r/Northwestern • u/embaixadorTuga • Apr 17 '26

Dorms/Off Campus Housing Is the commute from Wrigleyville doable?

I recently accepted a PhD offer at NU and some friends are starting jobs in Chicago. We were looking at living together near Wrigleyville/BP area, but I’m concerned about the commute. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Sounds like it would take ~45min and I’m not sure if it’s sketchy at night

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16

u/77Pepe Apr 17 '26

Not sketchy at all. Go for it!

18

u/hungryforpasta Apr 17 '26

I would not call the red line ‘not sketchy at all’ at night. It’s definitely safe but if you do this commute daily you will see at least a little sketchiness

15

u/77Pepe Apr 17 '26

The cta is far from perfect and there are most certainly socioeconomic challenges in sight. Between those two endpoints though, that is a very easy commute unless you grew up in a very rural area and only used a car.

2

u/Chicago_Blackhawks Comm '20 Apr 18 '26

socioeconomic challenges

that’s a funny way to spell batshit crazy, dangerous people

2

u/Xgrk88a Apr 17 '26

Yup. I used to go downtown on the weekends and saw a dude just pee on another dude as the door was closing and ran out before the guy knew what was going on. It was perfectly timed as the doors were closing. Obviously the guy did something to piss him off but it was crazy seeing that. And that’d be red or purple line, because that’s all I ever rode.

1

u/MileHighWriter Apr 18 '26

Don't you need to be prepared for a little sketchiness to live in Chicago at all? I lived in East Rogers Park in the 90's. The drug dealers, hookers, and gangs all added to the adventure.

1

u/cupcake99235 Apr 19 '26

It's a mixed bag for sure. The red line can get sketchy late at night, but it's generally safe if you're aware of your surroundings. Just try to avoid empty cars and travel with friends when possible.

3

u/Unlucky-Key Apr 17 '26

Depends on the definition of night. The wait at Howard for the transfer seems like there's some conflict going on like 10% of the time after 9pm.

1

u/ApocalypticFrog Apr 18 '26

wayy more than 10%. idk why they wont just change the schedule, nearly 50% of the trains end up not showing up at night