visiting -places to stay?

<p>Thanks for the information about the shuttle. Is a taxi really only around $20? </p>

<p>Yes, I'm a senior. I think the overnight stay is a great idea, I just hope it's not too late! I'm visiting on October 11. I really love what I've heard about the school so far. I love the core. Love the idea of being in an intellectual environment. I love that's it's quirky (I've never really quite fit in in school, I have a weird sense of humor and well, I love learning). Now it's time to put the ideals to the test!</p>

<p>blindkite,</p>

<p>Two of us are not trying to mislead you regarding cab fare! Yes, it is quite a bargain, given the time saved, compared to the shuttle!</p>

<p>O'hare is a different story, though. Cab from Hyde Park to there can set you back $60!</p>

<p>Another possiblity for local accomodations for your mom (while you're doing the overnight in the dorms and if the International House doesn't work out) is the Ramada Lakeshore. It's fairly cheap ($115-ish) and pretty close to the school. Not really walking distance but close enough. It is a...well-used hotel, definitely on the shabby side but clean.</p>

<p>I would think the I-House option would be better all around, but if it's filled up, you could try the Ramada.</p>

<p>While I do think that the drive down 55th street from Midway airport will give one a really flavorful view of what it means to live in a city, I would not think of the bus systems as unsafe. The 55 is vital for U of C students, and I have taken the 59, the 63 and the 4 buses in the past, both day and night with a friend or two (buses that make similar stops to the 55 but drop off in less savory neighborhoods). The 55 is crowded enough and used to seeing U of C students enough that I wouldn't hesitate to go it alone, young white female that I am.</p>

<p>However, logistically speaking, you're probably going to have an easier time with your luggage via a taxi or shuttle. Also, I'm a seasoned city-dweller.... the 55 could be a little intense for a nervous high-schooler and a mother.</p>

<p>The 55 didn't bother this nervous mother or her daughter. The bus driver could tell where we were going and let us know when our stop was coming up. And D took it by herself when she went back on her own. But like unalove, we're used to the city.</p>

<p>This is all really helpful advice. It's pretty scary going to a city without knowing anything about it. I'm from a small town in Colorado, and I'm definitely not used to it. </p>

<p>So it's settled, we're definitely staying in the I-house, we've made reservations, and I'm thinking a taxi from midway will be the best option. I guess I chose the right airport.</p>

<p>You definitely chose the right airport (O'Hare to U of C is a loooong way), but I would vote for the 55 bus, too, unless it's raining and/or you have lots of luggage (you would have four blocks to walk once you got to the university). It leaves right from the airport, it isn't going to take that much longer than a cab (except for the walk at the end), and it costs $1.75/person. Plus, if your child winds up at Chicago, he or she will be on it frequently.</p>

<p>^^^ This is true. However, one's first experiences with the 55 are in largeish groups (O-Week, house trips) and one has some time to get used to the urban landscape. I imagine that if you're coming from small town Colorado, it might be a bit of sensory overload.... just the way my going to small-town Colorado would scare me if for nothing more than I'm not used to it.</p>

<p>I just want to reiterate that the Ramada is really quite acceptable. We just stayed there to drop off my son for Orientation (and for our first introduction to U. Chicago). The university rate was $109/night. For that we got a concrete rather than lake view, but we also got mitigated traffic noise. I had been led, from comments on CC and elsewhere, to expect rundown and seedy but was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness and friendliness of the place. We DID walk to the campus and back, being seasoned walkers. I'd guess it was maybe 1 - 1.5 miles from the Ramada to the heart of campus. You can walk along the lake and then cut over on 57th street (or earlier) if you would like a more scenic route, or, if you'd like to get a taste of the city, you can cut over more directly via the Hyde Park route. The main problem with the Ramada is the lack of proximity to restaurants for dinner. There is a restaurant right next door which is fine for breakfast, but just mediocre for dinner, and, if you have any vegetarians in the group, there are very slim pickings. We ended up having dinner delivered one night (the hotel desk has lots of menus for places that deliver) and that worked. Of course, if one has more energy, one can eat dinner near campus, or one can head up to downtown, but we found after a day of hiking around Hyde Park and UChicago that we just wanted to hunker down at the hotel. </p>

<p>We had rented a car because of having to transport dorm equipage, and we found the drive from Midway up Cicero across on Route 55 and down Lake Shore Drive to be a breeze around noon on a Thursday. Coming from the Boston area, I was impressed by the relative LACK of traffic, but then we were driving only in the off hours and then on Saturday morning for the move-in. We hit the Target near Roosevelt to pick up dorm stuff we didn't want to bring on the plane, and it was also thoroughly acceptable -- almost Ikea-like in its strategies for facilitating the shopping experience. Employees went out of their way to greet us. </p>

<p>We couldn't be happier with our first visit to the place where we had already dropped a significant amount of dough.</p>

<p>pesto -
"Coming from the Boston area, I was impressed by the relative LACK of traffic"</p>

<p>Its all relative, isn't it! And congrats on being a new UChicago parent!</p>

<p>pesto,</p>

<p>You just haven't driven the right roads at the right time. Try driving from Hyde Park to the north side anytime on weekends or during rush hour. </p>

<p>Or try driving to Oak Park on a weekend. </p>

<p>Try driving anywhere on the north side east of the Kennedy Expy any evening or anytime on weekends.</p>

<p>The problem is that the south side of Chicago has rather depopulated over the last 15 years, as the high rises along the Ryan were taken down and Chicago continued its aggressive demolition program of abandonded buildings. That's why to us old timers Garfield Blvd looks so spooky. While right now, the stretch east of the Ryan is mostly deserted, when I was at UofC in the very early 1980s, there was a thriving black community along the street, including a grocery store (the remains of which still stand) many small business and such. 63rd was the same way. And most of the surrounding blocks were not vacant land, but rather full of apartment buildings. </p>

<p>Now, much of the zone south of Bridgeport/47th st. and east of Western Ave. is depopulating still. But this will change at some point, as whole blocks are cleared and sold for re-development.</p>

<p>interestingly, this process is already well underway in the zone east of the Kennedy between roughly 47th north to downtown. As recently as 1999, there was little residential housing or services south of Roosevelt road, and not a whole lot north of Roosevelt to the loop. That has radically changed in just a few years. What was once a truly dangerous area (you old timers may remember the area north of 47th?) has been radically transformed into a middle class urban housing enclave. </p>

<p>IF anyone visits for parents weekend and has a car, please drive north on Drexel or even MLK and note the changes. You may be surprised!</p>