Need opinions and help! Should I move my family out of the city in exchange for a bigger house/safer neighborhood? (Chicago: section 8, real estate)

[chet everett]

Unless you had fewer earthly possesions that Gandhi 1400 sq ft would have been TIGHT with even two kids in 70s , even back in the days before HD tv people did have 25" super color consoles with 8-track players and phonographs, fondue pots and whole bunches of "Mad Man era" clothes and such...

You can kind plenty of places that are maybe 2100 --2400 sq ft that are very comfortable for today's families. In the city and its narrow not particularly deep lots that is going to take at least two full floors and the larger condos / townhomes like that are EXACTLY what are the hardest to sell right now...

Newer place in the burbs, either tear downs in the more high end towns or tract homes in the areas further away, are likely to begin around 2500 sq ft but with so many cheap builders and designs of low function I doubt you'd really feel like you are getting more for your money.

Believe me, I rarely defend folks that mindlessly say "gotta live in 606xx" but when it comes to good design rarely is "bigger" any "better". An efficiently laid out 3+ bedroom home with sufficient space in the key rooms like kitchen, master bath and family room will "live" every bit as a some poorly thought-out McMansion and the space limitations in the more mature suburbs and the city itself make the odds of the finding an efficient home there much higher...

[rparz]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Unless you had fewer earthly possesions that Gandhi 1400 sq ft would have been TIGHT with even two kids in 70s , even back in the days before HD tv people did have 25" super color consoles with 8-track players and phonograps, fondue pots and whole bunch of "Mad Man era" clothes and such...

I think just the opposite. I think 1400 ft^2 3 bedroom as built in the 70's is a comfortable size.
It's not large, but it's not a two bedroom apartment, either.

Yes, more space is nicer but...

You can kind plenty of places that are maybe 2100 --2400 sq ft that are very comfortable for today's families. In the city and its narrow not particularly deep lots that is going to take at least two full floors and the larger condos / townhomes like that are EXACTLY what are the hardest to sell right now...

List it at 230k, in the city and you'll have people beating your door down. I just did a cursory search in Lincoln square....250k gets you between 500 and 900 ft^2.

Newer place in the burbs, either tear downs in the more high end towns or tract homes in the areas further away, are likely to begin around 2500 sq ft but with so many cheap builders and designs of low function I doubt you'd really feel like you are getting more for your money.

You'll be hard pressed to find places in the 2500 ft^2 range in places like Melrose Park, Berwyn, Stickney, Burbank, Oak Lawn, etc as they're all older housing stock. Remember, 20 mile radius.

Even at the edge in say, Downers Grove for a plain-jane house at 250k gets you two bedrooms at 1500 ft^2.

Believe me, I rarely defend folks that mindlessly say "gotta live in 606xx" but when it comes to good design rarely is "bigger" any "better". An efficiently laid out 3+ bedroom home with sufficient space in the key rooms like kitchen, master bath and family room will "live" every bit as a some poorly thought-out McMansion and the space limitations in the more mature suburbs and the city itself make the odds of the finding an efficient home there much higher...

All I'm saying is that what was considered normal in the 50's, 60's and 70's, is considered impossible these days. Is it really? Are things really that different, or are we just spoiled?

[jonnynonos]

I think if I had 2 kids and a wife in 500 sq ft I'd blow my brains out.

[rparz]

Imagine having just a wife in 500 ft^2. Always within earshot. I'd blow my brains out too.

[chet everett]

Lincoln Square: 2525 W FARRAGUT Ave Unit 1E, CHICAGO, IL 60625 | MLS# 08057724

Seems pretty livable for a family.

Andersonville: 1246 W WINNEMAC Ave Unit G, Chicago, IL 60640 | MLS# 08093833

Even has a crib set up for baby.

Lakeview: 935 W DAKIN St Unit 3E, CHICAGO, IL 60613 | MLS# 07970002

Not what I think of for a family, but looks spacious and has parking to boot, and that 191 day listing age screams "bring offers"...

[chet everett]

Again, can't believe I am the only person playing up the potential of what goofs call chitown, but anybody that thinks Chicago will sink into the abyss and NWI will be the region's salvation is too out there for even me to walk back off the edge...

Honestly if the OP wants to really stay close to where they are currently renting there are options that ought to be within their price range...

Originally Posted by Idealism

Definitely Indiana, if you're set on staying in Chicagoland.

You want a nice, clean, safe place to raise kids, you have to go to a nice, clean, safe place.
The City of Chicago is basically a huge slum, with a few gentrified pockets and a nice downtown (that itself is getting increasingly unsafe to travel in)

The writing's on the wall as far as Chicago goes. You can be one of the ones who heeds it and acts, or you can stick around and learn your lesson the hard way.

[chet everett]

Maybe for folks with specific needs / desires I can see the appeal of NWI, and certainly for folks trying to find an affordable spot for relocation NWI offers some advantages.

The thing I would object to is the thought that Chicago is some wall-to-wall slum punctuated with pockets of gentrification. I find the opposite to be more accurate -- an overall pretty nice city that has some pockets of persistent trouble and political leadership that is unwilling to make tough choices about streamlining education or city hiring. Frankly with the dismantling of things like the CHA even the worst parts of Chicago's former gang controlled war zones have become a whole lot less frightening, though the overall dispersal of thugs has had negtive consequences on the demands for CPD to keep crime / criminals corralled...

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by Idealism

Definitely Indiana, if you're set on staying in Chicagoland.

You want a nice, clean, safe place to raise kids, you have to go to a nice, clean, safe place.
The City of Chicago is basically a huge slum, with a few gentrified pockets and a nice downtown (that itself is getting increasingly unsafe to travel in). The catch is, even if you live in a 'nice area', anywhere you go in Chicago is going to be so close to the manure, you're going to be hard pressed to avoid the stench. It can be dealt with as a single man or college girl but raising a family here as an upright and productive person? LOL. No chance. You're just too outnumbered by parasites and animals.

The writing's on the wall as far as Chicago goes.
You can be one of the ones who heeds it and acts, or you can stick around and learn your lesson the hard way.

Where in and how long did you live in the city?

[rparz]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Lincoln Square: 2525 W FARRAGUT Ave Unit 1E, CHICAGO, IL 60625 | MLS# 08057724

Seems pretty livable for a family.

Andersonville: 1246 W WINNEMAC Ave Unit G, Chicago, IL 60640 | MLS# 08093833

Even has a crib set up for baby.

Lakeview: 935 W DAKIN St Unit 3E, CHICAGO, IL 60613 | MLS# 07970002

Not what I think of for a family, but looks spacious and has parking to boot, and that 191 day listing age screams "bring offers"...

Decent places, although I'd like to hear what the OP thinks....
With 2/3 being 3bd and Uptown isn't that great to have little kids running around the streets in, and hit or miss schools.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by Idealism

30+ years.
You aren't going to win this contest.

Ha, ok, well you are entitled to your opinion. Seems like a strange one to me but c'est la vie.

Which neighborhood left such a rotten taste in your mouth?