British couple moving to Chicago (Humboldt: fit in, rental, home)

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by charlieh86

Hi,
We're a couple in our mid to late 20s from London, UK and we are moving to Chicago later this year. I have never been to the city (have been to NYC a lot) and have no idea where to even start so was hoping some of you fine people might be able to help?

We will both be working around the downtown area.
Budget is approx $1,800+.

What we would like:
- one or two bedroom nice apartment (either new high rise or cool loft / brick conversions)
- good bars, restaurants, cafes, shops, etc nearby....i guess a bit arty / boutiquie
- not too far away from work. (my commute in London is 50mins and i want to cut that in half at least)
- a good vibe during both day and night without it being a college area for students
- quite like the idea of being close to the beach.

I have heard that Lakeview East (Aqua), Old Town and Lincoln Park are all nice but have no clue really.....

Any help would be much appreciated.
Charlie

When you say work is downtown..where exactly do you mean?

Anyway, I have a friend who lives at Aqua. It's a lovely building really. Great units, pool areas, gym, etc BUT honestly I'd never live there because it's a little bit aways from actual things. You have to walk a good 5 minutes to hit anything like bars and even then it's really not much and not that great of a vibe. More tourists and hotel guests and stuff more than anything in that area. There is a Restaurant/bar at the Radisson Blu but IMO I think you might want somewhere else.

Here are some of my notes.

Gold Coast
- Lived in GC for the last 3 years and like it.
- Fair share of vibe going on in certain places (i.e. Rush Street)
- Many high rises, but most high rise rentals are older (1980s and before).
- New high rises will be more expensive. Example is One East Delaware. Nice building, but the 1 bed 1 bath is a minimum of probably $1900/month.
- Check Craigslist for condos which are renting. This will ultimately be going through an individual most likely instead of a rental company. They will hire companies to do their work via Craigslist.
- Division Street has some college-type bars that are frequented by mostly college aged kids and new college grads. Stay at least a block away from there.
- There is a highly residential area of the GC where a lot of mansions are, but also have many high rises. These are nice, but you have to walk to Division to find anything to do. Very quiet, but not a ton going on.
- Not very boutiquey outside of Oak Street (but those Boutiques are high end boutiques). Not THAT artsy.
- Close to a few beaches.
- Two Red Line train stops and numerous bus stops in the area.

River North
- More high rise area, but the high rises in this area are generally newer than Gold Coast.
- More artsy and boutiquey.
- Good number of restaurants and bars around, as well as some of the nicer clubs in Chicago.
- Further walk to the beach, but not bad.
- Bus stops and Purple and Brown line train runs through here.

Old Town
- Good number of bars and restaurants around.
- Not really many high rises and buildings are older
- Brown and Purple line stop there and some bus stops.
- Nice vibe from all the bars there.
- Little bit of a walk to the beach, but not bad.

Lincoln Park
- Mostly college aged and college grad territory for the most part.
- Many different types of shops, restaurants, bars.
- Bus stops and different types of public transit available (purple, brown, red line and buses).
- Further walk to the beach, probably best to take public transit.
- Some high rises in there, but most will be older or not a high rise.
- Still within a 25 minute commute to downtown if you take the train.


All the areas are nice and pretty safe, but it's a matter of what you want. They all have good vibes in their areas really and all of them except Gold Coast is pretty artsy and boutiquey. Gold Coast is more of a "money" mentality in places, but the vibe is still fine in areas. You will find more local, affordable places to eat everyday in all areas but the GC (except a few places). My opinion anyway.



IMO, all

[VinceB3]

Apartment complexes in Chicago don't really have room for negotiation. Generally they'll offer incentives if you sign fast (discount on certain move-in fees, application fees, etc) However, rarely do they budge on the price. If you find a place you're in love with and can see yourself staying there long term, I would try negotiating with the length of your lease. Some places will offer a discount if you're willing to sign longer than a year.

REMEMBER!! - You're trying to find a place to rent, not to buy. Ofcourse you want the best apartment, etc but if you are short on money and have a tight budget, you may need to focus on a few options that are most important to you and chill out a bit on the criteria.

Anyway, my advice is to definitely work with someone licensed. Don't work with any professionals requiring that you pay a commission, generally a landlord offers the commission to the agent helping you find your apartment.

[charlieh86]

Awesome - great help and thanks to everyone for their input. Am torn between highrise or old building........are furnished apartments common in Chicago? So far, i think Old Town & Lincoln Park are standing out to me as good choices......

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by charlieh86

Awesome - great help and thanks to everyone for their input. Am torn between highrise or old building........are furnished apartments common in Chicago? So far, i think Old Town & Lincoln Park are standing out to me as good choices......

Furnished apartments are not as common here. There are a few out there, but you definitely shrink your pool of potential apartments if that is one of your key criterias.

[ToriaT]

I am not really fond of Old Town...just my personal preference. Forty years ago I would have given anything to live there but it seems like a place that time has passed. Nothing wrong with it. Lakeview, River North, Lincoln Park are all good suggestions....go up the lakefront to around Addison and look for buildings there if you like highrise and near the lake living. Other places mentioned are more neighborhood like. If you want to keep close to the downtown area, skip old town and go to Armitage and Sheffield and explore around there. Mostly old historical buildings and not high rise but very upscale. Brown line and buses too. Nice shopping there and around.

Another thought: In the sixties Old Town was the hippest thing going. I recall begging my mom to take me there, before I could go there myself. We went and it was so cool. We bought copies of the Seed and we ate at one of the restaurants where you could throw peanut shells on the floor. We shopped at the original crate and barrel. In later years it became so over commericialized and hosted a ripleys believe it or not museum and a wax museum and the neighborhood became tawdry. That said there ae still some nice areas around St. Michaels church.

[Chicago60614]

Any ideas where you're working in the downtown area? It's easily a 40 minute walk from one end to the other. There are train stations and dozens of bus lines, but where you work will make a difference on how far it will take you to get to work.

[charlieh86]

Hi Guys,
Thanks again - will be taking this all into account.
Regarding criteria - am pretty relaxed but don't want to settle on something that isn't in a good location and nice...thats basically it. If any of you have been to London then you'll know that it is very very spread out and lots of old houses, etc........i am not looking for that but i am looking for somewhere that has a good vibe and community feel. Somewhere were there are lots of bars, cafes and restaurants right around the corner.

What are the big furniture stores in Chicago?

I will be working near west madison and south lasalle street in downtown.

Thanks again.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by charlieh86

Hi Guys,
Thanks again - will be taking this all into account.
Regarding criteria - am pretty relaxed but don't want to settle on something that isn't in a good location and nice...thats basically it. If any of you have been to London then you'll know that it is very very spread out and lots of old houses, etc........i am not looking for that but i am looking for somewhere that has a good vibe and community feel. Somewhere were there are lots of bars, cafes and restaurants right around the corner.

What are the big furniture stores in Chicago?

I will be working near west madison and south lasalle street in downtown.

Thanks again.

There's houses and everything here and the Chicago *area* is really spread out, but the city itself in many areas is not. You will get the community feel and vibe in numerous areas. River North, Old Town, Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Logan Square, etc etc etc. Many areas.


Furniture stores? Depends on how much $$$$ you want to spend. There's furniture stores at all price levels really.

Your work location is nice. There's a Purple/Brown/Pink/Orange line stop right near you as well as Blue Line, then Red Line is just a few blocks away. You could pretty much live in a lot of places with this and still have an easy commute.

[themag62]

I am baffled as to why some think Old Town meets the 'artsy' criteria. What kind of artsy are you looking for?

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by themag62

I am baffled as to why some think Old Town meets the 'artsy' criteria. What kind of artsy are you looking for?

What kind of artsy do you think they're looking for?