driving is a fool's choice.

Furthermore, suggesting that a newbie single woman should be taking public transit to go out drinking ANYWHERE in this city is REALLY bad advice.

I should also add that I did the walk from Union Station to River North every day for 7 months in 2005-06. It was tolerable but long when the weather cooperated, but totally sucked in the winter (especially in snowstorms), and was also extremely difficult in rainstorms when the winds were strong. Unless this chick is one tough cookie, she'll end up taking a cab every day and spending a fortune in the process.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by NearWestSider

As a former reverse-commuter, I have two comments:

1. A long reverse commute by train is not as bad as by car. As long as you have a cell phone and a laptop, it is possible to be productive, and you sure can get caught up on your reading.

I'll second the comment about train versus car. I've been reverse commuting for four years, about an hour each direction via train or car. Mostly, I take the Metra, although a couple days a month I have to drive due to scheduling. There's simply no comparison. I spend a lot of my free time at home reading or surfing the web, so 2 hours of day on the train simply allows me to do the same things I would do at home, except without the little kiddo distracting me. In contrast, the driving days are painful, stressful, and are probably shortening my overall life expectancy.