Prob in the next month or so. My work will be in Glenview. Any suggestions on anything from nice places to live to restaurants to anything else you feel like sharing is appreciated.

I've been looking in Streeterville for a place

2/15/2011 1:27:40 AM

eat as many Italian beef sandwiches (double dipped of course) as you can. Preferably from Portillos.

2/15/2011 1:36:53 AM

It is going to snow there.

2/15/2011 1:43:09 AM

if u r working in glenview u do not want to live in streeterville, 1. because it is higher priced the closer you get to the city. 2. fighting traffic to and from work everyday.
If you want to live in a great area, try roscoe village or north center. even andersonville is pretty nice. Lincoln square is also a good option. I live in lincoln square and its pretty nice small german community, plus you will be close to the eden's each morning which is where you want to be to get to and from work. The brown line runs through lincoln square which gives easy access to the city. Truth be told, the loop is dead after work/wknds; most action is happening in the north chicago areas which is where lincoln square/north center/roscoe/ and andersonville are

2/15/2011 6:17:43 AM

I worked in Arlington Heights, and lived in West Chicago.

The traffic is awful. Don't assume that "oh, it's only 10 miles away, it'll take me 20 minutes tops to get there." HA! It took me about 45 minutes to get to work - a lot of the times that would creep up to an hour. I was a bit under 15 miles away. Granted, I lived in West Chicago because I was living with family, but hey. Warning you - your definition of "close" will be changed once living in Chicagoland.

I can't really recommend places to go, as you're not quite in the same area. If you want to be a part of the city life, well, it'll be expensive. I loved downtown, but, didn't go very frequently as it took me about 2 hours by train to get there. Freakin' forget about driving. Love the italian beef, and miss it dearly. Had a sweet bakery near work (yum chocolate croissants). If you love flea markets, the one in St. Charles/Kane County (a big drive for you though) is awesome.

And yes. It will snow there.

2/15/2011 10:12:19 AM

Glenview is pretty far out there. I'll second the sentiment that you probably won't want to live in the loop if you're working in the 'burbs. Traffic is rough, and paying for a parking spot downtown won't be cheap (I'm assuming you'll need your car if you're working in Glenview). Honestly, I'd look at Skokie or Evanston. Both of those cities have direct access to the CTA if you want to go into the city on the weekends or whatever. But just understand that even that is a long commute...like an hour to get to downtown, but a little faster to get to the North Side if you want to go to Wrigleyville or something. And PackHockey12 is right, the loop is pretty commercial and most of the nightlife is just outside of the downtown area.

[Edited on February 15, 2011 at 7:16 PM. Reason : ]

2/15/2011 7:12:21 PM

Quote :

"eat as many Italian beef sandwiches (double dipped of course) as you can. Preferably from Portillos."

Or Buena Beef.




Moving up there for good or just for a few months/years? Definitely take advantage of downtown (museums, baseball games, etc) and the food.

2/15/2011 9:30:00 PM

gonna eat me a lot of peaches beef sanwiches

2/15/2011 10:20:23 PM

Hope you aren't working for the state by any affiliation. They don't pay their bills on time any more. Plus their pension fund is broke. Also, they have nice museums.

2/15/2011 11:35:33 PM

My two cents.. I've lived here for almost 4 years now after growing up in Cary. I've lived in Lincoln Park/Lakeview, the Fulton River District, and now Logan Square. For the most part, I love living here, though I go through 3 month swings where I miss the fuck out of NC.

1) About the commute to Glenview. Traffic will DEFINITELY suck, but there is a Metra station in Glenview and a lot of companies have shuttles from that station. It's not the greatest, but it gives you a LOT more mobility. The Glenview Metra takes off from Union Station downtown and has a couple of stops in the Far West / Northwest part of Chicago before it skeets out towards the suburbs like Glenview. I do agree that reverse commuting by car from Chicago, especially to far-as-fuck-away Glenview from Streetervile, is going to be a horrible experience.

Evanston really isn't a bad choice (it has CTA/Metra access for somewhat easy access to Chicago) but there's only a small area that you'd probably want to live if that's (bars, public transit access to Chicago) important to you. Skokie has a lot more suburban feel to it, IMO, and some people may like that but I like it most for it's Chili's and that's about it. Streeterville is not a good choice for reverse commuting by car ($200+ for monthly parking, I'm sure) but it's only about a 20 minute bus ride from Streeterville to Union Station if you take the train.

2) Assuming you do want to reverse commute by car, Lincoln Square and North Center aren't bad choices. I still think the drive is going to suck, but you got a good head start in those neighborhoods. They aren't as bubbly/full of young people/d-bags as the closer North side suburbs (Lakeview, Lincoln Park) and they aren't as hipster-trendy/cheaper as Logan Square/Wicker Park/Ukranian Village. LS and NC have a lot of culture and two of the best summer festivals (2 German festivals and Ribfest, respectively). Streeterville is not really my scene, and most of the bars around there that are open after work/on weekends are both crowded as fuck and full of douches. It's also very expensive to live there, but it's a unique experience to live downtown downtown (I lived in the West Loop for a year). The actual loop is where the central business district is and is dead by 8PM aside from people seeing shows and mostly dead on the weekends all the time.

Roscoe Village is full of yuppie families and strollers and is pretty expensive. Not my thing (yet), but it could be yours.

I could give you about ten solid recommendations for restaurants/bars on any given moment, so PM me if you want when you actually move.

Just don't become a Cubs fan. Or do, but really.. don't.

[Edited on February 16, 2011 at 10:08 AM. Reason : .]

2/16/2011 10:01:16 AM

Eat at Alinea now, before the prices go up to reflect the level the restaurant is regarded. It might seem expensive but its an experience you won't forget.

2/16/2011 2:46:52 PM

thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions.

To answer some questions, no i will not be working for the state. I will be taking my car and paying for a garage spot. I want to be able to live as close as possible to a station that has a train to glenview. I will be moving up with my fiancee and we both want to live a little bit of the city life before we settle down, so im ok with a little longer commute

I do hear food is good up there, so i am looking forward to that. I am originally from Detroit, so I', used to the cold....doesnt mean i like it, but ive been around it for an extended period of time.

I'm moving up for good I believe.

2/17/2011 11:28:36 AM

I think a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that the loop is the equivalent to Manhattan, which isn't really the case. I live in Lakeview (but you'd probably want to live a little more north-west), and as far as the "city life" is concerned, it's very urban despite the high density of skyscrapers. I can get most things done in my day-to-day life within a two mile radius of my apartment (Food, groceries, post office, errands, parks, bars, nightlife, etc). Also, I can park my car about half a mile away from my apartment for free (just be sure to keep up with the street cleaning schedule). It only takes me about 10 minutes to get downtown on the El, and about 35 minutes to get to the Southside (where I go to school). Honestly, if you want to live in the city proper, I'd recommend living in a neighborhood in the North Side closer to Glenview. I can certainly understand the desire to live the "city life," but don't convince yourself that you have to live in the loop to experience that feel. If you can afford to check out the areas before making the move, definitely do it, because it will likely change your perception of what "city life" is. Good luck.

[Edited on February 17, 2011 at 4:56 PM. Reason : ]

2/17/2011 4:38:38 PM

Decided to go with a place in Glenview within walking distance of my office. The commute was a dealbreaker

2/21/2011 3:54:40 PM

I currently live in Niles and work in Deerfield, there are few bars in Glenview, Grandpas and another one that is escaping me right now, its not bad but not Wrigleyville. The mall on the old Naval Station has some good places to eat/drink. Also during the summer time, there's Ravina Festival which is a few towns up by the botanical gardens. They have some concerts etc there. One of the really crappy things is how long it can take to get around up here when it snows, streets are almost too narrow to accommodate snow.

2/21/2011 10:11:11 PM

Moving up this coming Thurs! thanks again for everyone's input

3/4/2011 2:33:19 PM

you decided on a place?

3/5/2011 3:52:05 PM

best of luck to you, boobs!

3/5/2011 4:05:23 PM

you lucky son of a bitch

I'm crossing my fingers for a job offer or transfer to Chicago

3/5/2011 6:30:50 PM

Been living in NOVA for three years, try DC area traffic.......

3/5/2011 9:23:47 PM

^^^^ I did, i found a nice 1br apt in the burbs thats like a 5 min bike ride to work.
^^^ thanks dude!

3/7/2011 10:40:11 PM