Live in Chicago and commute to Hammond? (college, income)

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

Where is your place of employment in IN? I swear this is a deja vu thread; there was someone else who was working in Indiana and wanted to live in Lincoln Park.

CN: This will not end well.

You are right. I think there are like 6 threads that mention the almost exact same situation.

Here is the last one:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/chica...e-options.html

[mit_e_duck]

Sorry if it seems like my thread is identical to other but I don't think it is. The thread you linked to discusses commute times and such. Again, what I'm more concerned with is how much rent and what lifestyle I can afford in Chicago. Neighborhood does come into play in lifestyle but it's not the focal point. I see that south loop will be at least ~1300 plus parking, utilities, etc. Do you think it's doable/safe for someone in my position to pay that much while still enjoying nightlife, occasional restaurants, and sporting events? I know I won't be living "models and bottles" but I just want to know what reasonable.

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by mit_e_duck

Again, what I'm more concerned with is how much rent and what lifestyle I can afford in Chicago.

Did you look here? :

Got questions about chicago? Start here

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by mit_e_duck

Sorry if it seems like my thread is identical to other but I don't think it is. The thread you linked to discusses commute times and such. Again, what I'm more concerned with is how much rent and what lifestyle I can afford in Chicago. Neighborhood does come into play in lifestyle but it's not the focal point. I see that south loop will be at least ~1300 plus parking, utilities, etc. Do you think it's doable/safe for someone in my position to pay that much while still enjoying nightlife, occasional restaurants, and sporting events? I know I won't be living "models and bottles" but I just want to know what reasonable.

Using the old standard of 30% of your gross income (but I like to use net), you could afford 'up to' 1875 on housing per month (that includes all utilities.)

I personally don't like to spend more than 27% of my net on housing, but YMMV.

[knitgirl]

How often are you planning on going out every week? When they're paying you 75k as a recent grad, they are going to be expecting a lot out of you. To me, it makes the most sense to be closest to the place I'll be going most often - especially if I'm starting at 8 or 9 a.m. I would think you'd be able to live a lot cheaper in IN - you'd probably be able to afford a limo occasionally for those nights when you don't want to have to worry about driving. Otherwise I really think South Loop is the furthest north you should be.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by mit_e_duck

Sorry if it seems like my thread is identical to other but I don't think it is. The thread you linked to discusses commute times and such. Again, what I'm more concerned with is how much rent and what lifestyle I can afford in Chicago. Neighborhood does come into play in lifestyle but it's not the focal point. I see that south loop will be at least ~1300 plus parking, utilities, etc. Do you think it's doable/safe for someone in my position to pay that much while still enjoying nightlife, occasional restaurants, and sporting events? I know I won't be living "models and bottles" but I just want to know what reasonable.

We understand you're more interested in neighborhoods to accommodate your lifestyle versus details about the commute. But the reason we're telling you about the commute is because the issues are interrelated. If you're spending 3 to 4 hours a day commuting to and from work, that doesn't leave a lot of time to indulge the lifestyle you're after; and chances are you may not have the energy either after slogging through that commute for a few weeks. So realistically, you'll be doing the vast bulk of your partying and eating out and what-not on weekends; and accordingly, living right in the best and busiest nightlife district may end up being for naught if you can't make use of it for most of the week.

This is another reason why South Loop makes sense; it has enough variety that you can walk down the street and have options for the occasional bite to eat and/or a quick beer or two on weeknights, and you'll have easy access to the bigger, better nightlife districts on weekends.

You should be able to do considerably better than $1300 in South Loop. Decent-quality studios start in the $800-$900 range, possibly even including some utilities. However, be wary of what some rental agencies call "South Loop" -- anything further south than about 18th Street is getting a little far afield. A specific area to check out is Printer's Row -- even an expansive understanding of Printer's Row keeps you squarely within the heart of South Loop.

BTW, another neighborhood that makes sense for similar reasons -- though not so much for the bar scene -- is Chinatown. It's even further south than South Loop, it's a darned interesting neighborhood, the commute will be that much more manageable, and parking would be a little easier.

[chirack]

Hyde park is another place. It is a nice quite area. It may lack night life but it is both far enough south to seriously cut your commute to work while being near lake shore drive to get you to Lincoln park and other more party friendly areas quickly.

[Drover]

The issue with Hyde Park is that it's a) a little sedate by Chicago nightlife neighborhood standards, and 2) very isolated from the less sedate nightlife areas.

[SJaye]

Originally Posted by Drover

The issue with Hyde Park is that it's a) a little sedate by Chicago nightlife neighborhood standards, and 2) very isolated from the less sedate nightlife areas.

Would you consider Bridgeport to also be too sedate? It connects to a lot of night life areas via the Red Line, and is pretty cheap.

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by SJaye

Would you consider Bridgeport to also be too sedate? It connects to a lot of night life areas via the Red Line, and is pretty cheap.

Bridgeport itself is pretty sedate, but like you said - you can connect to the good stuff via the red or orange line. The only thing that sucks is if you're west of Halsted, the walk to the redline is pretty annoying. When I lived at 31st and canal, it was an annoying walk.