WEBlue

So is this what you're driving these days, Boiler?

(My bad, I just haven't kept up with the 'Let's Talk About Cars' thread... )

Lbjen

Arlington Heights and also Elmhurst or at a stretch, Naperville may be your best options. All three are nice places to live.

US cities and towns are not like European ones. If you don't live downtown you will only ever go into Chicago to do sightseeing stuff, you'll spend the rest of your time driving between your local suburbs to get most of your stuff done. You will struggle to find a butcher, green grocer, newspaper shop etc - you either go to Target, Walmart or the grocery store for it all.

Aside from the weather, you can't physically safely walk around most of the suburbs because there are often no sidewalks and the roads and intersections aren't designed for pedestrians. If you are set on being able to walk everywhere you'll need to consider living in downtown Chicago, and your husband will have to either drive or take the train (assuming there is a way to reach his office from the train) to work.

scrubbedexpat099

Very rarely drive the Car, Dog does not fit in it very well.



But as you ask here it is and he is.

WEBlue

Love it!! What a sweetie!

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Verystrawberry, here's another recent thread that covers Chicago as a moving destination (--this poster had a choice between Chicago and New Jersey):
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=811131

I see the same disagreements broke out about weather and walkability. Different strokes for different folks!

Pulaski

Yeah, I know, I lived in London, and worked in central London for 15 years, and there were only isolated times when the heat and humidity were ever close to what they are here, IMHO.
You might, but isn't it only fair to warn those coming over that it is hotter and much more humid, consistently for several months every year, than it is in the UK? .... Or are we all supposed to just glibbly say "Yeah, it's great! Walking in the summer is no problem! Just like home, yeah!" We're talking at cross purposes. I like to walk, but if I'm walking to get from A to B, I walk at a brisk clip, and don't have the time to allow 50% more time on a hot day. I had, perhaps incorrectly assumed that others who walk for the purpose to getting from A to B, as opposed to the "leisure strollers" and dog walkers, would also "walk with a purpose".

Also I for one, would feel uncomfortable turning up at the doctor's surgery, or for lunch with friends, etc. with damp patches on my clothes, but if you feel that is OK, then so be it. It is a markedly different degree (pun intended) of an issue in the US as compared to the UK when I walked quite a lot, but rarely was it hot and humid enough for my clothes to develop damp patches. And I think it only fair to point out that if you're going to slog around on Shank's pony, across much of the US during the summer months, you're gonna get a lot more sweaty than you usually do in the UK.

penguinsix

Not really that similar.

In fact, the chances are you will need two cars to survive. One for your husband to drive to work and the other for you to run errands and deal with the children. If you are living in the suburbs, even more so. You don't take public transport to get the kids to a playdate, or soccer practice, or a slumber party.

Public transit in the US is more focused on moving workers from the suburbs to the city core, in a hub and spoke sort of system. It can make transiting between two suburbs in a city very difficult, with a commute in and then out again just to go to the suburb a few miles away. In some areas, public transit is 'bare bones' lifeline service designed to help those who cannot afford a private car, which means it has to service as many as possible rather than provide the quickest or most efficient means between two points. Stop at this mall, goto this public housing project, then that project, then the retirement village, then the next mall, etc. rather than a more express or direct service. Can be quite frustrating.

I should also note the idea of "walkable areas" in the US is not quite the same as those in the UK. In the UK you'll have a range of services and stores, from a GP to a Pharmacy to a grocer and a butcher all within 'walking distance'--the basics of day-to-day life. In the US, many "walkable areas" that have been built are frequently centered more around leisure activities, a restaurant, a movie theater, a clothing shop, and some bars, but no hardware store for miles on end.

Budget for at least one car (if you can find a place convenient to some public transit for your husband's commute) but you might start thinking about two cars as a better solution. One of the more common complaints we hear from homesickness posters is that they are "trapped" in a suburb as their partner took the car to work and there are minimal sidewalks are things to do where they live.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Travel...ars_in_America

Oh, and as others have alluded, there is no way you are going to walk anywhere in a Chicago winter, short of being a former polar explorer.

MsElui

Just be careful walking. The traffic laws are different and cars driving in the right hand lane, turning right do not need to stop for RED lights. If there are not enough ped crossings you may have a hard time at busy junctions. And having a stroller or toddlers with you might be tougher!

Lion in Winter

Suburbs like Schaumburg are not really designed for walking, and there isn't a "town" per se. Not in the way I suspect you are thinking, anyway. Lots of strip mall type places, and office blocks, and some residential areas. And a giant Ikea. It's also very close to the airport. You might prefer to live in Oak Park, which has a much better feel as a place to live, is walkable, has greenery, some nice houses, and enough shops (but not strip malls).

You might also enjoy Evanston, if your husband doesn't mind the drive to Schaumberg. http://www.cityofevanston.org/about/ You get the lake, an easy trip into Chicago by train, and it's an older area than Schaumberg. In fact, it's very like Oak Park, only on the water.

Don't worry too much about the weather. It can be a bit of a shock, and the winters are long, but getting the right clothes will be key. You will probably want a car though - small children and walking in the depths of winter can get difficult and unpleasant.

Pulaski

That is incorrect, vehicles turning right must stop (become stationary) when the light is red, however after checking for other traffic that has a green light, they may proceed to turn "right on red". It is worth noting at this point that they may turn right on red even if there is a marked pedestrian crossing that is "green" for pedestrians! ... Though pedestrians do have the right of way.

I have never seen a junction with a British style "pedestrian phase", where all the traffic stops for the pedestrians, not even in the center of a major, and very walkable, city such as New York, Chicago, or DC.
It is common at suburban intersections, especially where there are no pavements, for there not to be any marked pedestrian crossings, nor any "buttons to push". Also bear in mind that it is common to have extra lanes at intersections, so a two lane dual carriageway may, in the approach to the lights, gain an extra two lanes for traffic turning left and another one or two for traffic turning right, so now, instead of having to scurry across two lanes without the help of a pedestrian crossing, you now might have to cross five or six lanes, which could easily be seventy feet or more of road from curb to curb!

WEBlue

Oh yes, I do agree that folks moving here should be warned how Chicago "feels" in the summer. (Just googling temperature averages--as I assume she's done--can be deceptive.) But not be told, "Oh dear no Poster, you won't want to take a walk in the summer in Chicago." Verystrawberry has little children and it sounds to me like she wants to make sure they can all take a walk every day. It's not necessarily going to be easy to find a neighbourhood like that, and it may take time and effort... but it IS very possible

I agree we're talking at cross purposes. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but yes-- you're speaking as a man who wants to walk from A to B fast, without allowing extra time. Whereas I assume the poster is a mother walking (mostly) with her children in order to get them out of the house, get fresh air and exercise for all of them, and maybe do some shopping, errands, whatever. They'd like to walk to the library, playground, a few shops if possible, maybe the school.

I was a young mother like that when I moved to Houson. The husband & I shared a car in the first years, then we got a second car for me. Lots of our Houston neighbours told me I couldn't walk in Houston, but the kids & I walked often. Sure sometimes it was incredibly hot (much hotter than Chicago), so we'd walk in the early mornings or late evenings at that time of year.

No one wants to turn up sweaty anywhere, so you slow down, or you drive (or take public transport, if decent) to those places. You walk slowly anyway with children, and you make the local excursions short at first to adjust to the new environment. You're sensible and you see how it goes. But if you do your homework and look carefully, you can find neighbourhoods conducive to walking in many parts of the US.

My children are adults now, but I walk to my US town centre almost every day with or without the dog. I walk in the snow and in 85 degree weather. I dress appropriately and leave enough time so I don't have to rush.

It did take us a LOT of looking to find this place, well over a year. So I suggest that Verystrawberry get ready for a long search; once she and her family land in Chicago it could take time to find the neighbourhood she wants. But walkable towns are findable!! And they're great once you do find them.

z1565124

The 'burbs have quite a few nice places with a nice downtown and are walkable, but you can't be without a car out here. Schaumburg is not that great to live in but being as it is close to I290 it's easy to commute to from a lot of nice places to live. Look at Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Arlington Heights, Oak Park, Downers Grove, Naperville to name a few.

Rose tea

This person speaks the truth. I live in the Southwest and many of my friends admitted they couldn't get their heads around the idea of "you cannot walk around the city" until they came out here. We have pavements and pedestrian crossings so yes, I could walk the 6 miles from here to my in-laws, but for 6 months of the year it's too hot, and for at least 2 months of the year, it's too cold. I've had cops pull over and ask me where I was going, and if I was all right. There are also large stretches without pavements, or areas where I wouldn't be safe to walk, or where cars would run me over for sport. It is simply not doable.

I stick to my own little walkable neighbourhood and I drive everywhere else or take the bus. I can walk to a bakery, shops, cafes, bars, pubs, the cinema, and my work. I feel very lucky to be able to do that in such a car friendly city. I'm used to walking in 98+ now, but it took me several years to be able to do it. The weather in parts the US can knock the wind out of you at first.

wtkp0u

Now available in Chicago, the US version of Shinjuku
http://www.suntimes.com/20440500-418...rsections.html

Pulaski

Wow. Don't they realise this is 'Merca, land of the free, home of the car driver?

robin1234

Certainly this is true in suburbs and exurbs, small country towns and rural areas. However there are many cities in the US that are distinctly pedestrian friendly in that there are well maintained sidewalks on every street*, pedestrian crossing provision at every intersection, and probably parks and linear walking/cycling trails too. In my personal experience, that would include New York City, Boston, and Chicago. In general drivers turning right are law abiding enough to concede the right of way to a pedestrian with a walk light, although obviously the walker needs to be aware of her/his surroundings.

However, these city centre and inner city areas may not suit everyone as places to live. (Too expensive to rent or buy, schools not suitable, not convenient for work, folks want a backyard so prefer the suburbs, high crime rate in certain areas.)

Weather can be a limiting factor, certainly. It may be too hot for comfort, or the sidewalks may not be cleared of snow adequately. I personally don't find cold a problem, I'm OK walking so long as it's -10 degrees F or above!

*well, sufficient streets to plan a long distance walk, anyway