Moving to Lake View area.. curious about parking
 

Hey guys,

I'll be moving to Lake View area for graduate school work soon and I was just wondering what the parking was like in that particular area.

Are there really no parking spaces available that it's almost impossible to find one?

Is it worth having a car in that area (apparently, $65 a month for a slab of concrete somewhere near the apt.. is that cheap/worth it?) or in Chicago for that matter, if I don't plan on driving too much? I've grown attached to my car after 5 years of ownership, but I don't know if I can justify $780 extra a year for a parking space (not that my car's much to look at).

I'm moving from Dallas where things are much cheaper (all we have are [free] huge parking lots) and I'm experiencing sticker shock with every additional thing I find need/want with me when I move. :icon17:

How's living in this area, by the way? How are the residents, community, entertainment, car scene, etc?

Any and all info on everything (literally everything, since I'm brand new to Chicago and its surrounding cities) would be greatly appreciated. I hope to meet most of you guys soon.

Regards,
Chris

Sorry, that's not anywhere near most of the frequent members here. Generally, public transportation is non-existent in MI. Parking might be dependent on the town/area you live in. Some smaller cities can be a little challenging I suppose.. but not having been to 'Lake View' - I can't say for sure..

Good luck though!

^^ Steve, he's talking about Lake View, Illinois. (Close to Wrigley Field where the Chicago Cubs play.) This area is very difficult to park in if you live there.


I would say check with the folks in the Windy City Z Club. Someone there may have some insight as to a place to park that is not too expensive. I lived in the Chicago 'burbs for 23 years. I can say that $65 a month is probably not too bad for a dedicated spot. Come Winter time, when the roads and parking spots fill with piled up snow or the snow plow scrapes the side of your car, $65 sounds pretty damn good. Good Luck!

too bad you're not in Michigan.

But check out windy city Z club and www.chicagoz.com, seems like a good group there as well.

How far is where you guys are from Chicago?

Where are all the Illinois guys? :hello:

We're about 250 miles from Chicago. Little over 3 hours. We're just launching the Great Lakes Z Club here in Michigan. At some point, we'll head to Chicago to try and hook up with the WCZC. How long will you be in Chicago?

^ I should be there for at least 5 years. So, I'll hopefully able to meet you guys, too.

As far as the Great Lakes Z Club goes, if you guys don't have your own forum or would like a sub-forum within this forum just for you guys, let me know. I can set you up with your own forum, appoint a mod, and even put a password on it so non-members can't access it.

^ lol that was one of our topics at our meeting last night

Either I or Brian (Phreakdout) will pm you about it.

Thanks!

OP -what'd you end up doing? Parking cost is subjective to several factors including but not limited to...
-Is this in a garage or outside?
-If its a garage, is it an individual garage or a parking structure?
-How close to the lake are you? The closer to the lake, the harder the parking (usually).

I haven't lived in lakeview for about 7yrs. At one place I paid $75/month in a garage with about 20 other vehicles.

I actually decided to go ahead and get the parking spot. It's outside right behind my apt, so my car is within view, but it's in an alley. I figured with the possibility of snow (and snow routes), ease of parking and having my own spot, etc, it was better to just pay for it.

edit - I just noticed that was your first post in 2.5 years. Sorry you had to waste it on me. :icon17:

Haha -yeah I do more lurking than posting. Getting a lot of good info though -just learned & did fix the reset on my windows so they don't roll down half way!

I forgot about snow routes -so yeah come winter time its worth it. Hopefully no trains are running above the alley? At one time I was living in an apt with parking below the brown line's tracks. The brake dust particles messed up the paint job on my car. Fortunately that was back when I was driving an older Accord.

I don't live within hearing distance of the train. :)

I'm glad you're getting useful info out of the forums. :thumbup: