Jefferson Park and Portage Park (Chicago, Lincoln: real estate, apartments, rent)

[loufalu]

How are these areas as far as:

Safety:
Rent:
Transportation to the City:
Stores/Rest/Things to do:

Thanks guys!

[Drover]

Safety: Among the safest neighborhoods in the city, though Portage Park can get slightly ragged along its southern border (Belmont corridor).

Rent: Portage Park will be cheaper than Jefferson Park, which in turn will be quite a bit cheaper than the "fanfare" neighborhoods on the North Side such as Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Bucktown/Wicker Park, etc. Expect a decent-quality 1-bedroom to start at about $750/mo in Portage Park, and about $800/mo in Jefferson Park. Add about $125 to each for starting rent on a 2-bedroom. To get an idea of what your money will get you, check out Chicago Reader Spacefinder and use the filters to select the neighborhood, # of bedrooms, etc. Many ads will include pics.

Transportation To City: Jefferson Park is extremely convenient because it is the convergence point of a Metra train line (two stations), the CTA Blue Line (one station) and the Kennedy Expressway. This is why Jefferson Park is more expensive than Portage Park.

Portage Park is only convenient in the very northeast corner of it where there is access to the Jefferson Park Metra and CTA stations, the Metra Mayfair station and the Kennedy Expressway. The further west and south you go in Portage Park, the more you have to rely on unpredictable bus lines to connect you to train stations to get you downtown, or the more street-level traffic you have to endure to get to the expressway.

Stores/Rest/Things To Do: There are plenty of grocery stores and what-not in each area, so you'll never have to drive too far to do a grocery shop. There are also lots of mom-and-pop storefronts in each. As for things to do, well, these are not "nightlife" neighborhoods. They are bedroom neighborhoods with kids and families. Portage Park in particular has a major Polish contingent. And by "Polish" I don't mean "they are the 3rd-generation descendants of people who came here in the 20s and 30s." I mean "they just got off a plane from Warsaw last April." The bars in both areas are local hangouts (which in Portage Park means your English-speaking self may be considered something of an interloper unless you can converse in Polish) and the restaurants serve down-to-earth food. But the advantage to living in Jefferson Park is that you have access to lots of "hip" nightlife spots via the 24/7 Blue Line (direct access to Bucktown/Wicker Park) and the 24/7 Lawrence bus line (direct access to Lincoln Square, Uptown, Andersonville, indirect access to Lakeview/Wrigleyville and Lincoln Park via connecting 24/7 bus lines or the CTA Brown Line that runs pretty late into the night).

[loufalu]

Thanks again! Does anyone know of any Real Estate contacts I can use? (I am looking to rent)

[Drover]

The Apartment People
The Homestead Group
Apartment Finders
North Clybourn Group

Portage Park and Jefferson Park may be a little far to the northwest for some of these agencies, but I know for a fact that The Apartment People and The Homestead Group will service that area if they can find landlords willing to list with them up there (not many are, but you can try anyway). You can also check out classified listings, some from mom-and-pop landlords, some from management companies, at Craigslist and The Chicago Reader classified listings, using appropriate filters. Chicago Reader tends to return more accurate results because it uses a neighborhood list drop-down, whereas Craigslist uses the keyword method, and slick management companies like to throw in neighborhood keywords so their apartments will show up in your results even if they're nowhere near the neighborhood you're filtering for. In those cases, it might be helpful to have a reference map of the neighborhood you're actually looking to live in, and then click the "map" link to see if the results actually lands in that neighborhood by cross-referencing to your "neighborhood reference map."

[loufalu]

Once again Drover to the rescue!! Thanks again!!!! Well I just want a list because I will be there from Nov 1 - Nov 5. During that time I was to visit differnent agencies.

Thanks Drover!

Originally Posted by Drover

The Apartment People
The Homestead Group
Apartment Finders
North Clybourn Group

Portage Park and Jefferson Park may be a little far to the northwest for some of these agencies, but I know for a fact that The Apartment People and The Homestead Group will service that area if they can find landlords willing to list with them up there (not many are, but you can try anyway). You can also check out classified listings, some from mom-and-pop landlords, some from management companies, at Craigslist and The Chicago Reader classified listings, using appropriate filters.