Renting a small house outside of Chicago? (Aurora, Cicero: for sale, apartment)

[snorkel27]

I live in rural Wisconsin and hope to move to the Chicago area this summer in hopes of finding more opportunities for classes. I am 17 right now and am graduating high school this spring. I will be moving with my 19 year old sister. Between us we have enough saved to move and our budget for rent is 800-900 or less per month. I was originally hoping to get an apartment in the actual city, but since we have 3 active dogs the idea came to me to consider a small (one or two bedroom) house outside of the city. Safety is important to us as well. What I am basically asking is how far would I have to go outside of Chicago to find a small house in a safe area for less than 900 a month? Are there any places that you can specifically name that I could look into? If I can't find anything within a 1.5 hour commute (either by car/public transportation/combo of both/whatever) then I'm going to revisit the apartment idea and just deal with driving the dogs places to exercise them. Thanks!

[chisub]

That might be tough and I can't think of any area off the top of my head. For example, 2 bedroom townhomes where I live (in Aurora) are going for about $1100-1200/mo. Add 3 dogs to the mix and that could get even tougher. How big are the dogs? It won't even be about the inconvenience of having to take them to a dog park, but whether or not 3 dogs will be allowed. We had a dog in the city when we rented (I'm actually from WI as well) and it was tough finding a place with our one 9 pound dog.

I'm interested in seeing responses though b/c people seem to have good ideas!

[middle-aged mom]

Regardless of where you land, please take into consideration the cost to heat the house/apartment 6 months out of the year.


Most landlords prefer to not rent to people with multiple dogs. For those who do, many will ask for a higher security deposit and or monthly rent.

[knitgirl]

3 dogs is going to be a huge issue with many landlords, especially because you are 2 young kids.

[MaxDaddy]

Tinley Park is about 30 miles southwest of Chicago and has an older subdivision of small houses, but good size yards east of Oak Park Avenue around 171st St. You may find some houses there in your price range. There are always ones for sale that people end up being willing to lease if they can't find buyers.

You might find something with a fenced yard for your dogs. This neighborhood is several blocks from the METRA commuter train that heads downtown. You're also about 10 minutes away from Interstate 57 and 5 minutes from Interstate 80. There is a blend of older folks who have lived in Tinley for a long time and younger folks starting out and raising families. My niece lives in this neighborhood with her young family and loves it. Her grandparents live down the street in the house they raised their family in. Crime rate is not any kind of a significant issue in Tinley Park, you're safe driving around there, walking to their main street where the restaurants and some shops are (Oak Park Avenue). The village has spend some good $ revitalizing Oak Park Avenue. Might be worth checking out.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by MaxDaddy

Tinley Park is about 30 miles southwest of Chicago and has an older subdivision of small houses, but good size yards east of Oak Park Avenue around 171st St. You may find some houses there in your price range. There are always ones for sale that people end up being willing to lease if they can't find buyers.

You might find something with a fenced yard for your dogs. This neighborhood is several blocks from the METRA commuter train that heads downtown. You're also about 10 minutes away from Interstate 57 and 5 minutes from Interstate 80. There is a blend of older folks who have lived in Tinley for a long time and younger folks starting out and raising families. My niece lives in this neighborhood with her young family and loves it. Her grandparents live down the street in the house they raised their family in. Crime rate is not any kind of a significant issue in Tinley Park, you're safe driving around there, walking to their main street where the restaurants and some shops are (Oak Park Avenue). The village has spend some good $ revitalizing Oak Park Avenue. Might be worth checking out.

No way is Tinley Park close to 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Do you mean downtown Chicago?

Driving directions


maps.google.com - Print

Tinley Park, IL
Beverly, Chicago, IL

25 mins
16.7 miles - IL-50 N/S Cicero Ave