Best part of Chicago -moving from NY

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Specializes in Med/surg, Neurosurgery Stepdown.

Hi everyone! I am an RN with 2+ years of experience in New York looking to relocate to Chicago ( I also have in mind Philly and Baltimore- whereever I get a better offer).

I wanted to ask if you could suggest a better area of the city or even suburbs, how is the school system( I have a 2-grader), what hospitals whould you recommend? How much an RN with 2+ years of experience would make? Aproximate cost of rent fpr 2 BDR apt. Thank you very much. any answer is appriciated!!!

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Specializes in Psych, Med-Surg, Critical Care, NICU.

I plan on moving back to Chicago after graduation next year and I am not quite familiar with the city anymore, BUT I think I can give you a few pointers. I haven't lived in Chicago for almost 15 years but I JUST talked to my grandpa, who has lived in Chicago all of his life, and he suggested a few areas for me.

I told him I loved the North Side of the city and he stated the north side is a wonderful place to live. The north side consists of Wrigleyville (one of my favorite places to be and I actually used to live in this area), Lakeview, Lincoln Park (another one of my favorite spots also high class), Logan Square, Old Town, Bucktown to name a few. My grandpa told me he thinks I would love Evanston, Ill, which is right outside of Chicago going north. If you're looking to buy property a wonderful website to consider is dreamtown.com (Love it!!). You can search all kinds of properties old and new, city and suburban areas.

I hope this helps. I'm sorry I don't have answers for any of your other questions and I'm sure someone who is more familiar with the city can give you even better suggestions on the areas.

Good luck with your search!!..:)

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Specializes in Rehabilitation.

@Purpledrop! Hello and welcome to Chicago! If you're relocating with a 2nd grader and want a nice school system I would move to the NW sides of Chicago = Norwood Park, Jefferson Park, Sauganash (best), Edison Park, Lincoln Square. These areas are mostly single family homes with a middle class residents. A 2-bedroom apartment shouldn't be more than $1200 a month. I am not sure about a 2 year experience salary but I know that recent grads make about $25-30/hour depending on the hospital. Area hospitals would be Advocate Lutheran, Swiss Covenant, Resurrection Hospitals, Weiss... GOOD LUCK!!!

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Specializes in ER.

Sorry to hijack your thread, but we are considering a move to Chicago, or more likely Aurora. Anyone have any comments? Same questions as the original post, but without the 2-grader : )

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Are you looking to work/live in the suburbs or city? If you have a child I would suggest suburbia - there are some good suburbs that are close to the city but still pretty suburban, best of both worlds - arlington heights, glenview, deerfield, inverness, palatine, vernon hills these are all 20-25 minutes away from the city and have excellent school systems. they are close enough where you can commute to the city (although be prepared for the commute) or you can work at nearby suburban hospitals, advocate lutheran, alexian brothers medical center, evanston hospital, northshore system, northwest community hospital.

if you venture further west into the suburbs your going towards the newer suburbs, cheaper housing, probably better school sytems, and pretty good hospitals, these suburbs are naperville, aurora, elgin, st charles, etc - great school systems and good hospitals - EDWARD***fantastic hospital, provena, SHERMAN*** fantastic hospital, CDH.

There are also some FANTASTIC hospitals in the city to work at of course, top rated in the us news world report, however I don't have much knowledge about the school system although I can't imagine it would be as great as some of the suburban schools (although that could be my biased opinion..)

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Out of Arlington Heights, Glenview, Deerfield, inverness, palatine, and vernon hills..only glenview is about 20 minutes from the city... the rest are pretty far out there...I live in Wicker Park and Arlington Heights is about 25 miles from me... that would be about a 45 minute drive w/o traffic.

As for the school systems.. the private school system is Chicago is INCREDIBLE...I don't know anything about the public school system... but there are parents at our school who live in suburbs such as Park Ridge, Evanston, etc... so still come to our private school in the city because it is such an awesome school!

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

Take a look at Oak Park.

Excellent school system, just west of Chicago, with easy access to the city and to the suburbs. Many health systems have been following the population migration and are building large facilities further out.

Might want to find the job first

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Specializes in Med/surg, Neurosurgery Stepdown.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I will start my search. How is the weather in Chicago?

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Specializes in Med/surg, Neurosurgery Stepdown.

I am finding the job first. At times like now, it's not smart to move without having a good job first. I am a little worried if I can support my family since I don't know what salary to expect...If anyone knows how much is the rent for 2 bdr appt 20-30 min from the city? Thank you very much everyone!!!

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Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I will start my search. How is the weather in Chicago?

IT SUCKS AZZ to put it mildly!! :lol2: The humidity sucks in the summer..and the winters suck too! I'm so sick of Chicago it's not even funny...it's a great city...but it's too damn expensive...you pay taxes out the azz... we have the highest priced gas in all the US, etc... I've been here too long :lol2: I'm moving to Nashville in 2 years.. can't wait!!:D

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North east part of the city is the best. If you are ok with being an hour away from the city, Naperville is nice.

The coast of apartments vary GREATLY on location. Check out http://www.domu.com as they will provide you with descriptions of neighborhoods and average prices of apartments in those neighborhoods.

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