I am Moving to Illinois - Chicago area

[SLAG]

So I got the job... ( see more here http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=246658 )

My new Job will be in Elk Grove Village

Need to find a place close by.... good Schools... Good commute

any info you guys want to bestow upon me is welcome.

I got some antifreeze already

[SLAG]

Driving Up tomorrow.. to look at houses... we have been packing and packing and I am somewhat worried that we wont be able to take everything we want...

Taking a load with me in my truck tomorrow and dumping it off in a small storage unit somewhere near where I will be working, hotel is near there too...

Have too many places to check out and see... too much to do.. too short time to do it..

Its quite manic... One min. I am super excited... next.. Super Scared... next... pumped... then frightened...

This is normal right?

[burt]

Very funny. in 1985, a recruiter told me the same thing about Chicago, and I took a restaurant job in Buffalo Grove. Had an apartment in Rolling Meadows. I told the recruiter, "Hey, wait a minute" after I arrived and found out he was lying. He just told me I was there, and I could quit if I wanted to. I had made a commitment to myself to stay for 1 year....NO MATER WHAT.




Damn fun year. Cept every one in the North Chicago Suburbs thought their shit didn't stink, so I had to drive down town to party with real people.

Good luck Slag!

Burt.......back to lurking.

[Spicy McHaggis]

Originally Posted by frazod

I didn't realize you'd moved out of Aurora.

One of the shittier places I lived was Rosemont - there are a bunch of 60's-era apartment buildings near what is now the Allstate Arena, but was the Rosemont Horizon when I lived there. Less than a mile from O'Hare, right at the end of one of the runways. It was weird - sometimes I'd see a plane landing and it looked like it was going to clip the roof, and I didn't hear a thing. Other times I wouldn't see the plane, but it sounded (and felt) like it was landing on the roof. God that sucked. The air stank, and everything was dirty. If I walked outside barefoot the bottoms of my feet would be black when I went back inside. I wouldn't live in that pisshole again if you paid me.

I used to have to go out to Rosemont once a week for work. I'd get off the Blue and always wondered how people could stand to live there.

[SLAG]

Looks like we're ending up in Lake Zurich
Thanks everyone for the help / advice

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by frazod

I don't recommend living anywhere close to O'Hare, which is adjacent to Elk Grove Village. Planes are loud, the fumes from the jets foul the air, and at night the sky tends to be a sort of dark burnt orange color. Nasty. Avoid Elk Grove itself, Des Plaines, Bensenville and Rosemont. Decent nearby communities would include Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg to the west, Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights to the north, Elmhurst and Lombard to the south, Park Ridge to the east (I wouldn't go any farther east or southeast, or you're getting too close to Chicago and you don't want your kids anywhere near that ****ing sewer). There are lots of smaller suburbs in the area, but I'm not really all that familiar with them, and not having kids I can't vouch for the schools.

Don't know what your salary range is, but prices on EVERYTHING will be a shock to you up here. Some of these places will be more reasonable than others.

Well said Tim. When we moved up here, we had severe sticker shock, and ended up buying in Glendale Heights, because it was close to work and the taxes were lower than other villages.
Well it is still close to work!
It is a real good time to buy though, as prices are down, and availability is very high. I just heard tonight, that there are 600 foreclosures in this town alone.

[Frazod]

That's a nice area. Not too far from one of the gun shop/ranges I go to. You'll learn to hate Route 12.

There's a really neat upscale breakfast-oriented restaurant there called Walker Brothers. You should check it out sometime.

Good luck with your move.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Well said Tim. When we moved up here, we had severe sticker shock, and ended up buying in Glendale Heights, because it was close to work and the taxes were lower than other villages.
Well it is still close to work!
It is a real good time to buy though, as prices are down, and availability is very high. I just heard tonight, that there are 600 foreclosures in this town alone.

Yeah, moving to Illinois is definitely a "WHO'S FICA???" moment.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by frazod

Yeah, moving to Illinois is definitely a "WHO'S FICA???" moment.

No kidding!

It won't be long, and we will be full time Missourians!

Hauling another "Clampett Load" down there in a couple weeks. We are actually taking a rocking chair this time, and I am putting it on top, out in the open!

[SLAG]

Thanks guys..

Got an email tonight from my future landlord... suffice to say.. things aren't going to work out for the Lake Zurich Property... No ones fault really - just a kink in the plans

Now we are going to try to get this Hanover park place we looked at... What do you guys know about that area or Wheaton

[joesomebody]

Good Luck SLAG. I've finally found a place. Had to take it through only pictures. The company I'll be working for offered to pay for 2 round trips to go apartment/house hunting but there just wasn't enough time. The place I took is letting me do a month to month lease, so if I hate it I can at least move when I want.

Doesn't sound too bad, I'm just not too sure of the neighborhood.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by SLAG

Thanks guys..

Got an email tonight from my future landlord... suffice to say.. things aren't going to work out for the Lake Zurich Property... No ones fault really - just a kink in the plans

Now we are going to try to get this Hanover park place we looked at... What do you guys know about that area or Wheaton

Good choice. Wheaton will certainly be more affordable than Lake Zurich. It's kind of a mixed bag - there are lots of pricey, older homes, yet plenty of reasonable apartments as well. Good area as far as I know. Much closer to Elk Grove, good tollway access, Metra stop for trips downtown (meaning Chicago), nice downtown area, and pretty much any sort of retail store you'd ever want to shop at is no more than 15 minutes away, including Fry's Electronics, which totally rocks. One of my best friends lives in Winfield, which is just west of Wheaton, so I am fairly familiar with the area.

Wheaton is also really close to where HemiEd lives, he might be able to give you some better insight.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by SLAG

Thanks guys..

Got an email tonight from my future landlord... suffice to say.. things aren't going to work out for the Lake Zurich Property... No ones fault really - just a kink in the plans

Now we are going to try to get this Hanover park place we looked at... What do you guys know about that area or Wheaton

Wheaton is only about 2 miles from me, and it is very nice. You will be very close to route 64 and 38.

[Swanman]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Wheaton is only about 2 miles from me, and it is very nice. You will be very close to route 64 and 38.

Wheaton is very nice, my boss lives there. I believe their school system is very good. It will be a nice commute to Elk Grove as well. I believe 355 is close by so you could just shoot north from Wheaton.

[JonesCrusher]

Originally Posted by SLAG

Thanks for the info.



We want to try to stay just about the same a quick look at some places i'm looking at are like Crystal Lake / McHenery / Shaumberg as you said...

These are just a little south of me(I'm just right across the Wisconsin border). Great area IMO. Far enough out to avoid the major congestion but all the conveniences of the big city. If you need any further info or whatever let me know, I would be more than happy to help you out.

[SLAG]

This packing up this 4+ bedroom house into the bed of a pickup and a 6x12 uhaul trailer can suck my bawls