Working near Old Town, looking for family friendly neighborhood (Chicago: affordable apartments, rentals)

[MeandmyLlama]

Hello,

I am possibly taking a job near Old Town in Chicago and I am looking to find an affordable neighborhood to rent in.
I have a baby so it has to be family friendly. A nice park and market nearby is a huge plus. We dont need nightlife too close, but a good neighborhood bar within walking distance would be nice.
I would be looking for an easy commute by bus/train/bike, but I am willing to go farther away to get a better value for the money.

Any help would be appreciated.

[richrf]

It would be helpful to know your budget and what kind of housing you are looking for.

There are plenty of families living in the area. Some in nearby Lincoln Park. Others around Oz Park (on Webster). Some north of Old Town along Clark Street and Lincoln Ave. If you look around the Webster/Halsted area you will see lots of young families. Getting from there to Old Town is a bike ride which I might not necessarily do in the winter. But you have options. More affordable is the Lincoln Square district where there are tons of families but getting from there to Old Town is a bit more awkward since there is no direction bus or train.

All of this depends upon your budget.

[chet everett]

With a baby the need for schools is several years out, so getting to know the bizarre hoops one needs to jump through for access to the better selective admissions schools within the Chicago Public School System would be possible.

Extensive redevelopment in and near Old Town has dramatically increased the range of housing. There are many higher end rentals and desirable single family homes. Budget sounds like it may be a concern. Commuting to Old Town from other north side areas is not particularly difficult, though comming from the West or South could mean delays through the crowded Loop stops. I disagree that "Lincoln Square is the most affordable", in fact my sister lives in a single family home in Lincoln Square and although the area is popular with families and less costly than the Gold Coast or Lincoln Park it remains among the pricisest of Chicago's Northside areas.

[chicagobear]

I would look to see if your job is closer to the Sedgwick stop on the Brown Line or the Clark and Division stop on the Red Line and then look at neighborhoods which are also on those lines.

[It'sAutomatic]

Originally Posted by richrf

More affordable is the Lincoln Square district where there are tons of families but getting from there to Old Town is a bit more awkward since there is no direction bus or train.

All of this depends upon your budget.

Brown line and Lincoln Ave bus, actually.

There are a lot of relatively affordable new houses and condos in western Old Town.

[MeandmyLlama]

Thanks for the replies.

Here is some more info on our situation:

We are only looking to RENT for the first year.
Max. budget is $1300-$1400 for a 2 bedroom apartment. We would prefer a 2/3 family home if possible rather than an apartment complex, but we could be flexible.

The job looks like it is closest to the North/Clybourn stop on the Red Line. We have been looking in neighborhoods as far north as Wrigleyville. How long would that commute by train be? Its hard to tell from looking at a map. Does the Wrigleyville area get crazy on game days?

What about some of the neighborhoods to the west? It looks like Logan Square has a few affordable apartments. Any specific areas to stay away from there?

[hindukid]

How about Andersonville? Its on the red line so the train ride will be about only 20 minutes. Its relatively quiet, super cute and pretty affordable. Wrigleyville would be about 7-10 minutes closer but more expensive and lots more drunk kids.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by MeandmyLlama

Thanks for the replies.

Here is some more info on our situation:

We are only looking to RENT for the first year.
Max. budget is $1300-$1400 for a 2 bedroom apartment. We would prefer a 2/3 family home if possible rather than an apartment complex, but we could be flexible.

The job looks like it is closest to the North/Clybourn stop on the Red Line. We have been looking in neighborhoods as far north as Wrigleyville. How long would that commute by train be? Its hard to tell from looking at a map. Does the Wrigleyville area get crazy on game days?

What about some of the neighborhoods to the west? It looks like Logan Square has a few affordable apartments. Any specific areas to stay away from there?

Luckily, the commute by train is pretty fast in most areas as long as you don't live ridiculously out of the way. For example, if you used the Addison Red Line stop which is where Wrigley Field is, it would only take you 7 minutes, 10 max. If you were at the Belmont stop (in Lakeview) which is south of that, it would take 5 minutes, maybe 7-8 max.

Both of those areas have families living in them and much to do. There is a lot of nightlife and I know you said you didn't need it, but be aware that there are some main streets which could get loud. Luckily, the side streets are tree-lined residential usually and get quiet.

Another possibility I will present to you is Ravenswood or Lincoln Square. It's a little north of Wrigleyville, but I would say it's more family oriented and everything. It's actually where the Mayor lives. The brown line goes through there, so if you needed red line, you would take about a 10 minute ride to the Belmont stop, get off the train, walk about 10 feet forward on the same platform, and catch the Red Line, which would be another 5 minutes to N/C stop. Lincoln Square has a little more going on, but Ravenswood still has markets and restaurants and such..

As someone else pointed out, Andersonville too is a good area.


As far as west goes, Logan Square is gentrifying I think. Some hipster type of people live there, but it's not a bad area or anything. Definitely up and coming. Areas to avoid is probably a good chunk (not all) of Humboldt Park, Garfield Park, Austin.

Bucktown is another area you might want to look at. You might be able to find a place in your budget there. It's north of Wicker Park which is a hip area that used to be bad and now has a lot of stuff going on with it and has some expensive condos and such. Bucktown to the north is still kind of hip, but a little quieter.

[tbone105]

You could look out on the Brown Line in Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, and Albany Park. Commuting to North/Clybourn means a transfer from Brown to Red at Belmont, but not a big deal. This area is extremely family friendly and close to transportation, plus there are some excellent public schools in these neighborhoods...some with PreK which starts at 3 if your kid turns 3 before the school year starts....so it will be here before you know it! This website allows you to see the best Chicago public schools for your rental budget: schoolsparrow.com. good luck!

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by richrf

It would be helpful to know your budget and what kind of housing you are looking for.

There are plenty of families living in the area. Some in nearby Lincoln Park. Others around Oz Park (on Webster). Some north of Old Town along Clark Street and Lincoln Ave. If you look around the Webster/Halsted area you will see lots of young families. Getting from there to Old Town is a bike ride which I might not necessarily do in the winter. But you have options. More affordable is the Lincoln Square district where there are tons of families but getting from there to Old Town is a bit more awkward since there is no direction bus or train.

All of this depends upon your budget.

Darn, how direct do you want from Lincoln Square to Old Town? The brown line has a stop at Sedgwick (OT) and Western (LS).