But no one had to commute during the blizzard because class was canceled...majority of the faculty live outside of the city and commute in, so if you can't make it in, they probably can't either.
There are merits to living in the 'burbs and it will boil down to personal preference and past experience. I'm looking at suburbs as well and it's funny when people tell me... "*gasp* but the commute is 30mins in traffic!" I just give them this blank stare...as a Californian, a 30min commute is REALLY good, I used to commute 90mins no sweat. Just make sure you have a somewhat nice car.
oh reminds me....pool party at ADN's house in the suburbs