Re: (OT) chicago
On Thu, Feb 21, 2002 at 02:38:21PM -0800, Karsten M. Self wrote:
> on Thu, Feb 21, 2002, Mark S. Reglewski (markregl@megsinet.net) wrote:
> > On Wed, 20 Feb 2002, dman wrote:
> >
> > > The details aren't finished yet, but it looks like I'll be working in
> > > Chicago (Elgin, actually) next quarter. Is anyone here in the Chicago
> > > area?
> >
[snip]
> > Elgin is about forty miles NW of the Loop. . . .
> > If you don't have a car out here, you won't actually be *in*
> > Chicago very much, though it's an easy drive on I-90 if you do.
>
> I'd recommend Metra Rail over driving -- far less hassle, no parking
> problems, drops you straight into the Loop, and you can hack for an hour
> on the way in and out ;-)
>
> ...just beware the mid-day service blackout -- 11 am - 1pm or so.
> Otherwise, coverage is great.
Don't know if there is service from Elgin per se, but a co-worker
commutes into town via Metra from Crystal Lake, which is just spitting
distance from Elgin. Well, easy driving distance. If you were mad
enough to try to walk to Crystal Lake from Elgin, you'd show up in the
Loop picking corn stalks out of your hair.
If you rail into the city, there are many money-losing bus and train
routes to get around, but bus and train schedules get sparser and
sparser with each passing year as the annual losses erode service.
You could use cabs to get around the city, but you might have to speak
languages other than English, C, or Python to make yourself understood.
And you *may* find out that you have a better idea of where you are
going than the cabbie. Also understand that it is next to *impossible*
to get a cab pickup in some Chicago neighborhoods (mine is an example).
So you might take a cab to a destination and find out that you can't get
a pickup to go back where you came from. So a Chicago-newbie should
plan any excursions from Elgin carefully. My opinion: the flexibility
of having a car makes driving a clear win for the Chicago novice, even
with the cost of parking and the hassle of the drive figured in.
Cordially,
Mark S. Reglewski
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