Are Jeff Park / Irving Park / Albany Park the best options given these requirements for a first time SFH purchase? (apartment)

[ToBeSome1]

Good evening. Need some input regarding our first home purchase. Mainly, the location.

Looks like now is the time to buy while rates are low & home values seem to be climbing again, so we are ready to purchase a SFH in the summertime. Everyone I ask for help always asks "where" we're looking....so trying to get that locked in.

Condo is off-limits mainly for privacy and we want something that we won't have to worry about selling within at least 10 years. We're tired of the loud people upstairs or the kids downstairs who wrestle & shake the apartment buildings we've rented in. We don't have an agent yet & only know tidbits about real estate.

That said, we need help selecting a location. Our requirements:
- Has to be within city limits close to CTA
- The further northwest, the better [job commute driving]
- Diverse area preferred, we are a mixed/hispanic couple in our mid 20s. And to be blunt & more specific, we just don't want to be in a 90%+ white area.
- We make around 65k combined, so I'm estimating our budget at around 200k, which I'm hoping means we don't have to live in a dump/crime-ridden area.
- We don't have kids yet, so school scores aren't important.

From the research I've done, it sounds like far northwest neighborhoods are our best bet, e.g., Albany Park, Jeff Park, or Irving Park. Is a <200k, 2br house possible in these neighborhoods for a first time home buyer?

Are there any other areas we should take into consideration?

Thanks for your time & valued opinion.

[Alacran]

200gs in that area?

ehhhhh

Yeah but a slummy house.

[ToBeSome1]

Thanks for your response Alacran. We just want something decent, nothing too big, and aesthetics don't matter that much [at least to me.....girlfriend might be a different story...]. This is our first house, mid 20s, we're not into the "trendy" stuff & just live basic lives.

In those areas, how much would a decent 2br house cost us? Ads do exist under 200k, but with our non-real-estate experience, we don't know if that means slummy house or if it means small/simple/decent/basic first house.

Of course getting an agent & going out to see places would help clarify that, but right now, we're just trying to see if that budget is possible in those areas for what we're looking for.

[ToBeSome1]

Any other comments? Decent <$200k home on far northwest possible on a 65k income for a couple in our 20s with no kids [yet]?

We hope that we'll be making more money in our 30s & have kids and can move into something bigger down the line.

We work downtown[CTA] and in the northwest suburbs[driving].

Thanks, and feel free to send me a message if you prefer.