Possible move to Chicago (Evanston, Lombard: middle-class, apartments, rentals)

[Daniel_T]

Hi, I am considering moving to the Chicago area to go to school, and would like to know what areas of the city can I live in that is not real expensive. I would also like a place that is clean, and safe.

I heard that Chicago can be dangerous and is kinda dirty, can anyone comment on that? What is the minimum wage? Are jobs good?

Any info on Chicago would be a great help. Thanks.

Daniel True
TrueDaniel_G@hotmail.com

[j33]

Dirty? Where are you moving from.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

Hi, I am considering moving to the Chicago area to go to school, and would like to know what areas of the city can I live in that is not real expensive. I would also like a place that is clean, and safe.

I heard that Chicago can be dangerous and is kinda dirty, can anyone comment on that? What is the minimum wage? Are jobs good?

Any info on Chicago would be a great help. Thanks.

Daniel True
TrueDaniel_G@hotmail.com

What school do you plan on attending? Well start by asking that question and then go from there. And yes, parts of the city are "dirty", but what cities are totally clean? For its size, Chicago is arguably one of the cleanest cities in America, at least from what Ive seen with my own two eyes. Downtown, in particular, is usually immaculate! Its one of the cleanest around, especially given the cities' big population.

[chitown68]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

Hi, I am considering moving to the Chicago area to go to school, and would like to know what areas of the city can I live in that is not real expensive. I would also like a place that is clean, and safe.

I heard that Chicago can be dangerous and is kinda dirty, can anyone comment on that? What is the minimum wage? Are jobs good?

Any info on Chicago would be a great help. Thanks.

Daniel True
TrueDaniel_G@hotmail.com

Hi Daniel,


It is hard to recommend a neighborhood without knowing what school you are planning to go to. Ideally, the closer to campus you are, the less time you have to spend commuting back and forth. Some of the major colleges in the area are as follows:

UIC: Students typically rent apartments in the Tri-Taylor district, Near West side, South Loop areas. More affordable rentals can be found in Pilsen(preferable East Pilsen) and Bridgeport. I have also known a couple of people who have rented apartments in Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village (just north of the campus) because the rents were somewhat affordable.


IIT: Students typically rent in the South Loop, Bronzeville, Bridgeport/Chinatown areas .


DePaul:Students typically rent in Lincoln Park, Lakeview,Wrigleyville. More affordable rentals can be found a bit farther north in the Sheridan Park/Uptown neighborhoods.


Loyola: Students rent in either Rogers Park or Edgewater. Rogers Park has reasonable rental rates but the neighborhood can be somewhat dicey in certain areas.


Northwestern: Students rent in either Evanston or Rogers Park.



University of Chicago: Most students live in Kenwood/Hyde Park.


I hope that this will be of help to you. Good luck in your search.

[Daniel_T]

If I decide to come, I will be coming from Tucson, AZ. Not real pretty here. Decay is rampant here. Want to make sure I am not moving to another crap place. I have friends that have recommended Chicago, so I thought I would give it a shot. I either want to go to Northwestern, or University of Illinois @ Chicago. What can I expect for an average rent for a studio or 1 bedroom in anyone's opinion. I don't like going by the book because prices change constantly.

Thanks.
Daniel True

[Drover]

Chicago is really a place of extremes. In a sense, it's almost two cities: The middle and upper-class, and the underclass. And there is very little mingling between the two. I sometimes find myself in a part of the city that feels totally alien and I think to myself, "is this the same city I live in??" Especially if you live in the North and Northwest sides, it is sometimes too easy to lose sight of the fact that very large swaths of this city are Hell on Earth. You can spend almost your entire existence here and have very little contact with those areas.

Dividing lines are pretty bright. A neighborhood can turn from nice to crappy in a matter of blocks, and if you're not familiar with where those dividing lines are, you can quickly find yourself in a not-pleasant area and wonder, "how the hell did I get here??"

The safe areas are quite safe by major urban standards, and the dangerous areas are very dangerous. The nice, middle-class areas are typically and clean and tidy, and the not-so-middle-class areas are sometimes strewn with litter and trash and good ol' fashioned urban blight/decay. Some of the not-so-nice, not-so-middle-class areas actually look surprisingly clean on the surface and you wouldn't know it's a high-crime area by first impressions. The downtown area itself is far and away the cleanest I've ever seen of any major city I've been in. What it comes down to is, of all the major universities in Chicago, you should be able to find a perfectly nice, clean and safe (by urban standards) neighborhood nearby to live in.

[j33]

Drover -- well put. Chicago is definately a city of extremes in that regard. I've been all over the city and have seen the worst and best bits of it, it is hard to believe it is the same place sometimes. Often it makes me angry.

[chitown68]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

If I decide to come, I will be coming from Tucson, AZ. Not real pretty here. Decay is rampant here. Want to make sure I am not moving to another crap place. I have friends that have recommended Chicago, so I thought I would give it a shot. I either want to go to Northwestern, or University of Illinois @ Chicago. What can I expect for an average rent for a studio or 1 bedroom in anyone's opinion. I don't like going by the book because prices change constantly.

Thanks.
Daniel True

A good source for Chicago apartments is a free weekly newspaper called The Chicago Reader. They have a fairly extensive apartment section that you can access online. You can use the following link to conduct an apartment search.

http://classifieds.chicagoreader.com...tion=oid%3A122


The nice thing about the site is that you can look for an apartment by price, size and location. You would be more likely to find studio apartments farther north near Northwestern/Loyola than you would UIC which tends to have more 1,2 and 3 bedroom units.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Drover

Chicago is really a place of extremes. In a sense, it's almost two cities: The middle and upper-class, and the underclass. And there is very little mingling between the two. I sometimes find myself in a part of the city that feels totally alien and I think to myself, "is this the same city I live in??" Especially if you live in the North and Northwest sides, it is sometimes too easy to lose sight of the fact that very large swaths of this city are Hell on Earth. You can spend almost your entire existence here and have very little contact with those areas.

Dividing lines are pretty bright. A neighborhood can turn from nice to crappy in a matter of blocks, and if you're not familiar with where those dividing lines are, you can quickly find yourself in a not-pleasant area and wonder, "how the hell did I get here??"

The safe areas are quite safe by major urban standards, and the dangerous areas are very dangerous. The nice, middle-class areas are typically and clean and tidy, and the not-so-middle-class areas are sometimes strewn with litter and trash and good ol' fashioned urban blight/decay. Some of the not-so-nice, not-so-middle-class areas actually look surprisingly clean on the surface and you wouldn't know it's a high-crime area by first impressions. The downtown area itself is far and away the cleanest I've ever seen of any major city I've been in. What it comes down to is, of all the major universities in Chicago, you should be able to find a perfectly nice, clean and safe (by urban standards) neighborhood nearby to live in.

Dang, why cant I write this stuff? You always put it into words just perfectly.

DanielT....uh, what he said!

[Daniel_T]

I do appreciate all of your feedback. What areas of Chicago should best be avoided? I would hate to move to Chicago and move into a bad area. There is a broadcasting college I am considering in Lombard, IL. How far away from Chicago is that? Is it easily accessible?

What is the weather really like there? It seems that the summers are HOT!!! and the winters are FRIGID!!!

Is public trans. safe? My old coworker used to live in Chicago and she told me the EL (hope that's how you spell it) is safe.

Thanks a lot and I do appreciate your responses.