nice apartments in burbs w/commute to ICO (Chicago, Bridgeport: rent, student loans)

[inflammablefish]

Good evening,

My wife and I might be moving to the Chicago area pending my acceptance to the Illinois College of Optometry. We are looking for a 2 bedroom apartment with rent around $1000 or less in a nice neighborhood and schools. We will also have an 18month old child at the time of the move.

Can we expect to find housing with access to good public transportation within this budget? My wife will be working and I will be getting student loans, but we don't want to borrow so much money that we'll be paying it back for the rest of our lives.

Thanks for your help!

[tonythetuna]

What area will your wife be working in?

[inflammablefish]

have no idea about work for her. It all depends on if I actually decide to go to that school. Once I get accepted then we'll start to look for jobs. She's a school teacher, so I don't know what the job market is like in that field. We're both ready to commute where we need to, but we're just trying to get some idea of whether actually living in Chicago is feasible before I apply to school. Thanks

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by inflammablefish

have no idea about work for her. It all depends on if I actually decide to go to that school. Once I get accepted then we'll start to look for jobs. She's a school teacher, so I don't know what the job market is like in that field. We're both ready to commute where we need to, but we're just trying to get some idea of whether actually living in Chicago is feasible before I apply to school. Thanks

It will be hard to zero in on neighborhoods that would be good commutes to your school and her job until you know where those two will be located.

As far as finding a 2 bedroom in a decent area for $1000, yes it can be done.

[inflammablefish]

I mentioned in my original post that I will be attending Illinois College of Optometry. I'm not sure of what neighborhood this is considered, but the address is:

3241 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by inflammablefish

I mentioned in my original post that I will be attending Illinois College of Optometry. I'm not sure of what neighborhood this is considered, but the address is:

3241 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

To tell you the truth, I would not live anywhere close to there.

You could live in Bridgeport maybe, but you would be wise to drive to school.

[chicagojlo]

As I understand it teacher positions in CPS are hard to come by. You might be better off trying to find a job for her in a southern suburb and driving up to ICO every day.