Loyola Chicago (Sheridan: apartment, rent, crime) - City-Data Forum

HowardA.J · 10-19-2007, 07:26 AM

Hello,

Is $1000/month really enough to eat, dress and play comfortably in Chicago?

I am a prospective Loyola Chicago international grad student. It will be my first time in the U.S. and im aiming for MSIT degree. seems living in Chicago is a lot more expensive than i thought

I am now trying to budget living expenses and find a place to stay. I am not worried about tuition as that will be fully paid by my employer. However, I will be given a monthly stipend of around $2100 to cover living expenses including rent, food, transportation and other bills.
After searching for a medium size studio, I am surprised at how high the rent is: ~ $ 700 and up without utilities.

I am interested in the graduate student housing and it seems to be on the expensive side ($1065 a month) considering you’ll be sharing the apartment with another two students,

On the other hand the place comes with all utilities included, gym, internet access, café, laundry, 24 hour security staff and the advantage of being close to campus and entertainment, cinema, museums and transportation.

If I take university housing, that will leave me with around $1000 to cover other expenses.
Is that enough? Maybe the situation isn't as bad as i think? or should i go to Australia

instead?

Ps: any opinion on the university ,faculty , staff is most welcome.
pls add my email to your msn messenger contacts if you can spare some time to talk about the city or Loyola :
maltarouti@hotmail.com

Majdy

Manigault · 10-19-2007, 08:09 AM

Since you are an international student, I would advise you to reside in university housing for the camaraderie and the support systems offered by other students. You monthly budget is plenty to live on -- graduate students are expected to live in genteel penury. I would also advise you to explore and discover the city on your own.

HowardA.J · 10-19-2007, 08:30 AM

thanks for the reply. i am leaning towards the university housing.
but what is "genteel penury"

?

more opinions and advices are most welcome

any Loyola grads or students around?

Manigault · 10-19-2007, 08:44 AM

Genteel penury is when you have enough money for basics and nothing else. That's when you read a newspaper online each day because fifty cents, after all, is fifty cents. The state is genteel because the university will pick you up if you fall, there is a community of people with the same limited financial resources and you realize that the status is temporary. Also, you get to have sex a lot.

Lookout Kid · 10-19-2007, 08:49 AM

If you have $1000 left AFTER housing, you'll be fine if you don't own a car. That's plenty of money to survive on a student's budget.

HowardA.J · 10-19-2007, 09:20 AM

I think driving is out of the question. Gas is expensive and traffic is a nightmare from what I read. Plus there is the student U-Pass card and the good public transport system so I won’t need a car, or do i?

The thing is; I don’t want to merely survive , I am a single 26 year old male and you know... wanna have some fun

Manigault · 10-19-2007, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maltarouti

The thing is; I don’t want to merely survive , I am a single 26 year old male and you know... wanna have some fun

Did you mention that you are a grad student? Think of a monk in his cell: Simple food, lots of study, lots of praying. Fun is for undergrads.

crbcrbrgv · 10-19-2007, 10:38 AM

Loyola is a great school. Unfortunatley, it is in a lousy neighborhood. Live in the graduate housing. Rogers Park (the Loyola neighborhood) is not very safe. Stay on the main streets i.e. Sheridan at night and don't venture along the residential streets after dark. I am not trying to scare you but I've known quite a few people to be robbed. As far as having fun, most to be had is downtown which would require you to take the EL after hours. Be very careful in this situation as robbers will literally wait for drunk college students to get off the El at night. I would consider a cheap, small vehicle that you can put maybe 60 a month or less liability insuarnce on as an alternative to public transportation.

HowardA.J · 10-19-2007, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

Loyola is a great school. Unfortunatley, it is in a lousy neighborhood. Live in the graduate housing. Rogers Park (the Loyola neighborhood) is not very safe. Stay on the main streets i.e. Sheridan at night and don't venture along the residential streets after dark. I am not trying to scare you but I've known quite a few people to be robbed. As far as having fun, most to be had is downtown which would require you to take the EL after hours. Be very careful in this situation as robbers will literally wait for drunk college students to get off the El at night. I would consider a cheap, small vehicle that you can put maybe 60 a month or less liability insuarnce on as an alternative to public transportation.

Well that’s another thing im worried about: the higher than average crime rate. Thanks for heads up.

im sure your exaggerating but OMG living like a monk in his cell?

I graduated from the toughest university in the Middle East and I hardly had any fun as an undergrad…

To be honest seems Australia is much better when it comes to safety and cost of living, but then again there isn’t much to do over there. the allure of Chicago ....

prairiestate · 10-20-2007, 02:30 AM

Rogers Park may not be the greatest neighborhood in the city, but it's certainly not the worst either. It is, very slowly, starting to gentrify on a block by block basis. Fortunately, universities typically have excellent police departments that patrol not only the campus, but adjacent areas as well. On the south side, Hyde Park is a very nice community surrounded by some very rough neighborhoods. I think having the University of Chicago police patrol a large segement of the Hyde Park area goes a long way towards keeping crime at a reasonable level in the neighborhood. They can afford to put a lot more officers on the street than the Chicago Police can. Not to diminish the fine work of the CPD, but understandibly, their resources are a bit limited. I think if you use common sense, you'll be perfectly fine. In other words, try to avoid stumbling off the El in a drunken haze at 2 am. It doesn't matter what neighborhood you're in, if you're wandering around in a drunken stupor in middle of the night, you're just asking for trouble.