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I've gone through some of the forum pages and plan on checking out Craigslist for a few days to get a better idea, but before I spend that time, could I please ask if this is possible:
I am considering moving to Chicago once I do get a job offer before moving. I'm likely looking at $30k salary for a number of years. Assuming this, which could I expect to find affordable rents of up to $1k, less better, for a 1bdrm or studio at minimum 400 sq feet with the following? I am NOT expecting perfect and can adapt:
Up to one hour-45 min commute by the L to downtown. I can easily walk up to mile to the station daily.
Entertainment, nightlife, and all the other things transplants look for NOT IMPORTANT and want to avoid raising my rents. In fact, the calmer, the better.
Safe w/ street smarts--meaning it is enough that I can walk around alone up to 10pm while not carrying anything I couldn't stand to lose if robbed, never drunk, watched ahead for any sketchy or deserted spots, and stayed in lit areas. Primarily just want to avoid issues of more than an occasional nearby shooting, frequent muggings, drug free parks at day, or rampant house burglary.
Easy access to grocery stores b/c no car. I've previously walked a half mile with a backpack and hands full of groceries no problem weekly.
BONUS: Nice local park or good library in neighborhood. If not, then I'll just take transit to better ones or the main branch library downtown.
As long as the rents are affordable and likely will not increase too much each year before reaching $1k, I can be flexible in neighborhood choices. I've commuted to jobs on foot 2.5 miles each way or 1 mile to transit before as long as I'm not dealing with dangerous spots to avoid, deserted industrial zones or secluded pedestrian bridges, etc. Spent years in Buffalo, NY, walking around too into the evening, so the winter weather doesn't bother me that much when prepared properly.
I lived in Seattle for a year and had to leave because the rents started increasing by double digit percentages annually from all the new movers (like me.) I want to avoid the same issue if I choose Chicago. Again, my salary will likely be stuck at $30k until I go to vocational school to learn a licensed trade for better job prospects.
I'm trying to decide between Chicago, Philadelphia, and returning to Buffalo instead. The only information I was suggested about Chicago was that around the Brown Line can be affordable such as Albany Park?
$30K salary will be more like $22,000/year net not counting any insurance you have to pay for. Do you have much if any debt, first of all? With that being said, if you get paid $20,500/year after taxes and insurances, then that's probably $1700/month. Then factor in any utilities, plus $100/month for unlimited public transit usage, any cell phone and/or tv and/or internet charges, toilettries, food, etc. My suggestion is to get something for no more than $700 or $750/month which is doable I think.
Your first criteria is easy - this is just not something you'll have to worry about. I'm also not sure why you single out transplants as if they are the only people interested in dining, nightlife, etc. But anyway...you should be able to find a studio for under $1000/month easily and I'd definitely try and spend less. The thing even about Chicago is that even in the areas with nightlife and what not going on, the residential areas even a block or two by are quiet. Not sure about your 400 sq ft thing, but I'd lower that down to like 275 sq ft, when you think about it for a studio is not THAT small unless you have tons of ****.
Albany Park is cool - diverse and stuff. You could find some cheap ethnic grocery stores there too. I'll put a few down I found within the city that is in that range though.
* 4200 N Pulaski Rd # 1N, Chicago, IL 60641 is For Rent - Zillow - Irving Park, pretty safe. Grocery store near by, along with blue line stop that runs 24/7 into the Loop (~30 or so minutes). Also goes to O'Hare and it's near the interstate. A park nearby as well as a large one a short bus ride to the east.
* 3623 S Hermitage Ave APT 1F, Chicago, IL 60609 is For Rent - Zillow - McKinley Park. I don't know this area THAT well but it's quiet. Maybe some light gang activity but I'm not sure where in the area. Not too far from a train stop. This place is actually a 2 bedroom and near the park of McKinley Park.
Of course there's more. I would also suggest looking in the suburbs, unless it is an absolute requirement to live in the city of Chicago.
It sounds like you want to have as low of rents possible while having a moderate commute downtown, and you care about convenience to groceries & general things more than "hip" amenities.... Really, anywhere by a train or bus that goes downtown will work.
My first thought was the red line or brown line north of Irving Park, or the blue line in Logan Square or past it (most expensive options depending on how close you live). The pink line might work if you're OK with a working class Latino neighborhood. The orange line is fine. The red and green line areas south of downtown are OK down to like 35th street. Depending on where you work downtown, you could also situate yourself by a bus route that will take you there (apartments are cheaper near buses rather than trains... our bus system is really easy to navigate btw).
You'll make your life easier in the future if you figure out whether a prospective vocational school is downtown, and if not, which area it's in. Chicago is huge and far commutes across town suck.
I would skip the south side entirely. I think that some places like "Old Irving Park" might be good...just yesterday I visited a friend who lives on Christiana near Irving and there were a lot of apartments there that would probably be cost effective. Albany Park, Portage Park might be two other options. Make sure you live near the L or subway at least near a street you can take a bus to where you need to go.
Old Irving Park off the Blue line was my first thought too. I used to live 3 blocks from the train in a really nice 3 br apt for $1200 a month. There is a cheap grocery store called Tony's Finer Foods nearby (compare the address to the apts you are looking at though if you don't want to be too far away from it), I was about a 10 min. walk from there. It's incredibly quiet, dead at night, and probably took around 35-45 minutes to get to downtown from the train. Another bonus is that since it's so northwest comparatively, you won't have trouble getting on the train in the mornings during rush hour.
All I can speak is that I live in Pilsen, about a block from the Pink line and love it (I'd say 15 min from loop). I can walk to 5 grocery stores (no more than .3 miles one way I'd say). My unit is incredibly affordable--about $700 for a 2 bedroom. I can also say that a good amount of affordable Pilsen units are not advertised on Craigslist.
Regardless of what you choose, good luck! It's a great city and I am very grateful to have moved here.
I would skip the south side entirely. I think that some places like "Old Irving Park" might be good...just yesterday I visited a friend who lives on Christiana near Irving and there were a lot of apartments there that would probably be cost effective. Albany Park, Portage Park might be two other options. Make sure you live near the L or subway at least near a street you can take a bus to where you need to go.
Why? Nothing in their message says they should skip areas like Hyde Park, Bridgeport, or even McKinley Park. These are all areas that are not expensive, not wild, but pretty safe and have transit to the Loop. Irving Park would be good too - I already included an apartment listing from there. I agree about Pilsen too if you can find a place. There seems to be less and less available.
Your first criteria is easy - this is just not something you'll have to worry about. I'm also not sure why you single out transplants as if they are the only people interested in dining, nightlife, etc. But anyway...you should be able to find a studio for under $1000/month easily and I'd definitely try and spend less. The thing even about Chicago is that even in the areas with nightlife and what not going on, the residential areas even a block or two by are quiet. Not sure about your 400 sq ft thing, but I'd lower that down to like 275 sq ft, when you think about it for a studio is not THAT small unless you have tons of ****.
Sorry, I worded myself poorly. I meant as It'sAutomatic noted, that I am looking to avoid all the "hip" amenities and popular neighborhoods that people are choosing as my primary goal is lowest comfortable rents possible and general affordability. Until I make more money, I must accept living within my means primarily.
I'm considering only the city for easy access to the L.
It sounds like you want to have as low of rents possible while having a moderate commute downtown, and you care about convenience to groceries & general things more than "hip" amenities.... Really, anywhere by a train or bus that goes downtown will work.
My first thought was the red line or brown line north of Irving Park, or the blue line in Logan Square or past it (most expensive options depending on how close you live). The pink line might work if you're OK with a working class Latino neighborhood. The orange line is fine. The red and green line areas south of downtown are OK down to like 35th street. Depending on where you work downtown, you could also situate yourself by a bus route that will take you there (apartments are cheaper near buses rather than trains... our bus system is really easy to navigate btw).
You'll make your life easier in the future if you figure out whether a prospective vocational school is downtown, and if not, which area it's in. Chicago is huge and far commutes across town suck.
Yes, exactly. Most of my first year or two will be saving as much up for tuition and reading up on what licensed trade I would want to study, so cheap stuff like parks, library, walking around just to see different parts of the city. I figured that after I get to know the city better and what trade to study, I can later move closer to the vocational school of choice if necessary. Working class neighborhoods aren't a problem for me. If the buses aren't terribly slower than the trains, I will take those too.
It is good to know that as long as I am willing to be flexible in choice and not expect perfect neighborhoods, I can still be able to live well enough in Chicago. I was worried because I don't know anything about the city and have just enough savings to move and a few months' expenses. I'll make sure I have a job before moving.
Why? Nothing in their message says they should skip areas like Hyde Park, Bridgeport, or even McKinley Park. These are all areas that are not expensive, not wild, but pretty safe and have transit to the Loop. Irving Park would be good too - I already included an apartment listing from there. I agree about Pilsen too if you can find a place. There seems to be less and less available.
I can deal with some amount of unpleasant/crime--street harassment and homeless if not violent, been followed before and just ducked into a store, never walk around drunk, one rare shooting blocks away, keeping my (past) car empty so never broken into, always look around and keep alert, don't stay out late in sketchy spots, never carry expensive stuff and used to walking alone at night. Even light level of gang activity is acceptable if it just stays within itself and people participating in the crime not on my block or along the ways to the train/bus/park/library. (That's something I have to learn myself of which blocks in specific neighborhoods to avoid. I can't expect people to tell me that much detail.)
The only things I don't want are daily gang shootouts where people get caught in the cross fire, where homes get broken into often, drug use in the parks and needles left around, violent muggings even during daylight or with crowds, deserted industrial neighborhoods, or strong levels of racial tension. I don't want to repeat chasing away a burglar in the middle of the night, crawling away from windows during shootings, or avoiding parks because the gangs took it over or needles around.
Sorry, I worded myself poorly. I meant as It'sAutomatic noted, that I am looking to avoid all the "hip" amenities and popular neighborhoods that people are choosing as my primary goal is lowest comfortable rents possible and general affordability. Until I make more money, I must accept living within my means primarily.
I'm considering only the city for easy access to the L.
I understand that, but I don't think you understood what I meant. Which is fine because you are unfamiliar with the city. I'll say it again - there are neighborhoods that people do move to, such as Lakeview, that have these things, but not everywhere in them is the same and the rent is a lot less expensive than you'd think at some places. I could still find you a studio for $750/month in Lakeview if I really wanted to and it's not necessarily "hip" in the immediate area. There are other areas of town like this. I'm not recommending Lakeview, though I think that there are great parts of it that are nice and quiet, and not that expensive, but you have the wrong idea if you think that everywhere even in the well known neighborhoods is just some expensive, loud, hip thing no matter where you go. I think you'd be surprised by this.
I don't know how experienced you are with big cities, but it doesn't seem like you have a lot of experience in them (this is not meant to be taken as offensive - just an observation). Unless you live right directly on a main commercial strip or within 200 feet of one, you aren't going to be hearing anything. Even then, most commercial strips in town are actually fairly quiet. Only a handful in small areas are not, I'd say.
I think people have this image in their head that the entire neighborhoods where transplants move to in Chicago is just full of crap and parties and blah blah blah. That's not true really. Sure there are pockets of that, but just because I tell you to look in Lakeview (just an example) doesn't mean that you are going to be surrounded by a bunch of transplants.
Quote:
@marothisu
I can deal with some amount of unpleasant/crime--street harassment and homeless if not violent, been followed before and just ducked into a store, never walk around drunk, one rare shooting blocks away, keeping my (past) car empty so never broken into, always look around and keep alert, don't stay out late in sketchy spots, never carry expensive stuff and used to walking alone at night. Even light level of gang activity is acceptable if it just stays within itself and people participating in the crime not on my block or along the ways to the train/bus/park/library. (That's something I have to learn myself of which blocks in specific neighborhoods to avoid. I can't expect people to tell me that much detail.)
The only things I don't want are daily gang shootouts where people get caught in the cross fire, where homes get broken into often, drug use in the parks and needles left around, violent muggings even during daylight or with crowds, deserted industrial neighborhoods, or strong levels of racial tension. I don't want to repeat chasing away a burglar in the middle of the night, crawling away from windows during shootings, or avoiding parks because the gangs took it over or needles around.
None of the areas I listed have a lot of crime, which should have been apparent by how I was saying they weren't that dangerous or anything. I would not lead you into a neighborhood that is full of gang shootings everyday. That's just frivolous. McKinley Park may have the most, but it's not that much. It's basically a pretty sleepy family type of neighborhood. There was 1 homicide in August 2013 in the area I showed you. Before that the last one was in February 2011. Before that it was in October 2010. I have friends who play soccer and badminton in the park of McKinley Park nearby and never told me they felt in danger or anything. That was of course during the day.
I will agree that Irving Park may be better, but Hyde Park is simply one of the best neighborhoods in Chicago. Anybody who would toss out living there is crazy. The rents are cheap for what it is and it's a great, safe neighborhood. It's not a party area at all (U of Chicago is similar to an ivy league school). Very quiet, but nice.
Last edited by marothisu; 02-17-2014 at 03:15 PM..
If you can make the same $30,000 salary anywhere, why not live where it's cheap? $30,000 is almost middle-middle class in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, which really are quite nice cities if you choose your neighborhood carefully.
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