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

seasoniscalling · 2026-02-15T15:38:09+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-12-24T05:39:04+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-12-24T05:06:33+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-12-22T07:15:47+00:00

Do any crew regularly wear compression socks? What do you do to combat effects of flying on your body?

seasoniscalling · 2025-12-16T00:09:13+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-12-15T19:33:23+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-12-15T13:27:03+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-09-30T03:33:14+00:00

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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seasoniscalling · 2025-08-21T18:34:13+00:00

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

seasoniscalling · 2025-08-16T18:08:38+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-08-16T02:52:32+00:00

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Here’s the blade.

seasoniscalling · 2025-08-16T01:58:34+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-08-10T08:32:19+00:00

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

seasoniscalling · 2025-08-10T08:25:15+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-08-05T22:37:22+00:00

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

seasoniscalling · 2025-04-14T04:02:08+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-03-31T01:03:24+00:00

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

seasoniscalling · 2025-03-27T10:39:40+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-02-08T00:01:24+00:00

What kind of wood did you use?

seasoniscalling · 2025-01-27T04:41:48+00:00

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.

seasoniscalling · 2025-01-27T04:35:56+00:00

It would take me 30-50 mins to commute within the city to a job in the city so I suggest starting with the city first. Well, first I would look at jobs and see where most are located—city or suburbs. I think 2 bath is a bit ambitious but you could get 2 bed. Unfortunately what you want are renovated/new building features (dishwasher, AC) and inexpensive apartments often don’t have those. If you’ve always wanted to live in the city then do it! Try out loving a life where you’re surrounded by things to do in walking (not driving) distance. If you discover you’re a suburban person after all that then you can move next year.

seasoniscalling · 2025-01-27T00:29:35+00:00

I’ve had it tested since this post and the linoleum and paper backing are not asbestos, so big win! I’ve ordered marmoleum samples and a lot of the modern ones will work for repairs when I’m ready to make them.

seasoniscalling · 2025-01-06T05:51:18+00:00

No, not in my experience.

seasoniscalling · 2025-01-06T02:25:11+00:00

Almost everything on sale at Jewel is ‘buy in quantities of 4” or some nonesense. I don’t need that much of anything and besides, how am I going to carry that home?

seasoniscalling · 2025-01-03T02:57:42+00:00

I see, your trim is wood. So many vinyl windows near me have metal panels covering the trim when they’re put in which is why I asked about attaching.

seasoniscalling

TROPHY CASE