Crown Point to the Loop (East Chicago, Van Buren: how much, home, neighborhoods)

[SuperNintendo Chalmers]

I am soon to be relocating to Crown Point. This is the best central location between my 9-5 job in the Loop as well as family in LaPorte County and other connections to Crown Point itself.

What are the best travel routes to and from the Loop? Is it worth it economically, or time wise to bother with the train? I am trying to get a better feel for what I am getting into by choosing CP. How much time can I expect to spend commuting each day? I'm guessing 3 hours a day round trip is going to be a depressingly reasonable estimate.

[Nikko12]

I live in Crown Point and commuted to the Loop for work for just over year.

I took the train from East Chicago to Van Buren Street and also worked 9-5. I would leave in the morning at about 7:20 a.m. to make the 8:07 train that arrived at Van Buren at 8:50. I made it to work right around 9, but if you have a job where you have to be there early or right on time, you might need to take the earlier train that leaves East Chicago at 7:40.
After work, I was able to make the 5:13 train that would get to East Chicago at 6:00pm. It took me about 25 minutes to drive home to Crown Point. You are right that it is about a 3 hour commute round trip.

The pros of the train is that you don't have to deal with traffic downtown, and it is MUCH cheaper than driving and trying to find parking.

The cons is that the train is sometimes unreliable. I have had a few instances where delays of over an hour trying to get home because of either mechanical issues or other things happening. Also, the monthly passes keep going up without the service getting any better.

If you do drive, you are not going to save that much time. I would drive in if I were getting off early or on a holiday with no traffic. In those cases, I could get to and from work in about 45 minutes. But on a regular commute, even taking the Skyway, which is expensive, it would take over an hour each way. You might be able to shave off 30-45 minutes a day commuting, so it is up to you whether that is worth the extra cost and stress of driving.

[jvr789]

Originally Posted by SuperNintendo Chalmers

I am soon to be relocating to Crown Point. This is the best central location between my 9-5 job in the Loop as well as family in LaPorte County and other connections to Crown Point itself.

What are the best travel routes to and from the Loop? Is it worth it economically, or time wise to bother with the train? I am trying to get a better feel for what I am getting into by choosing CP. How much time can I expect to spend commuting each day? I'm guessing 3 hours a day round trip is going to be a depressingly reasonable estimate.

To feel better, just keep in mind that even if you lived in one of the popular Northside neighborhoods of the city of Chicago (Lakeview, North Center, Roscoe Village, etc) your door to door during rush hour could easily be 30 - 40 minutes and you would be crammed on a bus/train and walking/waiting outside in the elements. Also, many of the other IL burbs would have you taking an hour or more door to door as well. Having an hour+ commute in a major city is really not that uncommon IMO. You may have 10-15 mins each way more than some but on the other hand your COL is going to be much better in Crown Point. (There are always trade-offs...)


Right now there is some pretty crappy traffic from Lake Shore Drive to I-55 to I-94 b/c they are doing ramp work on I-55, so keep that in mind if you try that route. The people that I know commuting to the Loop from Crown Point typically drive and take the Skyway/Toll Road instead of 94 all the way. If it is easy to get to LSD from your office in the Loop, you can bypass I-94 entirely by taking LSD south and go around the Museum campus/Jackson park and get on the Skyway from Stoney Island. I feel safe doing that during typical working hours. Your specific office location in the Loop will also impact how long the drive or train will be so you may just want to try both options out for a week or so and then figure out what works best for you!