Wicker Park/Bucktown, Oak Park, or further burbs?

[musicguy1982]

Well, we looked at Carol Stream, Bloomingdale, and Wheaton. We decided we would see what we could find, save some money, and really just settle. Carol Stream was nothing but industry and apartments. Bloomingdale (where we looked) was nothing but big box stores and apartments. Wheaton was a small college town, but we didn't like any of the places we looked. So, we drove to Oak Park (during rush hour) just to see how bad the commute would be. The last 4 miles on the Eisenhower kind of sucked, but overall it wasn't that bad. We went to the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, and it was great! The staff were friendly and passionate. My wife quickly fell in love with the city, and we found a nice vintage rehabbed apartment for about $200 less than we were looking at in the further burbs. We signed a 6 month lease, so if I really hate the commute, I only have to put up with it for 6 months, but what we'll probably do is get a junker car, and leave it in Wheaton by the Metra, so I can take the Metra from Oak Park. This won't save a ton of time off the commute, but it will be time that I can read/do crossword puzzles/whatever while riding the train. Oak Park seems like a happy medium to us. Lots of family friendly stuff to do, plus the el for easy access to the city. We love the character, and are super excited to move.

[chet everett]

Check the overnight parking prohibitions in Wheaton, you will need to budget for private parking lot.

Other wise sounds like a pretty good solution.
Six months gives you a nice "light at the end of the tunnel" deadline if you are going crazy with the commute. A little surprised the landlord went for this, but maybe things are worse in the rental market of Oak Park than I would have thought. Glad I don't have any rental properties when I hear that...

Good Luck!

[jdiddy]

Also, if you drive, try getting off at Mannheim rd going North, and just take it to Washington.

It might only save you a few minutes, but at least you won't be sitting in 4 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by musicguy1982

Well, we looked at Carol Stream, Bloomingdale, and Wheaton. We decided we would see what we could find, save some money, and really just settle. Carol Stream was nothing but industry and apartments. Bloomingdale (where we looked) was nothing but big box stores and apartments. Wheaton was a small college town, but we didn't like any of the places we looked. So, we drove to Oak Park (during rush hour) just to see how bad the commute would be. The last 4 miles on the Eisenhower kind of sucked, but overall it wasn't that bad. We went to the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, and it was great! The staff were friendly and passionate. My wife quickly fell in love with the city, and we found a nice vintage rehabbed apartment for about $200 less than we were looking at in the further burbs. We signed a 6 month lease, so if I really hate the commute, I only have to put up with it for 6 months, but what we'll probably do is get a junker car, and leave it in Wheaton by the Metra, so I can take the Metra from Oak Park. This won't save a ton of time off the commute, but it will be time that I can read/do crossword puzzles/whatever while riding the train. Oak Park seems like a happy medium to us. Lots of family friendly stuff to do, plus the el for easy access to the city. We love the character, and are super excited to move.

That sounds like a reasonable solution. I actually do the same thing, take the Metra to my job in Geneva, then drive a car from the Geneva Metra station to my work place. Much less stressful taking the train than driving. Call the city of Wheaton for info regarding parking passes, etc.