Help: Flight Attendant Moving To Chicago. Got A Question. (Addison: real estate, luxury)

[ApostolicFlightAttendant]

I'll try to make this short and simple. I'll be based in Chicago (ORD Airport) and I am looking for an apartment that is close to ORD Airport (or at least the blue line). I also still want to enjoy everthing Chicago has to offer. Now lets talk money. I can afford up to $650 for a one bedroom apartment. I do have a car but would prefer to use the Blue Line as gas prices are horrible right now. NYC Native here. Every now and then however, I dont mind driving to the airport to work.

Again, needing an area that is close to ORD Airport, on the blue line, willing to pay up to $650 for an apartment (not a room and really dont want just a studio). Still want to enjoy all the benefits Chicago has to offer. What area's should I be looking into?

Thanks for all your input.

[Avengerfire]

Try Portage Park,Jefferson Park,Irving Park,Avondale or the O'Hare area around Cumberland-in the city.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Try Portage Park,Jefferson Park,Irving Park,Avondale or the O'Hare area around Cumberland-in the city.

I think you might want to :

a) plan on spending another $100/175 a month ($800 is pretty fair price for a 1BR north/northwest

b) get a roommate and your money will go farther ALOT farther -- like 2BR for $900 or there abouts -- for $1300 you'd be 'almost luxury' with all the overbuilt condos to choose from

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I think you might want to :

a) plan on spending another $100/175 a month ($800 is pretty fair price for a 1BR north/northwest

b) get a roommate and your money will go farther ALOT farther -- like 2BR for $900 or there abouts -- for $1300 you'd be 'almost luxury' with all the overbuilt condos to choose from

Yes,your suggestions makes sense as more of a general range,but there are deals to be found in the areas I mentioned or very close to them.

If anything maybe the poster could ditch their car and then the price issue would change...

[Avengerfire]

Most of these are not in the areas I first mentioned-but then again most of the landlords in those areas do not use Craigslist or the Chicago Reader. The poster needs to get some of the neighborhood newspapers and they can find similar deals in the areas I first mentioned.

2 room studio Heated
AVAIL MAY 1ST- 1 Bedroom, HEAT INCLUDED-NO DOGS
1 BR + DEN HARLEM/IRVING
West lincoln park garden studio 6/1

Chicago Reader Classifieds | Real Estate | Housing for Rent | OLD IRVING PARK.
Chicago Reader Classifieds | Real Estate | Housing for Rent | 3705 WEST ADDISON.
Chicago Reader Classifieds | Real Estate | Housing for Rent | ONE BEDROOM, HWFL
Chicago Reader Classifieds | Real Estate | Housing for Rent | Apartment - Irving Park and Pulaski
Chicago Reader Classifieds | Real Estate | Housing for Rent | Budlong Woods 1BR / Catalpa
Chicago Reader Classifieds | Real Estate | Housing for Rent | ONE BEDROOM

[ApostolicFlightAttendant]

Nah, cant ditch the car. Just purchased it after being carless for 4 years. Gotta have my car (smile) however I do thank you for all the information. Keep the post coming.

[NearWestSider]

Originally Posted by ApostolicFlightAttendant

Nah, cant ditch the car. Just purchased it after being carless for 4 years. Gotta have my car (smile) however I do thank you for all the information. Keep the post coming.

If you look at a map of the Blue Line, you'll see that proximity to it gives you a pretty wide spectrum of options. Each L stop adds roughly 3 minutes to your commute.

The upscale, gentrified New Chicago along the Blue Line runs roughly from Racine on the West to Logan Square on the Northwest. Any of the adjacent neighborhoods along that stretch are easy to recommend to newcomers, and you can balance the tradeoff of proximity to downtown vs. proximity to ORD to you satisfaction following the three minute rule.

The hard core ghetto starts a couple of stops West of Racine, and old-school Chicago starts a couple of stops northwest of Logan Square.

The old-school neighborhoods are quiet, and definitely less expensive. The Northwest side is not my personal favorite, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and you really can't go wrong there.

[chet everett]

The NW blueline is the most reliable part of the CTA (well the orange is good too, but ridership is very low..). The prices for rentals are pretty solid all along that corridor. There is quite a bit of demand for decent apartments, city workers/teachers, commuters, airline employees (hey!) all shop the Blue Line.

Is is cheaper than the Gold Coast? Of course. And there are pockets of overbuilt condos that will drive down prices and eventually rents, but it is fairly pricey.

I have no idea what NWS in mind by suggesting there is "hard core ghetto" on the Blue Line to Ohare -- simply not the case. I won't dispute the assertion that the patch near say Racine & Grand is the roughest area close to the Blue Line, but the city police and CTA make a concerted effort to keep the immeadiate vicinity safe -- reports of travelers from downtown to Ohare being endangered in any way would no doubt cause his mayorness to go into a sputtering rage...

The City has a little web app that allows you to sort of search for crime around specific intersections, though you are limited to 2 week intervals, so it distorts quiet periods -- Chicago Police Department CLEAR MAP - Crime Incidents

Originally Posted by NearWestSider

If you look at a map of the Blue Line, you'll see that proximity to it gives you a pretty wide spectrum of options. Each L stop adds roughly 3 minutes to your commute.

The upscale, gentrified New Chicago along the Blue Line runs roughly from Racine on the West to Logan Square on the Northwest. Any of the adjacent neighborhoods along that stretch are easy to recommend to newcomers, and you can balance the tradeoff of proximity to downtown vs. proximity to ORD to you satisfaction following the three minute rule.

The hard core ghetto starts a couple of stops West of Racine, and old-school Chicago starts a couple of stops northwest of Logan Square.

The old-school neighborhoods are quiet, and definitely less expensive. The Northwest side is not my personal favorite, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and you really can't go wrong there.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The NW blueline is the most reliable part of the CTA . . .

Me arse. It's the section with the most slow zones by far. Check out this slow zone map. (CAUTION: pdf file) Even the parts where the slow zones are supposedly fixed only tend to run at full speed during rush hour. And I'd really like to know why that is, because it annoys the hell out of me.

[chet everett]

I was thinking in terms of service toward the airport/northside I was not aware of off peak delays on the NW Blue Line -- I do know that the Red Line is suffering delays and stoppages. Green Line locations would make for a lenghty trip for the OP...