Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ridetillidie on November 8, 2011 at 8:42am

Someone is asking for objective advice on where to live and you are stating your opinions as facts. The fact is you can't use the term "suburb" and assume the same preconceived notions apply to all. Is Bucktown the same as Old Town? No. But they are both in the city, right? Same is true for the suburbs. I have lived both in the suburbs and in the city. Different strokes for different folks. So just chill out and smile once in a while.

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Permalink Reply by MK on November 8, 2011 at 8:51am

^ What makes the suburbs good for you? Opinions are good! PS Dug seems pretty chill...

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Permalink Reply by ad on November 8, 2011 at 8:54am

You know, all of the points you list against suburbs could be applied to several neighborhoods within Chicago itself.  Especially several of the northwest city neighborhoods that are within easy riding distance of Des Plaines.  And I say that from the perspective of someone who has lived within Chicago city limits for more than 10 years. 

 

I also think people living in the City and commuting out to the burbs for work (I've known people who live in Wicker Park and work in Schaumburg) is just as unsustainable and undesirable as the converse situation.  I'd rather support someone living within 5 miles of where they work so they will take public transportation or ride their bicycle to get there rather than promote some idealized fantasy of city life.     

 

    

notoriousDUG said:

Let's see...

-Lot's of sprawl.

-Not really all that bike friendly.

-Lots of chain restaurants.

-Very few independent food sellers.

-Very little in the way of diversity.

-Pretty much built because of and for cars.

-Wide lawns, narrow minds.

 

Yeah, so want to list out the good stuff for me?  Rather than just telling me to stop slamming them tell me what is good about them.

 

I grew up in and have lived as an adult in the suburbs.

 

 

ridetillidie said:

Hey DUG, stop slammin the suburbs! If you are happy in the city, good for you. Your opinion isn't reality. I agree with Jeff. Check out all the possible routes before settling on an apt.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 8, 2011 at 9:05am

I didn't think I had to preface everything I said judgment wise with the words 'in my opinion' but maybe I should... Or you could just imply it in front of things people say and spend a lot less time upset; that's what I do.

 

You are right that not all suburbs, or neighborhoods, are the same.  There are some very city like suburbs and there are some very suburb like parts of the city but they are in the minority of either.  Pointing to 1 out of 20 and saying 'See, they're not all the same!' is a pretty flimsy argument.

 

I notice that you are still attacking me for not liking the suburbs and are still not pointing out the positives.  If you want o convince people suburbs are better place I would suggest you spend more time telling us why and less time telling people I'm mean, most folks here already know that.  Although I am still pretty confused as to how having negative things to say about suburban city planning and such equates out to me not smiling...

 

 

 

ridetillidie said:

Someone is asking for objective advice on where to live and you are stating your opinions as facts. The fact is you can't use the term "suburb" and assume the same preconceived notions apply to all. Is Bucktown the same as Old Town? No. But they are both in the city, right? Same is true for the suburbs. I have lived both in the suburbs and in the city. Different strokes for different folks. So just chill out and smile once in a while.

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Permalink Reply by Ace Mann on November 8, 2011 at 9:09am

I would try and talk to people at your new job. Try and get their opinion about riding.There might be some bike commuters or have someone they know who commutes around DES Plaines. You might also try and sign a short lease on a place or sublet something for a few months until you find out the best place to stay.Good Luck!

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 8, 2011 at 9:11am

I've lived in Logan square and commuted to Carol Stream via bike and train.  Not ideal but there were no jobs available to me in Chicago at the time.  My other options were to move somewhere I did not want to live and that was not bike friendly or to drive there; what is so bad about taking the train?  I think that is a pretty sustainable method of travel compared to other options.  My bike/train 40 mile round trip commute was probably friendlier to the environment than the 8 mile round trip my co-workers made by car every day.

 

Living five miles from your work in suburbs very rarely equates out to a good public transportation route and, often, due to things not being laid out in a grid and large roads everywhere, very few bike friendly routes.  My mother lives in Schaumburg and works five miles from home; I am not sure I would be comfortable with biking that trip on the routes/roads provided in the suburbs let alone my mother.  Face it, most suburbs are not bike friendly.

 

ad said:

You know, all of the points you list against suburbs could be applied to several neighborhoods within Chicago itself.  Especially several of the northwest city neighborhoods that are within easy riding distance of Des Plaines.  And I say that from the perspective of someone who has lived within Chicago city limits for more than 10 years. 

 

I also think people living in the City and commuting out to the burbs for work (I've know people who live in Wicker Park and work in Schaumburg) is just as unsustainable and undesirable as the converse situation.  I'd rather support someone living within 5 miles of where they work so they will take public transportation or ride their bicycle to get there rather than promote some idealized fantasy of city life.      

 

    

notoriousDUG said:

Let's see...

-Lot's of sprawl.

-Not really all that bike friendly.

-Lots of chain restaurants.

-Very few independent food sellers.

-Very little in the way of diversity.

-Pretty much built because of and for cars.

-Wide lawns, narrow minds.

 

Yeah, so want to list out the good stuff for me?  Rather than just telling me to stop slamming them tell me what is good about them.

 

I grew up in and have lived as an adult in the suburbs.

 

 

ridetillidie said:

Hey DUG, stop slammin the suburbs! If you are happy in the city, good for you. Your opinion isn't reality. I agree with Jeff. Check out all the possible routes before settling on an apt.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 8, 2011 at 9:25am

If you want to experiment with new ingredients/types of cooking, there are many different ethnic markets within 10 miles of Des Plaines: Mitsuwa Japanese market in Arlington Heights, Super H Mart in Niles (a serious cook friend loves it), various Polish markets and bakeries along Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, Caputo's market, local farmers markets, and others.  If you do a bit of research, you can find ingredients for just about anything somewhere in the metro area.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica on November 8, 2011 at 9:48am

Easyyyy everyone. Let's go ahead and lay out the fact that I'll only be there for 2 years tops. This is a training program, and then I'll be travelling 100% of the time for 5 years. I have lived in the 'suburbs' for 14 years now, seeing as how Hammond is only 10 minutes from south Chicago.

I would like to live close to work, but if I can live in the city and be under 10 miles from my work, I'm okay with that. I am not scared of big busy roads. I will commute no matter what, really.

I think that the burbs and the city both offer good and bad things. I'm concerned about my commute and the neighborhood, seeing as how I can't carry full time like I can in Indiana. Rent is also a concern. While I will be able to afford pretty much anything (within reason), I can't stomach paying a ridiculous amount for rent. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 8, 2011 at 9:53am

A lot of these are true, a lot or exaggerated and a lot I disagree with but to each there own...

 

I do have some questions:

 

Which collar counties have better biking infrastructure?

 

I don't pay fees for anything in the city, what fees are you talking about?

 

I have never had a shortage of running water any time of year here; please elaborate on that one.

 

There are no chain restaurants in my neighborhood or the ones I spend time in; where are they?  Down town?  I still think, even counting those, that the saturation level is much lower here.

 

 

Chris C said:

Wait, what?  You state that ridetillidie should state the positive things about the burbs yet you don't hold yourself to the same rule - you didn't state the positive things about Chicago. Do as I say and not as I do?

Turn around is fair play.  Here's whats grand about life in Chicago:

 

- higher crime rate

- rampant corruption (city, county, PD, FD, etc.)

- fees, fees and more fees (some of which just doubled and tripled)

- Madigan, Incorporated.

- black hole for state and federal funds

- public school system thats a joke

- chain restaurants

- concrete jungle

- congestion

- a separate, dedicated bicycling infrastructure which pales in comparison to the surrounding counties

- no running water during heat waves

- small lawns and small minds

 

Quantify that with "in my opinion".

notoriousDUG said:

Let's see...

-Lot's of sprawl.

-Not really all that bike friendly.

-Lots of chain restaurants.

-Very few independent food sellers.

-Very little in the way of diversity.

-Pretty much built because of and for cars.

-Wide lawns, narrow minds.

 

Yeah, so want to list out the good stuff for me?  Rather than just telling me to stop slamming them tell me what is good about them.

 

I grew up in and have lived as an adult in the suburbs.

 

 

ridetillidie said:

Hey DUG, stop slammin the suburbs! If you are happy in the city, good for you. Your opinion isn't reality. I agree with Jeff. Check out all the possible routes before settling on an apt.

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Permalink Reply by Rich S on November 8, 2011 at 10:23am

You won't need to worry about that in the Des Plaines area. There aren't any bad neighborhoods for a good couple of miles! 

Jessica said:

I think that the burbs and the city both offer good and bad things. I'm concerned about my commute and the neighborhood, seeing as how I can't carry full time like I can in Indiana. 

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Permalink Reply by Davo on November 8, 2011 at 10:25am

"- a separate, dedicated bicycling infrastructure which pales in comparison to the surrounding counties"

 

Im confused about this one, all the other citations seem to be negitive but this one seems to be a positive given that the only infrastructure that I know about in the subburbs are the forest preserve trails. Also I have seen numorus posts in chainlink about the lack of cycling infrastructure in the suburbs.

 

Jessica- good luck finding something that suits your desire's/needs in the chicagoland area. You should have no trouble. Unfortunately things get more expencive the closer you get to the city so getting a roomate would be the way to go depending on how much space you are used to.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica on November 8, 2011 at 11:00am

I currently live in a 525 sq ft apartment, but can easily compress down. I like little spaces, it challenges my type A personality, and I love a challenge! :-)

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