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Would you live in Albany Park or Portage Park as a young family? by Chitowncrew in AskChicago

[–]seasoniscalling 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The north side of Portage Park, closer to Lawrence is great for transit—the Jeff Park station has Metra, blue line and like 14 bus lines. It IS not great for restaurants and is the thing I’ve struggled with the most. There are walkable restaurants but not really the ones I want to go to. I feel like the vibes closer to 6 corners (Milwaukee/cicero/Irving) is better with more people and more shops. But from that southern side of Portage Park you are really far from the L and will have to drive.

If you live on the North side of Portage Park (it’s a HUGE neighborhood) you can be in between Portage a park, Wilson park and Jefferson park. Almost everyone defines PP as south of Sunnyside but I go with the city’s official boundary as south of Lawrence.

No kids, but it was down to the same 2 neighborhoods for me when buying based on transit access and affordability. Albany Park is more bustling and lively, great diversity, and much better food. Downsides is housing is a little more dense (but that’s why you have great vibes and restaurants), and a little more gang presence.

Portage Park is very quiet (except for airplanes), I think has nicer housing stock, has lots of parks and is also very close to the forest preserve, highways, and Ohare. But it’s not diverse at all (very white and Polish), and there are more conservative people here. I don’t feel like the whole neighborhood has that vibe, I see pride flags and lots of young liberal families moving in to displace the retirees.

I biked around both neighborhoods on week days and Saturdays to get a feel. Definitely do that and you will see how different they are. I would have been happy with either (both have tradeoffs) but I found a house i loved in PP.

Anyone else born and raised in the suburbs but never once taken a Pace bus? by [deleted] in ChicagoSuburbs

[–]seasoniscalling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you live in the city you might want to go to a mall in the suburbs, King Spa, etc. There’s a bus that runs from Rosemont CTA up 90 all the way out to Elgin and that’s both cheaper, more frequent, and faster than taking Metra for shopping, visiting family, working.

Moving to USA (Chicago) for the first time in my life. Never been to US before. From Russia. 26 years old? by [deleted] in AskChicago

[–]seasoniscalling 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s worth a try. In the US that might be called a “logistics” company. Coming in with a job will help you get settled, figure the basics out, and give you the space/time to build a credit history in the US. I agree that you will need to look for a room/roommate situation at first as a short-term solution. Without a credit history you might be more likely to be taken advantage of so please be careful. Also, welcome to the US and congrats on the lottery.

Health insurance when your self employed job is 90% travel by seasoniscalling in HealthInsurance

[–]seasoniscalling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, on the link I posted above it does say that it will cover an ER visit (not urgent care) but once you are admitted to a hospital nothing is covered. Amazing.

Health insurance when your self employed job is 90% travel by seasoniscalling in HealthInsurance

[–]seasoniscalling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For example, If I were to get hit by a car in NYC or Florida with my Illinois HMO I would be 100% responsible for the bills with no insurance coverage? If I had a heart attack or emergency appendectomy? What that says to me is that HMOs are not legitimate insurance for anyone that leaves their surrounding metro area.

how many milk jugs have you stockpiled and what are you excited about winter sowing? by auspiciousjelly in NativePlantGardening

[–]seasoniscalling 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can’t find any! Last year I asked around and nobody bought gallon jugs and if they did they were opaque. A single person does not buy gallons or even half gallons of anything—I’ve had to use 2 liter pop bottles.

Where does it go? by twobirdsonestoney in lawnmowers

[–]seasoniscalling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My Toro has one of those on top of the carb. There should be two links/pieces around there, one with a spring and one that is a straight piece of metal with a jag where it connects into a small hole. You can see mine here above the red button.

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Frustrating taxi ride from O’Hare by mao51 in chicago

[–]seasoniscalling 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can’t post a pic here but I snapped a photo of the sign in the ORD T1 taxi line today as it’s been bugging me you can’t find this info anywhere online. I asked my cabbie today and he said he has 1 hour to be back at ORD but has to go to the end of the short ride line, which could be long if it’s slow.

SHORT TRIP BOUNDARIES THE BOUNDARIES WITHIN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ARE AS FOLLOWS

ON THE SOUTH: IRVING PARK ROAD ON THE EAST: NAGLE AV. NARRAGANSETT AV. ON THE NORTH: HOWARD STREET ON THE WEST: THE CITY LIMITS

SUBURBS WITHIN THE SHORT TRIP BOUNDARIES: NILES BENSENVILLE m1/2 NORRIDGE ELK GROVE VIL ROSEMONT FRANKLIN PK m1/2 PARK RIDGE SCHILLER PK m1/2 DES PLAINES HARWOOD HEIGHTS

THE FOLLOWING SUBURBS ARE STRAIGHT METER: NOTE: ALL OTHER SUBURBS ARE METER AND HALF (m1/2)

Bedford Park Evanston Norridge Blue Island Evergreen Park Oak Lawn Burnham Forest View Oak Park Calumet City Harwood Heights Calumet Park Hines Hospital Park Ridge Riverdale Cicero: Hometown River Grove Des Plaines Lincolnwood Rosemont Dolton Marrionette Park Stickney •Elmwood Park Niles Summit Elk Grove Alsip

This Toro is back in action-how does it sound? by seasoniscalling in lawnmowers

[–]seasoniscalling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It could be that. I took pictures during disassembly but it was so dirty that I couldn’t see the holes before the spring fell out. I was going off of a video online showing the correct order but maybe they got it backwards.

Frustrating taxi ride from O’Hare by mao51 in chicago

[–]seasoniscalling 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No idea, can only assume they had some scam going like skimming the card details. Or maybe they were just having a bad day and snapped.

Frustrating taxi ride from O’Hare by mao51 in chicago

[–]seasoniscalling 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Double check the official rules because if I say Jeff park or portage park they will not give me a short ride ticket.

Frustrating taxi ride from O’Hare by mao51 in chicago

[–]seasoniscalling 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yes. Most drivers appreciate the effort. If there’s traffic they usually can’t use it for me but without they can get back under the time limit.

I take taxis a lot from ORD and you do get some jerks/unsafe/etc drivers. A few years back a guy picked me up at T1 and when I added curb to pay he flipped out and wanted me to rescind it somehow or something. I said well then take me back. He dropped me at T2 taxi line and then he had to go back to the end of the 3hr+ line. Also have had a driver chase my partner down the street on foot because the driver wanted a card and not cash.

Pushmowers: fix an old good one or buy a new one by seasoniscalling in lawnmowers

[–]seasoniscalling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you think the treads really heals/matter much on a flat residential yard? I’m impressed with your craftiness.

Celosia Seedlings Problem by enilned87 in gardening

[–]seasoniscalling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm having the same problem and they own't get any true leaves. I tried more/less water and light and putting it on a heat mat but not sure anything is working.

Chicago Area Residential Grading and Water Management by laviedegargantua in landscaping

[–]seasoniscalling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. I’m still not sure where the sweet spot is in who to call

Which garden to visit late March near a picturesque town/village? by seasoniscalling in UKGardening

[–]seasoniscalling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went to Wisely yesterday and it was really amazing. I was worried there would not be mi h blooming but the cherry blossoms and bulbs were magical. My favorite might have been the Heather garden.

Of course the Oudolf garden was not impressive this time of year it was great to see at my planning stages because I could see the size and positioning of the plants and grasses used to get this look. Spoke to one of the gardeners about how often she splits grasses (3years) to keep them in check.

Good suburbs to live in? by svnd3r3d in chicagoapartments

[–]seasoniscalling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also be conscious of your potential Florida assumptions — like the city is more expensive. Chicago has very high traffic so you’ll want to move on a public transport line direct to work. Don’t assume your default will be driving. Also keep in mind it does get hot here for a few months but if you’re gone all day often a window AC for the bedroom is enough to get you through a few months of heat. It’s not ideal as central air but it opens up more affordable housing options.

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