Decided to move to Chicago (Lincoln, Pittsburg: apartments, for rent, credit card)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ive chosen to move to Chicago. Ive been offered a job as a records analyst
at a law firm. The reason Ive chosen Chicago is because its seems to be culturally
simmular to where Im from (Pittsburgh). Despite all that Ive read I still have some
questions about the city.
1 what is the topagraphy like? (pittsburgh is a very hilly city)
2 how easy is the city to navigate? (in pittsburgh streets twist and turn
which make it a pain to drive around)
3 how bike friendly is the city? ( I enjoy mountain biking only in
pittsburgh its tough cause of hills and twisty streets)
4 how easy is the public transit system? ( i dont have a car and don't
plan on getting one soon. pittsburghs system is very confusing )
Ive seen nice apartments online Ill look at when i get there. Most of them are
in a neighboorhood called gold coast. Pittsburgh is a city of nieghboorhoods and
I understand Chicago is a city of nieghboorhoods as well.
the next question I have is what are the diffrent neighboorhoods in the city
like?
Ive chosen to move to Chicago. Ive been offered a job as a records analyst
at a law firm. The reason Ive chosen Chicago is because its seems to be culturally
simmular to where Im from (Pittsburgh). Despite all that Ive read I still have some
questions about the city.
1 what is the topagraphy like? (pittsburgh is a very hilly city)
2 how easy is the city to navigate? (in pittsburgh streets twist and turn
which make it a pain to drive around)
3 how bike friendly is the city? ( I enjoy mountain biking only in
pittsburgh its tough cause of hills and twisty streets)
4 how easy is the public transit system? ( i dont have a car and don't
plan on getting one soon. pittsburghs system is very confusing )
Ive seen nice apartments online Ill look at when i get there. Most of them are
in a neighboorhood called gold coast. Pittsburgh is a city of nieghboorhoods and
I understand Chicago is a city of nieghboorhoods as well.
the next question I have is what are the diffrent neighboorhoods in the city
like?
Congrats on the job!
1. It's very flat here. Very few actual hills. That could be a good or bad thing.
2. A lot of the city is on a grid system. What you need to do is memorize some streets which will come with just being here. For example, knowing that Jackson and State meet up, knowing that Division is South of North Avenue, etc. There are a few interesting areas in the city, but I'd say the "hardest" thing is some intersections in areas like Lincoln Park and the street signs that go with them. There are some intersections where 4 different streets might intersect and the street signs are a little confusing sometimes about which street is which. There aren't many of these places around the city though. Most of Chicago is a grid.
3. Chicago is very bike friendly. Many people ride their bikes for many reasons - job (delivery, courier, etc), to get to work, or just for fun. There's not a day that goes by where I don't see people riding their bikes around. Also if you want an uninterrupted bike ride, there's miles of path along the lake.
4. The public transit system isn't too confusing. Yeah sometimes you have to make transfers, but it's kind of like the street thing above. You learn in time which trains will get you to what neighborhoods or sections of what neighborhoods. The fare cards are easy too. You can either pay cash/credit for a temporary flimsy pass that you insert into the turnstile area, or you can get a Chicago Card which is RFID and can hook into a credit card automatically. You just tap the card against the turnstile for your fare.
I live in Gold Coast and it's nice, but not for everyone. There's a ton of neighborhoods and would take too long to explain all. Instead, what type of environment are you looking for, how much you want to spend on rent, what kind of commute time max you want (and where you're commuting to)?
1. It is flat as a pancake. Very few hills in the city.
2. Chicago is on a grid system that is easy to use once you learn it.
3. Not sure here might depend on what route you take. Former mayor was crazy about biking and so put bike paths on many streets, but I personally would fear riding a bike on a street in traffic.
4. Check put Deprecated Browser Error for CTA information. Downtown Chicago (aka. The loop is the easiest place to get to via public transit).
It would be better to tell us how much you are willing to pay for rent, where you need to commute to, and what you want in a neighborhood. Because if that law firm is located in the burbs then getting there via public transit could be difficult to impossible. Where it is located vs. Where you are located makes a big difference here.
Whats your age and budget? Are you looking for nightlife? Are you single? What are you in to? We can help you choose a neighborhood if we know more about you.
Public trans is very good in Chicago. You will learn to love it. If you ride your bike leisurely, I would recommend you live close to the lake shore paths.
As everyone else has said Chicago has to be one of the flattest cities in America and it's laid out on a near perfect grid which makes it super easy to navigate -- even for newcomers. If you're sub-25 I wouldn't suggest the Gold Coast. Tell us your budget and your interests and we'll suggest some great spots for you though!
If you're sub-25 I wouldn't suggest the Gold Coast.
Disagree. I wouldn't suggest it for ANY sub-25 year old, but I have lived here since before I was 25 and have loved it all the way through. Around where I live there's actually a decent number of younger people and it's the same in some other areas. NOW, if you want to move to the Gold Coast north of Division Street, then I'd completely agree. Definitely not for someone even under 30 or 35 unless you're settled down. There's a lot of other areas, if you can afford it, which are completely fine for even a 23 year old.
thank yo for all the advice. The most i can afford is 1100
a month but the apartments i saw online were alot less (975,900,and 700)
All of these are located in the gold coast. the neighboorhood in pittsburgh
where i lived was full of activity. this mighy have been due to the fact that the
university of pittsburgh was. I really liked that area because of all the activity
I would like to find a neighboorhood in chicago that has lots of resturants,stores and
public transportaion.
thank yo for all the advice. The most i can afford is 1100
a month but the apartments i saw online were alot less (975,900,and 700)
All of these are located in the gold coast. the neighboorhood in pittsburgh
where i lived was full of activity. this mighy have been due to the fact that the
university of pittsburgh was. I really liked that area because of all the activity
I would like to find a neighboorhood in chicago that has lots of resturants,stores and
public transportaion.
I'd be very cautious about anything less than about 950-1000/month in the Gold Coast. The average price is over $1100-$1200/month even for a studio/convertible. My coworker got a place for $750/month here and he describes it as "ghetto" and a bunch of undesirables hanging out always in/around his place. I pay just over $1300/month for a 1 bedroom and for a few years before that, it was almost $1400/month (reduced my rent!). My building is 30 years old and I have some amenities like a 24 hour door staff and a gym, but there's buildings in the area better than mine. They charge even more than me. My building probably represents around the average for the area.
For your budget, I would go out of downtown in all honesty. You can make your money work for something much better in other areas. With your budget and what you want, I'd suggest Lakeview, North Center, Lincoln Square/Ravenswood. Maybe Ukrainian Village.. If you can find stuff within your budget too, you could give Wicker Park, Bucktown, and various parts of Lincoln Park a shot (you'll probably have the most luck with Lincoln Park out of those, and maybe parts of Bucktown?). There's also places like Logan Square and Pilsen which are kind of hipster-ish or alternative. There's some rough around the edges parts you want to stay away from and other parts which are good. They're a little more artistic areas too on average.
There are tons of areas in the city with a lot of stores and restaurants. Downtown is not the only place definitely. There's stuff spread all over the city even in places you would never expect too...Downtown isn't bad, I like where I am, but there's definitely not as much of a neighborhood feel down here as you'd get in many other areas of the city. It's easy to fall for the "glamerous" downtown, but for your budget, I'd look outside of downtown. There are many great neighborhoods here that many would consider better than downtown easily.
The areas that marothisu described are good areas, but they assume that you are working or need to commute downtown (aka the loop) or are working somewhere on the north side. If either of those is not true then you may have a bad commute to work. Last place you want to be is say on the northside when the job could be on the far south side or certain burbs esp. when you need to use transit.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
