Moving close to ORD?
 

Hey all, I start training in July and intend on moving to wherever I end up working. I may bid for ORD since it’s junior and I need a cooler climate. Do you guys have any feedback about moving to that city? I’m looking for ideas for decent neighborhoods to move to that I can commute to when on reserve. Is the crime in the area as bad as the reputation? Wondering if it’s a good idea to move my family there. Looking for about $1500/month rent. I’ll take any random tips or advice as well. I don’t mind commuting 1.5 hours to the airport. Thanks for the help guys.

You’re not going to find anything in the city in that price range with enough room for a family in a neighborhood you’d want to leave them alone in, unless you’re willing to live in a very old place. I’d check out the north and northwest suburbs. Make sure you check the commute time at various times of day. Traffic is pretty variable around here and just because you can make it to ORD in 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon doesn’t mean you can on a Monday morning.

This. If you were by yourself, I'd say you could stretch $1500 but with a family that may not as be feasible if you wanted to be in the more urban areas. W/NW suburbs are great areas and in a lot of cases, an easy drive to the employee lot.

Take a look at Schaumburg, Arlington Heights area. You can go even further west to St. Charles or Wheaton. All are good areas.

The "Chicago" you hear about on TV is usually Englewood IMO. You're well away from that in the burbs.

If you don’t mind driving a bit, I’d move to Milwaukee and drive to ORD.

I’d check out Northwest Indiana as well if I were you. I’m pretty sure taxes are lower in Indiana over Illinois and Wisconsin. Chesterton and Valparaiso are about a 70 minute drive to ORD with no traffic and I’d say up to 1:45 to 2 hours during rush hour. There are plenty of towns to choose from in NW Indiana and I’d recommend checking out schools and rent prices first and then driving through the towns that you like on paper but I’m partial to Valparaiso/Chesterton. Aberdeen and Burns Harbor are worth checking out as well IMO. Like anywhere each town has its pros and cons. Valparaiso has a pretty cool downtown, it has a decent amount of shopping and restaurants nearby, great schools and some cool parks for the kids but it’s probably slightly more expensive to rent/buy compared to Chesterton. Chesterton has a smaller downtown and less shopping but is only about a 15 minute drive to Valparaiso. Chesterton is it’s only about a 10-15 minute drive to the Indiana Dunes State Park, Bailey Homestead and the National Lakeshore which has hiking, camping, picnic areas and a beach with some awesome sand dunes to explore and probably slightly cheaper than Valparaiso. Chesterton is also close to the south shore line which is a train that takes you into chi-town that is located near the dunes which is pretty convenient if you want to visit Chicago and don’t want to drive. Valparaiso will probably be about a 30 minute drive to the dunes, south shore line, etc. Aberdeen is also nice and has some high end apartments which considering as well. If you like the area and cutting down on the commute is your goal you might be able to find a place closer to the toll road and interstate. There’s also a bus service in Portage, IN that takes you to ORD in 2 hours that you might be able to use depending on your schedule. I’d say the negative about NW Indiana is that you have to drive through downtown Chicago traffic to get to ORD but it might be worth it depending on how much you like the area. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

As stated previously look at the NW suburbs. Schaumburg, Roselle, Bloomingdale, Hoffman Estates... you should be able to find townhouses for that range. Not the city but a quick commute and nice areas.

The Chicago you see on the news isn’t a reality of Chicago overall. There are just certain pockets of the city. Your budget won’t allow for more than a 2 bedroom in most areas. Nothing nice anyway. NW Indiana is a drive. I’m not a fan but you can look into it.

Just starting out if you can keep your drive within 45 to an hour you are setting yourself up very nice. Good luck.


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The Chicago that is all over the news is like every city. There are good parts and bad parts. FWIW places like Baltimore, New Orleans and about a dozen others have worse crime rates. For some reason the news loves to pick on Chicago.

Western suburbs are very nice. Downers Grove has good schools but is remaining affordable. As is Lisle. So does Naperville and other surrounding towns. Naperville is getting very pricey though. Hinsdale don’t even bother looking with your budget. If you’re looking to buy. Indiana or Wisconsin would be a better choice because of property taxes. They’re anywhere from 4-12,000 a year.

Thanks for all of the replies guys! I plan on living outside of the city and driving in, so long as I can make it in tome for the 2 hour reserve I’ll probably be required to comply with.

I know you mentioned moving to Chicago for a cooler climate.. Not knowing where you're from or what you're used to I'd just throw out my two cents and recommendation being the Dallas / Fort Worth area. You'll get ALOT more "bang" for your "buck" in terms of housing. No state income tax or sales tax on food or clothing as well. You'll pay some of the highest taxes in the country other than the west coast in Chicago vs Dallas. The base is also rather Jr as far as F/Os go and it's not too bad on the CA side either. (2yrs is the most jr CA)

As far as weather it is hot.. But also dry. It's not humid or swampy feeling like the SE part of the country or even some of the northern plains like OK or KS. I've enjoyed living here thus far.

I don’t work out of ORD yet, I’m currently employed out of PWK. However, the area I live in, Huntley, is right off the interstate (I-90) about 30-40 mins from ORD. This town has great schools, low crime, and just feels close enough to everything you could every need. It will most likely be cheaper than Schaumburg and some of the other suburbs. I know a ton of pilots live in my neighborhood.