Any advice on how to help a friend find a place to live in the city of Chicago? (Evanston: apartments, for rent)

[prhill]

I have a friend in Miami who visited the city last fall and loves it so much here he wants to move here real bad. Problem is he can only afford to pay rent of 800 a month, maybe 900 at the most. He is used to having a large one bedroom for less but would settle for these tiny city studios if he has too.

And he would prefer living downtown/Gold Coast area but would settle for Lincoln Park/lakeview. I have helped him out as much as I can and tried to let him know that money does not go as far here as it does in most places and that paying the insane rents here for such a tiny room is crazy but he is willing to do that just too live in the city.

Problem is even with settling for a tiny place and not living downtown it still seems impossible to find him a place. I have walked around and contacting places that have signs up. I also contacted this apartment people agency I saw and explained the whole situation to them and they actually said finding him a place in those areas with what he can afford would be no problem. But then after reading tons of reviews from people that used that service it is clear they say a lot of things that are not true so I do not want him using them. If anyone knows of a better service to use please let me know.

I have looked on apartment websites as has he and seriously I would love to know what all of these people do in order to make a living in order too afford these rents! This city is filled with endless wealthy people. I would love to know what they all do as I clearly I am in the wrong career!

Any advice would be appreciated. He wants too live here so bad and I do keep explaining too him though that not only are rents here insane and for small rooms but also the cost of living here is bad which is why people keep leaving not only the city but Illinois. But as depressed as he is getting over hearing that he is still determined to find a way

[beaniemac]

Originally Posted by prhill

I have a friend in Miami who visited the city last fall and loves it so much here he wants to move here real bad. Problem is he can only afford to pay rent of 800 a month, maybe 900 at the most. He is used to having a large one bedroom for less but would settle for these tiny city studios if he has too.

And he would prefer living downtown/Gold Coast area but would settle for Lincoln Park/lakeview. I have helped him out as much as I can and tried to let him know that money does not go as far here as it does in most places and that paying the insane rents here for such a tiny room is crazy but he is willing to do that just too live in the city.

Problem is even with settling for a tiny place and not living downtown it still seems impossible to find him a place. I have walked around and contacting places that have signs up. I also contacted this apartment people agency I saw and explained the whole situation to them and they actually said finding him a place in those areas with what he can afford would be no problem. But then after reading tons of reviews from people that used that service it is clear they say a lot of things that are not true so I do not want him using them. If anyone knows of a better service to use please let me know.

I have looked on apartment websites as has he and seriously I would love to know what all of these people do in order to make a living in order too afford these rents! This city is filled with endless wealthy people. I would love to know what they all do as I clearly I am in the wrong career!

Any advice would be appreciated. He wants too live here so bad and I do keep explaining too him though that not only are rents here insane and for small rooms but also the cost of living here is bad which is why people keep leaving not only the city but Illinois. But as depressed as he is getting over hearing that he is still determined to find a way

OK, this is NOT happening unless we're talking about roommates.

You'd be hard pressed to find 1BR apartments ANYWHERE in chicago for $800.

[prhill]

Right but what about a studio as I mentioned he is willing to settle for a tiny studio which I think is nuts for what they charge but he is willing

[SameMeDifferentUserName]

Tell your friend that his budget and downtown/Gold Coast location parameters will make it nearly impossible to find a place to live.


I did find this on Craigslist

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/5983980848.html

[prhill]

Originally Posted by SameMeDifferentUserName

Tell your friend that his budget and downtown/Gold Coast location parameters will make it nearly impossible to find a place to live.


I did find this on Craigslist

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/5983980848.html

Thanks that actually looks like a good deal!

[Clark&Addison]

Honestly, rents in Chicago really aren't that crazy, keep in mind that you are asking to find a one bedroom in basically the most desirable 4 neighborhoods in the entire city of 2 million plus people. No one would consider living in LP/Lakeview "Settling". Also $900 is a pretty low budget for someone with a white-collar type office job, which is who you will mostly find living in the neighborhoods you mentioned.

That said, you can find some studios in LP and Lakeview for less than $900. I would use domu.com.

[beaniemac]

Originally Posted by SameMeDifferentUserName

Tell your friend that his budget and downtown/Gold Coast location parameters will make it nearly impossible to find a place to live.


I did find this on Craigslist

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/5983980848.html

that's shocking. but 300 sq ft, is EXTREMELY tight.

[prhill]

Originally Posted by Clark&Addison

Honestly, rents in Chicago really aren't that crazy, keep in mind that you are asking to find a one bedroom in basically the most desirable 4 neighborhoods in the entire city of 2 million plus people. No one would consider living in LP/Lakeview "Settling". Also $900 is a pretty low budget for someone with a white-collar type office job, which is who you will mostly find living in the neighborhoods you mentioned.

That said, you can find some studios in LP and Lakeview for less than $900. I would use domu.com.

So Lakeview a studio can be found under 900 ok I will check into domu.com thank you! IDK about 900 being low budget for someone with a white collar job though. I think it depends on the job. I am an accounting clerk myself and 900 is a lot for me to pay for rent! Although you could dump the car and save on that but then you have to pay for CTA

Oh I forgot too mention too that I understand from some people that have lived on the North side that roaches can be a big problem so is that another concern if paying under 1000 for a place in the city?

[MassVt]

Look outside the most expensive neighborhoods in Chicago, and he might have a chance. He would have better odds if he was able to find a decent roommate situation, which would get him acclimated to the city a bit easier. Try NW Chicago, along the Blue Line, or maybe Evanston, when all the college kids finish school in May. Chicago isn't cheap, but it's not NYC or SF, or even Boston, in terms of housing costs....

[prhill]

Originally Posted by MassVt

Look outside the most expensive neighborhoods in Chicago, and he might have a chance. He would have better odds if he was able to find a decent roommate situation, which would get him acclimated to the city a bit easier. Try NW Chicago, along the Blue Line, or maybe Evanston, when all the college kids finish school in May. Chicago isn't cheap, but it's not NYC or SF, or even Boston, in terms of housing costs....

Yeah he was thinking about doing the roommate thing. Sounds like his best bet