<p>Son just heard that his new job will either be located in Elwood just south of Joliet or in Willow Springs (basically near the intersection of 55 and 294.) He is in a bit of a jam because the employer won’t know which location he will be at or possibly he would be at both, but will for sure be in Joliet area for a couple of months. He is being sent to Chicago to look at and sign for an apartment next week. </p>
<p>He is 23 and a 2014 college grad
Single
Looking for athletic club onsite or close to apt
Safe area
Nice looking apartment/complex (of course he wants granite and stainless…)
One bedroom
Off street parking
Would like the option to take the train into Chicago to hang out with friends
Would like a Target and a chipotle within 10 minutes
Seems like somewhere along 55 would make the most sense
Thinks he can go to $1000 month</p>
<p>Online he has fallen in love with Naperville, but realizes that that is far from both locations. He found a apartment in Bollingbrook that looks good, but has heard that that might not be the most desirable city for a young guy to live in. </p>
<p>Should you live closer to work or closer to play???</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know of an online site where you can enter your criteria? (like real estate companies)</p>
<p>Will he drive to work? Naperville is generally nice throughout but there is a long waiting list for a parking spot at the train station if he is planning to commute. Also, it looks like a long drive to work if he’s in Elwood. Where exactly is the apartment in Bolingbrook? Parts are nice and parts are not. </p>
<p>That’s a tough one because of the distances between the two locations. And neither is really a young adult area; much of the area is family oriented. Plus he’s coming into the winter weather commuting issues. Since he knows he’s starting near Joliet, I would recommend a few months in a short term rental while he gets to know the area. Once he knows for sure where he’ll land, he can concentrate his search near his work. If he ends up in Willow Springs, I would suggest looking for a place in La Grange. There’s a decent younger population and quick access via the Metra train to the city.</p>
<p>That’s good advice from Marilyn. This is a toughie, to be honest - neither are terribly great locations fora young person. LaGrange is a good suggestion. I was just there today, and while it’s still fundamentally a family-oriented suburb, they’ve jazzed up their downtown area with stores and restaurants that are more young-people. </p>
<p>Thanks guys. I agree it is a tough one. When he accepted the job, he requested the Chicago location and got it…never stopping to realize that the Joliet area is part of this companies Chicago division. HIs “apartment specialist” keeps suggesting the Lincoln Park area, but as much as he would love this he knows it wouldn’t work. </p>
<p>Yes, he will be driving to work and his start time during the first few months will be 6 am which should help with traffic. I will have him look into a short term lease option. The apartment he found online was called Riverstone at 308 Woodcreek Drive Bolingbrook, IL 60440. <a href=“http://www.riverstoneapt.com”>http://www.riverstoneapt.com</a></p>
<p>Im sure he will figure it out, but my goodness Chicago Land is huge!</p>
<p>Whoever suggested Lincoln Park for your son must think that 3 to 4 hours of commuting a day is fine. Bolingbrook does seem to have a lot of apartments near the big mall (The Promenade) which has outdoor summer concerts and other events. I’d certainly prefer to have my son in Bolingbrook rather than Joliet.</p>
<p>Lincoln Park!?! That specialist is not considering his drive time. Lincoln Park is a fun area but wouldn’t work and it sounds like your son realizes that. I agree with the shortterm rental idea. Your son really needs time to explore a few different towns to see where he would feel comfortable (safe and among other young people), have a convenient route to work, and affordable, nice apartment options.</p>
<p>If he can afford it, going a little north of Bolingbrook might be good. Here’s a complex right off of I355 and just north of I55: Bristol Club • 5700 South Walnut Avenue • Downers Grove, IL 60516: bristolclub.com. It’s also not far from the Belmont train station. Both Target and Chipotle are not too far away. Downers Grove has a recreation center/health club closeby. Joliet is about 30 min away and Elwood about 35 min away. Living in Lincoln Park would be fun but not feasible-it’s an hour from there to Joliet with no traffic which rarely occurs. Also parking in Lincoln Park is a nightmare. I’m happy to help if you have questions. </p>
<p>My strong bias would be for him to start off living near where he will work, to save money and time. Then drive to Chicago, or drive to the train to Chicago, to meet friends. The daily commute from pricier, trendier spots will eat him alive. I think he has come up with a decent list of nearby spots that will help him ID the more upscale areas to live. I would add that Kohls and Culvers locate in nicer areas with newer construction. I agree with Marilyn’s suggestions except for her Bolingbrook preference. If he knows he will be in Joliet to start, then he should strongly consider living there to start. I am in Joliet all the time helping family there (in older areas) with yard work and chores. It is an old rust belt town. It is not suburbia. You will see people of color and/or poor people everywhere you go there, so he may be in for some culture shock, but any place offering granite will be a perfectly safe place to live. If you PM me with specifics I can be more specific, and will be happy to help, but generally I would have him look 1) near Joliet Junior College, where there is plenty of nice newer housing and very easy access to I-80 and I-55, 2) west of Joliet off of Route 59, if his Joliet location will be west of the city, or 3) near New Lenox, also near Culvers, highways, rail, east of the city and much closer to both Elwood and Western Springs. Here is my concern. Hopefully he will figure out where he will be working, but even if he manages to find a place midway on a line drawn from Elwood to Western Springs, he will be doing serious time in his car. Elwood is isolated and very small, but the New Lenox area would be a doable commute to Elwood, either via I-80 to Route 53 (the old Route 66) or I-80 to I-55. If he finds out that the bulk of his time will be in Western Springs, then I would suggest looking in the Orland Park/Tinley park area. To stray far from these spots would be to add unnecessary commute time, which will be significant no matter where he lives. I-55 heading NE towards the city has become a daily morning logjam, so given the Elwood/Western Springs locations, I would focus more on locations with good I-80/Route 53 access. I think people use Craigslist to help find appts once you have a rough location. Feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>If he is on,y going to be in Joliet for a couple of months, I agree with the recommendation to find something a bit more temporary for that couple of months. This will give him time to learn the area, and to find out where he will be located for most of his work. It will be easier to find a location for his apartment, and more sensible to sign a lease, after he knows his work location.</p>
<p>Does his company have any short term rentals? Or…not ideal…but might there be a sublet near Joliet Junior College for,the spring term?</p>
<p>I agree, but it may take more than a couple of months to learn his primary location, and they may require him to work in both or all three places at times, so finding somewhere that allows a reasonable commute to all locations makes sense. DH works in Naperville with a guy who lived in Joliet and wanted to reduce his commute by moving to Naperville. The guy was going to have to double his rent (!) to live there. So forking over for a couple of weeks in a motel while he gets his bearings might not be too costly, all things considered. Nephew went through this process when he relocated to Peoria, starting out on the outskirts of town but not liking that, so spent a couple of months towards the end of that first year’s lease looking for a place close to his downtown place of work that was good. He likes his second location and has lived there ever since.</p>
<p>I haven’t been in Joliet but have been in Bolingbrook near those apartments. My opinion is based on what others say, not my own experience. FYI the second location is Willow Springs, not Western Springs; no third location. I know all the suburbs start sounding the same!</p>
I wanted to get back to you all as last weekend we moved S1 into his new apartment. He selected the http://www.grandreserveofnaperville.com and is very happy. It is basically near the intersection of 59 and 34 (Ogden) and south of 88 and north of 55. He is thrilled. The area is certainly not lacking for stores or restaurants!
I live in naperville. It’s actually not that far from intersection of 294 and 55. Hinsdale or Downers Grove are very nice, smaller suburbs closer to Chicago and where he will work. Since he would be traveling sort of SE direction he would be going against commuting flow of traffic at least part of the trip
He already got the place. And Hinsdale is no place for a twenty something young man just starting out. It’s an upscale, wealthy SAHM community and the downtown shopping area doesn’t have anything a twenty something male would find interesting.