Commute ideas (Chicago, Thornton: live, budget, land)

[gcub]

Thank to the suggestions. Turns out that Ogden gets me to from my destination in 15min.

Just to clarify, I did originally try using the blue line, but that commute took me 60 to 70min door to door each way. So even using the highways I was saving myself an hour each day on commuting by driving. Using the side streets looks like it is going to work out very good for me.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by gcub

Just to clarify, I did originally try using the blue line, but that commute took me 60 to 70min door to door each way.

How is that even possible? It doesn't take me that long to get to Damen/Harrison from Irving Park Road on the Blue Line.

[aragx6]

Really??

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

How is that even possible? It doesn't take me that long to get to Damen/Harrison from Irving Park Road on the Blue Line.

She could walk to work in an 45-60 min. We have some serious public transportation issues if it takes less time to walk.

[NearWestSider]

Originally Posted by Drover

I don't know what the reputation of their engineering program is, but I might do a cost-benefit analysis of taking on school loans to attend an Ivy-league-caliber school.

Cost-benefit analysis for an Engineering degree? That's a no-brainer:

Seeing as how a degree in Engineering from Northwestern won't make you one dime more than a degree in Engineering from UIC, the sun will have expanded and obliterated the solar system long before the difference in tuition will be recovered.

Northwestern's Engineering school, I should add, is actually quite good. But UIUC's is better, UIC's is good enough, and both are an order of magnitude cheaper.

[Intergalactic]

I can see how it might take that long on the Blue Line, at least during rush hour. Erie and Kingsbury is a hike to the nearest subway station. That would take 15 mins to walk, or you could walk less and wait for a bus, which crawls during rush hour in that area. The trains are packed during rush hour, and the dwell time at stations downtown is much longer as people pile on/off. You have to be on the branch that goes out to the Medical Center, meaning that half the time you have to wait for a second train. Then you have to walk a bit more.

As long as there is parking available for gcub, driving is a okay idea. Just be careful, Ogden has a higher rate of accidents than most streets.

[RichMonk]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic

As long as there is parking available for gcub, driving is a okay idea. Just be careful, Ogden has a higher rate of accidents than most streets.

Ogden has so many potholes it shocks me. Have they gotten around to fixing any of those yet, especially around Lawndale?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by NearWestSider

Seeing as how a degree in Engineering from Northwestern won't make you one dime more than a degree in Engineering from UIC, the sun will have expanded and obliterated the solar system long before the difference in tuition will be recovered.

As a guy who works with engineers constantly and who has worked with some of the top engineers in the world, I can say that having a degree from a more reputable school can make a difference in pay and job opportunities. To say it doesn't is to be in denial.

U of I is a great engineering school. UIC is probably underrated, but is certainly not viewed as being on the same level as UIUC by anyone in the profession.

[Gelasia]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

As a guy who works with engineers constantly and who has worked with some of the top engineers in the world, I can say that having a degree from a more reputable school can make a difference in pay and job opportunities. To say it doesn't is to be in denial.

U of I is a great engineering school. UIC is probably underrated, but is certainly not viewed as being on the same level as UIUC by anyone in the profession.

I also agree it can make a difference but so can job experience, who you know and other factors.

Fortunate for us with my husbands network, job experience and education he doesn't really have to worry too much about competing in the job market.

In my husbands situation it really isn't necessary for us to spend the extra money on a degree from a more reputable school.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic

I can see how it might take that long on the Blue Line, at least during rush hour. Erie and Kingsbury is a hike to the nearest subway station...

There is a Brown Line stop (Chicago) like three blocks away from Erie and Kinsbury.

All the OP has to do is take the Brown Line to Clark and switch to the Blue Line. Then the OP should get off at Medical Center and walk the rest of the way to Harrison and Damen.