Renting West suburbs with an enclosed yard? (Chicago, Berwyn: apartment complexes, to rent)

[debian1234]

Hi, I currently live in Chicago in Logan Square. I am happy with my living situation except my fiance and I both work in the West suburbs. We are looking to rent in the West suburbs.

Is it unrealistic to find a place with an enclosed backyard for our dogs and laundry in the unit for under 1,500? It's still technically winter so not a lot of units are out there but we were hoping to find a place in Berwyn, Forest Park, or Oak Park. Other places we like are Lombard or Villa Park.

Oak Park seems unrealistic as there's just apartments and not many multiunits. Also parking looks to be a pain with paying extra a month and we have 2 cars. Berwyn and Forest Park seem equal. Lombard and Villa Park only seem to have large apartment complexes.

We don't have kids, just dogs which are technically our kids.

Thoughts?

[ToriaT]

There are a lot of two flats in Berwyn that have fenced in yards. I have one but its rented. I have a fenced in back yard with gates. There are a lot of apartments like this in Berwyn. Maybe Forest Park too. Worth looking. I'm sure you will find places like that in Oak Park but rents will be higher. I'd stay away from the far northeast tip of Berwyn...its close to bad areas in Chicago and has a higher crime rate. If you find a place near Cermak Rd you can hop on the bus to the Pink Line.
There is also a metra stop or two in south Berwyn. Look for places between Oak Park Avenue and Ridgeland off Cermak. You can also look further west near Cermak too. Check out hotpads.com for apts.

[deeman7]

You may be able to rent a SFH Berwyn/North Riverside/Forest Park for about that price or perhaps a little more.

[ToriaT]

Yes that's true you may be able to rent a home. Look at hotpads.com Keep in mind parking might be a problem in Oak Park because they don't allow parking on the street overnight. Berwyn does.