Originally Posted by gfunkdave

As a native Chicagoan, I am in full agreement with everything said so far.

If you're working in Northbrook, your commute will be A LOT less hellish if you don't live in Lakeview. Slogging your way through traffic for at least an hour twice a day will be enough to drive you to insanity. I strongly recommend living somewhere closer - like Evanston.

Evanston (home to Northwestern University) will result in a 30ish minute commute to Northbrook. It's a suburb, yes, but it's also the first suburb outside of Chicago (the southern border of Evanston is the northern city limit of Chicago). It's also kind of a fake city with a walkable downtown that has a lot of nice restaurants, bars, stores, etc. The El and Metra run into Evanston, so it's easy to get into Lakeview if you want to go drinking and not drive home. City taxis also will take you to/from Evanston easily. In other words, there's plenty to do if you want to stay in Evanston, and it's easy to get to the places you want to be in the city. It's quiet and pretty (right on the lake). There's also the college town aspect.

If you do decide to go with Lakeview, I'd err on the side of living in west Lakeview so you're closer to the highway and don't have to deal with city traffic just to get on the highway and sit in traffic there. And there are lots of other neighborhoods that are great (and that I'd personally prefer to Lakeview) along the highway.

If you're interested in learning more, PM me (or I guess posting on here would be better so everyone sees). I lived in Evanston for three years in grad school. I've also lived in Lincoln Park and the South Loop and grew up in the area.