Where should I live in Chicago if I take a position at IIT? (Champaign: apartments, renting)

[cycleback]

I am considering taking a position at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) main campus. Where in Chicago should I considering living?

What neighborhoods should I be considering?

How safe is the area around IIT?

The campus looks fairly well served by public transportation including the CTA red and green lines and a Metra station. I plan on renting an apartment or condo at first.

Requirements:
-Easy parking for 2 cars. I need to drive my car to other cities regularly and my partner also needs a parking spot. I will be commuting on weekends to Urbana-Champaign.

Things I Like:
-Short commutes
-Easy access to public transportation
-Safe and low crime neighborhoods
-Other interests include ultimate frisbee, sailing, windsurfing, biking
-I think I would prefer to live in a more urban area
-Relatively low cost but nice housing options.
-Asian grocery stores
-Easy access to green spaces

[ToriaT]

Here is my opinion. I would look in the South Loop or the Taylor st. area. I am not currently familair with the area around IIT so I can't comment on it. Now as far as rents go they could be on the expensive side in the south loop or Printers Row maybe as most are new or recently renovated lofts or larger buildings. Parking could be a problem there unless it comes with the building. Still you might be able to find something. Taylor St. area around UIC has a lot of students not from IIT but it does probably have some older buildings with cheaper rents. Mostly street parking. There are parks in this area, of course you do have the lakefront parks too. Asian stores...you can go to Chinatown easily from these areas. There are others that might suggest south side neighborhoods such as Bridgeport, Hyde Park or Pilsen but I am not that familar. Failing these areas you could try to look at the north side neighborhoods that are closer in such as Wicker Park, Bucktown, Noble Square or Ukrainian Village but you have to keep in mind public transporation, as it seems IIT is served by the red line or the green line. You can always transfer to one of these lines downtown.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by cycleback

I am considering taking a position at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) main campus. Where in Chicago should I considering living?

What neighborhoods should I be considering?
What do you want from a neighborhood,

How safe is the area around IIT?

The campus looks fairly well served by public transportation including the CTA red and green lines and a Metra station. I plan on renting an apartment or condo at first.

Requirements:
-Easy parking for 2 cars. I need to drive my car to other cities regularly and my partner also needs a parking spot. I will be commuting on weekends to Urbana-Champaign.

Things I Like:
-Short commutes
-Easy access to public transportation
-Safe and low crime neighborhoods
-Other interests include ultimate frisbee, sailing, windsurfing, biking
-I think I would prefer to live in a more urban area
-Relatively low cost but nice housing options.
-Asian grocery stores
-Easy access to green spaces

McKinley Park.

It's cheap and it's fairly safe.

You can take the 35th Street bus straight to campus, or make a 15-minute bike ride on nice days.

You have the CTA Orange Line to downtown and then points beyond.

There's a huge park anchoring the neighborhood

On-street parking is fairly easy and off-street parking will be relatively cheap (by Chicago standards anyway).

You're less than a mile from Chinatown and its numerous Asian groceries.

You're about 2 miles from the lake and the lakefront bike path.



As for the area around the campus itself... immediately around the campus and north is fairly safe but you're still advised to keep an eye on your surroundings. The condition of the neighborhood deteriorates pretty rapidly heading south.

Ultimate resources:

http://www.ultimatechicago.org/

http://pickupultimate.com/map/city/chicago#1401

[cycleback]

Is living in one of the Northwestern neighborhoods feasible? Any other neighborhoods on the red or green lines I should look at?

[It'sAutomatic]

The area around campus is alright, though a little sparse. Bridgeport, the neighborhood immediately to the west, is nice.

[Manigault]

I think you should consider Hyde Park, also. It is close to IIT with lots of the faculty and staff living in the neighborhood. There are employment options for academic partners, too.

[rparz]

I couldn't even really fathom an answer other than take your requirements and wish list and pick half (maybe less) of those things because nothing like that exists.

[ClassicStyle]

If you work at IIT, you are directly east of Bridgeport and Canaryville, which are a couple of the nicer and safer areas on the south side. The two neighborhoods have mostly Irish, Oriental, and Italian ethnicities and the surrounding communities are mostly black and latino.

You could walk to either neighborhood but I would not recommend it. If you took the 31st or 35th street bus, WEST to Union, you would be in Bridgeport.
It's Mayor Daley's old stomping grounds. If you took the 43rd st. bus, WEST to union, you would end up in Canaryville.

They are relatively safe and both places have many IIT students living in neighborhood apartments. Bridgeport is more expensive. Canaryville has a developer that rehabs homes and turns them into apartments for students. They are usually pretty cheap.

Get the Bridgeport Neighborhood newspaper. You might get a place.
Good Luck.

T

[Drover]

There is no 31st Street bus, and the 43rd Street bus is a solid mile-plus from the campus. Could always scoot down the Green Line to 43rd though.

[valpoguy]

South Loop is going to come closest to having everything you say you want, I think, if it meets your affordability standards. McKinley Park and Bridgeport also have most of the things you want, and are more affordable, but are much less urban feeling and further from the lake than South Loop (especially McP). All three of these are relatively safe areas, near major parks, and close enough to China Town for Asian grocery needs. B'Port is most convenient to IIT of all of these.

The Taylor area is nice enough, but doesn't have as many of the things that you say you're looking for, IMO.

Oh, and I should add that none of the "more urban" areas in Chicago, including South Loop, have easy parking unless you're willing to pay for it.

I think your decision is going to come down to your definitions of "more urban" and "relatively low cost". The ideal balance between these variables is tricky to find and is relative to what you're used to. If you're coming from NYC or San Francisco, all of Chicago will be "relatively low cost". If you're coming from Iowa, all of Chicago will be "more urban".