Thanks milepig, that's really helpful. I am beginning to think the same thing as you. I've had long commutes before (I used to live in the DC area), and I don't really want to waste my life that way.

I think you'll find that you end up driving half the time. With free parking you won't be able to resist. Ridge to Hollywood to Lake Shore Drive will be a breeze at 7 a.m.

If Metra is an option, you might want to consider other suburbs as well: Winnetka, Wilmette, Glenview, or even Northbrook. You can live within walking distance of a Metra station, and your wife may have a bit easier commute. While I can't think of any other suburb offering an equal combination of a lively downtown and lakefront, quite a few people enjoy Glenview's proximity to major roads and amenities at The Glen (http://www.theglentowncenter.com/home_live.html). Just a thought; not meant to confuse you. :)

I lived in Evanstion and commuted to the city every day, and later commuted to Arlington Heights every day. It wasn't fun (especially the driving part), but being able to walk places was great. Not using major freeways may actually be a blessing in disguise: your commute time will be roughly the same all the time, while freeways are sometimes a crap shoot.

I've lived in Chicagoland 16+ years and IMO you would get tired of this commute by car VERY quickly. In the winter it can be horrible.

I'd probably go with milepig's suggestion.

+1

I used to work in the Streeterville area (that is where NMH is). As long as you are close to one of the Metra stations, there are CTA express bus lines that run from the down town train terminals (Olgilvie or Union Station) to Navy Pier. These will drop you off about 2 or 3 blocks south of the NMH campus.

The link below will allow you to select one of the bus lines and will show you the route map and schedule. The bus lines you want are 120 and 121.

http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/systemguide/

Here is a link to the Metra rail site. There are 4 lines that would allow your wife to be close to Northbrook and would give you a manageable commute to downtown Chicago.

http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home.html

What if he's going in at 8 or 8:30 when it won't be a breeze?

He said he'll have to be there at 7:30. Hence, my comments. @:-)

Granted, going home at 5:00 won't be a breeze, but as I said, he'll end up driving half the time. Free parking? It will be irresistible. LSD is nothing like driving on the Kennedy or Edens.

Oh, duh, first post, sorry, missed that.

LSD doesn't seem to get nearly as bad at night as it does between 8-9 in the morning. There will be backups at Fullerton and Belmont and at Hollywood due to the light, but yeah, nowhere near as bad as the expressways.

That's good to know. I suspect the morning won't be bad, since I need to get there so early. I was worried about the afternoon, but if northbound LSD is tolerable in the afternoon, that would be great.

Why don't you make a "virtual experiment" by looking at the traffic situations at different times of the day?

http://www.travelmidwest.com/lmiga/m...me=chicagoArea
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&...,0.649567&z=11

Northbound LSD is "ok", but does back up at Hollywood. The easiest way around this is to take Sheridan north and then cut West just a bit north of the light.

You'll be fine - I do the same drive a few times a week.

Dave

To partially quote Mayor Daley, however, "never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever," drive on a day when the Cubs have a night game. :D LSD is a parking lot from Grant Park through Irving Park until after 7 p.m.

If you're able to leave at 5 pm on the dot, LSD shouldn't be too bad. (I live just north of Belmont and drove or bused to/from downtown for 15 years.) Stay in the left-most lanes. I think Cubs-related traffic is the worst starting at about 5:45.

Freeway
 

Can tell the non locals here-- there are no "freeways" in Chicago, only "highways"

Actually we call the "expressways."