Title basically sums it up. I'm looking for a good, urban neighborhood, preferably with a decent walkscore and young professional population.

 

 

Right now, the only place I've found is Elgin, IL. And from the info I've gathered so far, Elgin is a lot like Hamilton, so not a large young professional population.

 

Any other suggestions for where to live? I don't want a 1+ hour commute, I don't even want a 20-minute commute but I think that will be my max. Thanks in advance!

You might check out Arlington Heights, I've heard they have a nice Downtown and Metra Station  Closer to the city there is Park Ridge, or in the city there is Edison Park and Jefferson Park along 90 on the far NW side...and are all along the cta blue line which runs 24 hours to the airport and downtown.

Sounds good. Any specific complexes / streets where I should be looking?

Hoffman Estates is pretty far away from any urban life and commuting there from most of the city would be hell. I agree that Arlington Heights is your best bet for nearby suburbs, but it's not going to be the greatest. It does have a decent downtown area though. It will probably put you within a 20 min. commute. Do not move to Elgin, it's a pretty undesirable city.

 

One area I would check out in the city is Jefferson Park. It's blue collar and not trendy, but it is located off the Blue line which will easily take you to trandy areas to hang out in (e.g. Wicker Park, Logan Square, Downtown). That said, your commute from there may still be close to an hour but it might be worth it to have better access to the city. Edison Park was mentioned above but it's not directly off the Blue Line or highway.

 

Just look on Craigslist for apartments.

Title basically sums it up. I'm looking for a good, urban neighborhood, preferably with a decent walkscore and young professional population.

 

 

Right now, the only place I've found is Elgin, IL. And from the info I've gathered so far, Elgin is a lot like Hamilton, so not a large young professional population.

 

Any other suggestions for where to live? I don't want a 1+ hour commute, I don't even want a 20-minute commute but I think that will be my max. Thanks in advance!

 

Other than downtown Palatine, I doubt you will be able to find a good urban neighborhood (or in Palatine's case, "urban-like") within a 20-minute commute of Hoffman Estates. Even Palatine is a 20-minute-plus drive from Hoffman Estates in rush hours. That "community" is out in sprawl hell. There are no trains to Hoffman Estates and very little transit out there, and the low-density, sub-divided, single-puprose land use in and around Hoffman Estates makes driving is a nightmare.

You might also check around the Cumberland Blue Line station.  There's a row of shiny office buildings along the south side of I90 there, but behind them there are some large apartment complexes.  They have "crash pads" in those complexes for airline employees(so there is some younger party types from all over the world).  This area is in the city of Chicago, but on the border of Norridge which is a suburb.  It doesn't look like it, but its actually pretty walkable, although its not cool.  But there are grocery stores, restaurants and even a shopping mall (Harlem Irving Plaza) within walking distance/bike ride (3 miles) that has Kohl's, Target and Carson Pirie Scott.  Being on the blue line you can easily get to Wicker Park or Downtown for fun without driving. 

 

It's actually less than 20 miles to Hoffman Estates from there.  With no traffic it would be 20 minutes, but if you are commuting at peak times it will vary and could be an hour.  The secret here is you don't need to use I90.  Higgins road goes all the way and runs along the back lots of O'Hare and through a forest preserve so there is no traffic for most of it.  There's probably even a way to use Pace bus to Hoffman...but I'm not sure.

 

When traffic sucks here, it sucks.  That said, when it doesn't it's fast.  I live on the lakefront on the North side, and I have gotten to Ikea in Schaumburg in 30 minutes leaving my house around 10:30 AM on a weekday, or gotten to O'Hare for a 6:30 AM flight in a cab in 20 minutes.  But that is off peak, but along that same Kennedy Expwy/I90 corridor.  If your job in Hoffman is flexible, you could probably leave your house at 9am and be at your desk at 9:30...or at 6:30 AM and be at work by 7 AM. 

Thanks again for all of the help rustbelter, metrocity, and KJP! Honestly I didn't even have a clue where to start, so I really appreciate all of the suggestions.

 

One area I would check out in the city is Jefferson Park. It's blue collar and not trendy, but it is located off the Blue line which will easily take you to trandy areas to hang out in (e.g. Wicker Park, Logan Square, Downtown). That said, your commute from there may still be close to an hour but it might be worth it to have better access to the city. Edison Park was mentioned above but it's not directly off the Blue Line or highway.

 

Sounds perfect, actually! But it looks pretty far away....

 

 

Other than downtown Palatine, I doubt you will be able to find a good urban neighborhood (or in Palatine's case, "urban-like") within a 20-minute commute of Hoffman Estates. Even Palatine is a 20-minute-plus drive from Hoffman Estates in rush hours. That "community" is out in sprawl hell. There are no trains to Hoffman Estates and very little transit out there, and the low-density, sub-divided, single-puprose land use in and around Hoffman Estates makes driving is a nightmare.

 

That makes sense. Honestly though I looked at Palantine from Google Maps and it looks ok - better than most other places around there. Very fake suburban style, and only one district, but I'm assuming that's what other young professionals gravitate towards? I just wish I could airlift Lakewood there haha

 

You might also check around the Cumberland Blue Line station.  There's a row of shiny office buildings along the south side of I90 there, but behind them there are some large apartment complexes.  They have "crash pads" in those complexes for airline employees(so there is some younger party types from all over the world).  This area is in the city of Chicago, but on the border of Norridge which is a suburb.  It doesn't look like it, but its actually pretty walkable, although its not cool.  But there are grocery stores, restaurants and even a shopping mall (Harlem Irving Plaza) within walking distance/bike ride (3 miles) that has Kohl's, Target and Carson Pirie Scott.  Being on the blue line you can easily get to Wicker Park or Downtown for fun without driving.

 

This sounds interesting. Really interesting, actually. But I did a quick look on Google Maps, and it looks like it's not walkable to anything. I imagine it would be a cool crowd of people though...

This sounds interesting. Really interesting, actually. But I did a quick look on Google Maps, and it looks like it's not walkable to anything. I imagine it would be a cool crowd of people though...

 

The area right along Bryn Mawr Ave is not interesting looking at all right near the freeway...but just south of that is tidy 1950's neighborhoods and there are sidewalks everywhere, even though it's not "cute" walkable like a real city neighborhood since the streets are wide, but it's walkable infrastructure is there.  I used to work in Triangle Plaza office buildings you see right by the freeway.  A girl I worked with liked to walk at lunch, and we would go to the Jewel-Osco at Lawrence and Cumberland often and pick up lunch walking down side streets.  Took about 10 minutes to walk down there.  The area is borderline city/suburb 1950's bungalows so it was all still built to be walkable.  It's also italian/polish/russian...so there are some good local restuarants and groceries.

 

Like I said, you can even go to that mall which has sidewalks all around it.  The mall, Harlem/Irving Plaza (HIP as its called locally) was built as one of several planned malls on the border of Chicago in the 60's to try and curtail sprawl and stop the city losing out to retail in the suburbs.  It is one of the last ones still viable (Ford City is ghetto and Brickyard was torn down and made into a strip mall).  The parking is mostly on the roof...it's not a typical style suburban mall but has the typical stores.

 

It's not super cool or anything, but as an alternative to Arlington Heights or Palatine...I'd much rather live in the city even if it's fringe 1950's.  You still have access to the 24 hr blue line into the city or O'Hare..which is the key.  Living near Metra is good...but you are stuck to the less frequent schedules and limited stops in the city before the west loop.  There are probably no cool bars or anything...but you might find a friendly neighborhood hangout, and you could be at the Damen (Bucktown/Wicker park) stop in about 20 minutes off the blue line.  Also on the blue line, get off at Addison, and you are about a 20 minute ride on the bus to Wrigley Field and Wrigleyville/Boystown.  Get off at Belmont..same thing except Belmont is an all night bus and Addison is not if you stay out late.  There is also the Logan Square stop, which is the new spillover cool neighborhood of people priced out of Bucktown.  Also, if you get off and take the bus at Jefferson Park, the Lawrence Bus (which I think still runs all night) goes to the Uptown entertainment district where the Riveria and Aragon theatres are that have a lot of big name DJ and indie band performances.

 

All that said, if the job you got is at Sears...or one of the other corp HQ's out in Hoffman/Schaumburg...hang in there.  They are opening office space in the city, and maybe you can get transferred (Sears has people on State St above the store).  I did it when I first moved to Chicago (the office I mentioned above) and it sucks.  I worked for MCI for a year at that Triangle Plaza crap, and then transferred to 205 N Michigan Ave :-).  Then you can move to a better place and ditch the car!

Also, feel free to PM me with any questions, I have been living here for a while, and travel around the city a lot.  I wish I had known someone more familiar with the city before I moved here because it helps. I lived in Shaker Square, Ohio City and N Collinwood when I was at CSU before I moved to Chicago, and had a car then but used GCRTA a lot as well.

Sounds perfect, actually! But it looks pretty far away....

 

It would not be ideal for commuting, but I think it's the best compromise that will still allow you access to trendy areas of the city. That will be important if you're moving from out of the area. Also, Jefferson Park is fairly urban and does have some bars you could walk to.

 

That makes sense. Honestly though I looked at Palantine from Google Maps and it looks ok - better than most other places around there. Very fake suburban style, and only one district, but I'm assuming that's what other young professionals gravitate towards? I just wish I could airlift Lakewood there haha

 

In Chicago the young professional scene is very much concentrated within the neighborhoods that are closer to downtown. It's not like Cleveland where people will travel to various areas of the metro area to socialize.

 

Arlington Heights is known for being more of a nightlife destination than Palintine. That is why I suggested Arlington Heights. My girlfriend is from Chicago's northwest suburbs, and I'm from northeast Ohio but now live in Chicago. If you have anymore questions let me know.