Moving to Chicago

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dirtyninety

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Oct 6, 2012
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Chaotic? I see you did not recommend the OP to move to Washington Park...but Naperville. My favorite thing in the world is Social Justice Warriors who live in Glen Ellyn.

I wonder where the Presidential Library will be built? That is not chaotic, but it is random....kind of. We are talking about Chicagolandworld. I hope it is in Naperville. ;-)
There is a 10% chance it will be in Hawaii....I think every month that passes that its location is not announced it is more likely to be in Hawaii. Aloha.

Well....I chaotically googled.....I guess it is already set for Jackson Park. Done deal. Good for Jackson Park economy. It is a "Center", not a library.
 

Cycsk

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We stayed in Evanston last time we were there, but that's a fairly long commute basically going from one end of Metra to the other.

edit to add: if I were going to live around Chicago, Evanston would be where I'd live. Nice neighborhoods, Northwestern is right there and they have crappy attendance so you can see games for cheap, and the Metra makes the commute easier (though with something like the Field Museum, it would still take a while)


Correction. Evanston is directly north of Chicago. It is the end of the line for the CTA city trains, not the Metra suburban trains. In fact, Evanston is one of the first stops on the Metra north line. It is a "long" commute by CTA standards, but not necessarily in actual time compared to people who use Metra to commute much longer distances. And there is an Evanston Express line that really cuts a lot of time from downtown.

Also, Evanston is great. It is one of my favorite cities to visit, entirely apart from being near Chicago. I find the restaurants and upscale university feel very attractive.
 
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yez

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Feb 17, 2010
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There are I things I'd miss, for sure. The food is fantastic, and the ability to see the Cyclones play at least once a year is nice. The lack of a state income tax can be good at times.

But I'm just kind of over this place. Way too many people crammed into a space that can't support them. Traffic is brutal and the people constantly vote down any measure to improve public transportation. Summers are lethal and last as long as a pregnancy. The levels of entitlement and elitism escalate every year. And it's in Texas.

Plus, all our family is in Iowa. I miss fall. We're ready for a change.[/QUOTE

I agree with everything you're saying, Austin has changed a lot since I moved here in 2004. All the cool, quirky places that made Austin what is was are now being overtaken by condos. The traffic has made me consider moving; for a small, big city, the traffic is absolutely brutal. Good luck!
 

tejasclone

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Oct 20, 2006
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If she wants an easy commute from a train to the field museum, the orange ME metra line has a station right across the street from the FM.
It runs from the southern suburbs (Flossmoor/Homewood area).

This reassures me that I've been reading the Metra maps correctly. I noticed that there was an orange station right next to the Field but I thought that it surely couldn't be that easy.

How are those southern suburbs?
 

Clark

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Jun 24, 2009
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Altoona
This reassures me that I've been reading the Metra maps correctly. I noticed that there was an orange station right next to the Field but I thought that it surely couldn't be that easy.

How are those southern suburbs?
warzone.jpg
 

runbikeswim

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Oct 23, 2014
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Ouch.

Lived here for 10 years, still trying to figure out where to live....

The problem is wife's work location.

We live in SE Wisconsin and both work in Chicago.

Choices I guess. We have a 60 minute train ride but have Chicago salaries, live in a nice house on a lake, have lower taxes, and well the whole fresh air world. Sometimes I drive, which takes me about 70-75 minutes, but I leave at 5:45 AM and either at 3 PM or 6PM.

We've been thinking about moving in, been looking around West Chicago or St. Charles since both our jobs (mine was downtown) are now west burbs.

Good luck. Wish you the best.
 

cyclonedave25

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This reassures me that I've been reading the Metra maps correctly. I noticed that there was an orange station right next to the Field but I thought that it surely couldn't be that easy.

How are those southern suburbs?
That area is fine, probably very similar to West Des Moines/Waukee/Ankeny etc except more expensive.
Her metra line will take her through the south side of Chicago, but the metra is safe because there's a conductor on every car. The crime on trains usually just happens on the L, not the Metra.
The Metra is full of suburban commuters, not homeless people and gang bangers on the CTA.
 
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Pat

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Not Chicagoland-specific, but I've found that GreatSchools (or other similar sites) are really useful for remotely scouting neighborhoods. If the public schools are highly-rated, it is generally a safe/good place to live.

Unfortunately, home prices typically reflect this, as well.
 

Bryce7

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May 4, 2016
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This reassures me that I've been reading the Metra maps correctly. I noticed that there was an orange station right next to the Field but I thought that it surely couldn't be that easy.

How are those southern suburbs?
Do you have body armor?

https://www.roadsnacks.net/these-are-the-10-worst-chicago-neighborhoods/

So far, all of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago are on the south side. That isn’t a surprise at all.

Auburn Gresham is a densely packed hood roughly between 75th and 91st Streets. Here, crime isn’t as bad as it is for the cities above, but it’s still really rough. When 16% of the neighborhood is out of work, and families bring in about $33K a year, you’re going to have some big problems to contend with.


Just west of Fuller Park – between 51st and 59th Streets – is the neighborhood of Gage Park, where it’s dangerous and poor. Incomes are actually higher here than any other neighborhood on this list, which puts into perspective just how broke some of the neighborhoods are in south Chicago.
 
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diaclone

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Apr 16, 2006
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Definitely go the stay at home dad route. Meet some stay at home moms. Bring the kids together for play dates. Get to know the moms. Offer to drive everyone to the local Apple Store or Starbucks or wherever. Single out and target the MiLFs you want to bang. Tell them you understand how lonely it gets being at home with the kids all day. Offer a friendly shoulder to cry on. Tell them you understand how upsetting it is when only 3 people "like" the cute selfie they posted on Facebook or Instagram. Offer a friendly massage to take their stress away. Tell them how nice they're looking today. Make your move. Get what you came for, and leave. Move to another city. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I didn't know Trump was a CF.
 

cyclonedave25

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Do you have body armor?

https://www.roadsnacks.net/these-are-the-10-worst-chicago-neighborhoods/

So far, all of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago are on the south side. That isn’t a surprise at all.

Auburn Gresham is a densely packed hood roughly between 75th and 91st Streets. Here, crime isn’t as bad as it is for the cities above, but it’s still really rough. When 16% of the neighborhood is out of work, and families bring in about $33K a year, you’re going to have some big problems to contend with.
He's looking at the south suburbs, not the south side neighborhoods of Chicago.
Night and day difference.
Flossmoor has a median family income of $122,000.
 
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boone7247

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Lived in the Chicago area for 13+ years now. Have always worked and lived in the burbs so I can't add a lot other than most of the advice you are getting here is good.

I have told this to my friends who have moved to a new city and this city. Find a safe place to rent that is close to your work when you get there, see if you can get a month to month or a 6 month lease. That way you can learn the city, your commute, and in your case waiting until you have a new job. What is good for your wife's commute might absolutely kill yours, and vice versa. Like has been said multiple times, the Field Museum isn't easy to commute too, and honestly unless your job is going to be close to that you and your wife are going to experience two different commutes. So try to make it as easy as possible at first, then you can make a more informed decision when you have more facts. Just my two cents.

Your child is three, so child care is going to be a change for you I am guessing. Don't know what it costs in Austin, but I would guess the average person pays somewhere close to $350 - $400 a week at least for a three year old full at most big daycares. So you will want to factor that into your budget. Also be careful with dogs, as it is my understanding that if you do end up living in the city, they can only be left unattended for a certain period of time, and if they are over that time you need to have a dog walker, doggie daycare or something to that effect (not an expert, just laying out some horror stories I have heard).

Everything thing here is more expensive, I am not an Austin expert, but it isn't going to be cheaper here than Austin would be my guess.

Overall Chicago is a great place to live, you just have to find the right location for your family, and then take advantage of both the city and where ever it is you end up living. Good luck on the move, and please report back with your experiences.
 

Cycsk

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I posted this in the Ames train accident thread, but it seems relevant here because we are talking a lot about Metra suburban trains.


People try to run around the end of their stopped train to cross the tracks before the train departs, then they get nailed by another train going the opposite direction. For some reason, the trains run on the opposite side as vehicle traffic, so people don't even look sometimes because they think they can see that nothing is coming on the other tracks.

They say "never try to beat a train," but you see people trying all the time so that they can get into their parked car 30 seconds faster than others.
 

canker2323

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Oct 22, 2006
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I haven't read whole thread.

If you have kids, and live in the city, go private or if you can qualify one of the magnet schools.

I know a lot of people who have moved to downers Grove after having kids. They don't hate it.

Field museum, and soldier, are a pain to get to in my opinion all the time.

Oak Park is an old suburb with blue line access and good schools.

For employment, A lot of companies are opening offices or moving entirely downtown because they are having trouble attracting talent. McDonald's and Wilson sporting goods are two off the top of my head.

Also, property taxes have been skyrocketing recently. Mine, cook county, went up 40% last year.
 
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