Neighborhood close to Evanston? (Chicago, Arlington Heights: affordable apartments, for rent, crime)

[malinowskiscanoe]

Good morning!

I'm lecturing part-time at Northwestern next year and commuting from Indiana to stay during the week. Can anyone recommend a neighborhood close to Evanston that is reasonably priced- accessible by public transportation, around $500-550 per month to rent a room, and is safe for a single female (my class ends in early evening). The neighborhood on craigslist that keeps appearing is Rodgers Park. Any thoughts?? Is there another popular housing guide that Chicagoans use besides Craigslist? Thank you very much!

[chet everett]

You would be nuts to try to skimp so much -- odds are anything so cheap would be at elevated safety risk. There are some very very rough pockets in Rogers Park...

Where in Indiana is home? How many days a week are you going to need to be in Evanston? How little are they paying you?

[nana053]

Originally Posted by chet everett

You would be nuts to try to skimp so much -- odds are anything so cheap would be at elevated safety risk. There are some very very rough pockets in Rogers Park...

Where in Indiana is home? How many days a week are you going to need to be in Evanston? How little are they paying you?

Rogers Park is fine in general and Edgewater is another option. Stay along the red line for ease of commute to Northwestern. You might also be able to find a room in someone's home in Evanston. Several people I know rent to students and they have a bedroom with kitchen privileges if that is something you would be interested in.

[chet everett]

Rogers Park -- Crime in Chicagoland -- chicagotribune.com

Rather sobering level of sexual assaults recently in Edgewater -- Edgewater -- Crime in Chicagoland -- chicagotribune.com

[ToriaT]

Your best bet is to try to rent a room in a home in Evanston. You might be able to find such a thing.

Rooms for Rent - Shared Evanston

Roommates Listings in Evanston, IL | Oodle Marketplace

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/roo/5143277121.html

[4122]

There are some really bad areas of Rogers Park, especially the parts by Evanston. The areas that are fine are right by the lake and the areas by West Ridge.

You could also look right by Northwestern. Colleges typically have affordable apartments near the campus so students can live off campus if they wanted to. My daughter's friend goes to Northwestern and is renting out an apartment for about $600 a month. My daughter went to her apartment and showed us pictures of it and it looked pretty nice.

[asliarun]

Although Rogers Park is rough in general, some parts (such as the ones near the tracks or more to the East) are quite hipsterish and artsy and definitely have a very trendy urban grungy underground kind of vibe. So if you are into that, it is a great place to live. Attend the Rogers Park art festival and you will get a good idea of the vibe.

Evanston itself will probably give you some options even at your price point. There are tons of apartments in Evanston to be had in all sorts of prices. And since it is so compact, you could literally walk to work or cycle to work.

And do consider the cost savings of transportation. You will probably spend about $5 a day on trains or buses which adds up to $100 a month. So if you up your budget to $600-$650, you will find even more options in Evanston downtown itself.

Then there's Skokie. It is literally next door like Rogers Park. Not sure about train connectivity but I think bus connectivity should be there.

[ChiAreaGuy]

Well if you want to stay safe.....
500 dollars a month won't work my friend.
If you raise price to 700 dollars, you won't live that close to Evanston,
But you will know that no one's gonna steal parts from your car the next day, and you'll probably sleep without waking up to much parties.
So... Palatine, Arlington Heights maybe? Sure it's still a bad area, but better than all these folks above say.
Train connectivity might be a problem though.
So might have to use car.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by ChiAreaGuy

Well if you want to stay safe.....
500 dollars a month won't work my friend.
If you raise price to 700 dollars, you won't live that close to Evanston,
But you will know that no one's gonna steal parts from your car the next day, and you'll probably sleep without waking up to much parties.
So... Palatine, Arlington Heights maybe? Sure it's still a bad area, but better than all these folks above say.
Train connectivity might be a problem though.
So might have to use car.

She will be working at Northwestern and wants to rent a room, not have an apartment of her own. Palatine and Arlington Heights will not work for that commute either. The trains would not go into Evanston and get her to Northwestern without going downtown.

[damba]

Right, but near Northwestern, $600 means you are sharing an apartment. The OP's likely looking to live alone.

cheers

Originally Posted by 4122

There are some really bad areas of Rogers Park, especially the parts by Evanston. The areas that are fine are right by the lake and the areas by West Ridge.

You could also look right by Northwestern. Colleges typically have affordable apartments near the campus so students can live off campus if they wanted to. My daughter's friend goes to Northwestern and is renting out an apartment for about $600 a month. My daughter went to her apartment and showed us pictures of it and it looked pretty nice.