StaceMc

Hi everyone, my husband and I recently moved to Chicago and are finding it tough to make new friends. I am British and he is American and we were wondering if you ever have any kind of meetups or know of any?

Stace

Gingerert

I wish! There don't seem to be that many.

Whereabouts in Chicago are you? I think we're all so spread apart that it's hard to get together.

StaceMc

We are in central Chicago, I actually found another expat group that has a meetup once a month - I think it is usually in the city tho;

www.meetup.com/brit-50/

Still interested in meeting others tho

MrEmjoy

http://www.meetup.com/brit-50/

Whereabouts are you? I'm on the NW side just in the city limits. If you have any questions relating to anything do ask!

hockeysarah

Im going to be living in the Chicago area in a few months time. My husband is American, im British.

Would be nice to have a meet up with some fellow brits sometime aswell.
We are living at his Dads in Park Ridge at first then moving to Evanston once i get a job!

gatsbygirl8

Hi,

We're down in St. Louis unfortunately, but love having an excuse to make a trip up to Chicago. I'm American and my husband is British. If anyone ever wants to organize a meet up in Chicago, we'd be up for it.

bobbedford

Hi Guys

We are looking to move early in the new year once everything is sorted with visa etc.

We are going to do a reccie later this year though to figure out where we might like to live.

When I was out previously I met a colleague in Highland Park, which looked a really nice area, although pricy I believe.

I've looked on sites, and can get an idea of what I can afford for my money, but not an idea of how "nice" the area is.

I would need to commute to close to O'Hare, I really want my commute to be less than 45 mins (I want to beat my > 1 hour London commute at the moment) and I can afford $2,000 to $2,500 tops per month.

I heard Naperville was good?

Any suggestions?

Scouse Express

Buffalo Grove/Arlington Heights/Schaumburg are probably going to be what you are looking for.

Naperville is a bit far, and there are miles of Toll Roads involved, which do not move at the best speeds, sometimes.


Jim.

MrEmjoy

Highland park is pricey, and if you're commuting close to O'hare from that area you'll most definitely be over an hour, unless you work odd hours.

I would also add Elgin and Hoffman Estates to the list above.

SultanOfSwing

Elgin's not a bad choice, actually. It's a big, quite self contained city but has good access to Chicago and the airports. It is actually quite a nice city in its own right as well.

Plus, it's in Kane county so you don't have to pay that astronomical Cook county sales tax

martyfen

I would agree that Naperville would be too far, although it is a nice area.
Glen Ellyn and Wheaton are great areas - good schools, park districts and you can definately get to Ohare in 45 mins (and that is not having to use the interstates). They are also on a direct metra line into the city.


Are those prices you are willing to pay for rent or mortgage. If rent you can get a nice property for that in glen ellyn, wheaton.

SultanOfSwing

Back when I was a runner at work, I'd have a regular cheque pick up in Wheaton, and I'd drive through Glen Ellyn along Rt.38 just off the motorway, both are very nice towns.

There are also plenty of nice places up in Lake County too, that are reasonably accessible to the airport. Buffalo Grove has already been mentioned, but there is also Lincolnshire/Vernon Hills/Lake Forest (quite pricey though); Deerfield and Lake Zurich are in the general area too, just a bit further west of the others.

Even up here in the nosebleeds (far NW 'burbs, 10 miles from the WI border) I can get to O'Hare in an hour or less (albeit rarely and without excessive traffic of course) on surface roads, and there is a Metra station a mile's walk from my house that'll get you into downtown Chicago in 90 minutes or so.

Not that you'd want to go this far north but my house is nice and cheap, and rent is reasonable, gas is cheaper and these savings may offset a longer commute. The few towns I mentioned above are a good 20-30 minutes closer to the airport than mine, obviously.

Lots to think about, of course

Monkey2RatsandRabbit

Hi there,

By way of introduction, I'm relocating with my family (wife, 3yr son, 3mnth daughter) to Chicago in October, date still to be confirmed. It's a company transfer and we're currently in Singapore, but I'm a Brit (Scottish) and my wife is Turkish, we're in our late thirties, early forties.

We're very excited by the move. As a Scot, I'm actually looking forward to enjoying the seasons again, and don't even mind the winter weather that awaits us! I'm sure it can't be any worse than the W.Coast of Scotland!

I have a few questions, if anyone could help I'd really appreciate it.

We're struggling to work our where to live. I'll be working downtown (60654), and would like no more than a 45 mins commute door to door (public transport). We've been told Lincoln Park is the gold standard for families looking for a city neighbourhood, but I'm not sure we'll get what we want for what we want to pay. We really want a large outdoor space for ourselves and the kids - it can be a big deck or yard. We'd need 4 bedrooms, or 3 with some extra space like basement family room or study. Our budget won't stretch beyond 3K.

I'd also be keen to know if any L1A visa holders who have recently moved have managed to get any credit terms to lease a car? We'd like to get one asap upon arriving so we can easily check out all the neighbourhoods and suburbs in search of somewhere to live. We'll be staying in a serviced apartment for the first 2 months, probably close to the office.

With regard to the beautiful game - I saw on other posts that there are pubs showing the premiership, I guess on a delayed transmission, but what about the SPL (not such a beautiful game, I admit) but still keen to see and support my team. Are there any satellite or cable TV packages that include English and Scottish football, Champs League and Europa Leage?

Many thanks in advance.

Gilly

MrEmjoy

Oh boy! You might be in for a shock if it was anything like the last winter!



The only info I've seen for Expats regarding cars is this: http://www.expatride.com/ I know NOTHING about them though just saw them listed on the Brits In Chicago Expat page.

The Globe does show SPL! http://www.theglobepub.com/sports.shtml

Sorry I can't help you on properties, all I can say is stay north not south!

Monkey2RatsandRabbit

Hey Mr. Emjoy, I was in Scotland last winter and it was absolutely miserable, freezing - in fact had a hell of a time trying to get there with all airports shut.
But hey, I think the US is better prepared for winter than the UK seems to be.

Thanks for the Expat rides link, I've asked for a quote. I'm thinking they'll take advantage of the situation though, stupid not to.

I also heard about the Globe, but was hoping someone can tell me if I can subscribe to any PayTV packages so I can watch it at home..

Cheers