Another "where to live" thread. (Chicago: rental, neighborhood)

[Peachie]

My boyfriend (soon to be fiance) and I am moving from Austin, TX to Chicago. This is just a HUGE change...He is working on Michigan Ave. and I will be looking for jobs once we land. I have never lived in an "urban" city-one that you can actually walk to things and use public transportation. Oh sure, if you live in DOWNTOWN Austin, you can walk to stuff...but pretty much otherwise no. And we don't know about public transportation here...but anyway.

We have a lot of stuff-currently in about a 1200 SF duplex with a backyard, single car garage, AND storage shed. We have a German Shorthaired Pointer and a Chocolate Lab.

Where to even start looking to live? We want to live close to downtown but need a yard.

[Drover]

Need more info. Are you considering suburban areas? Any kids, or any on the way? (In other words, are schools important?) Renting or buying? What is your price range for either? How long of a commute time are you willing to tolerate? Do you both need access to public transportation or just the husband for work? Any specific attributes you're looking for in a neighborhood besides a place with a yard?

[Peachie]

Schools not important-no children, none on the way...only the furkids.

Not considering suburban areas...I really want to have the experience of living in a true "urban" city...one thing I am starting to understand about Chicago is that you can live in the city but not necessarily downtown and still be able to walk to entertainment, etc. So I guess that is an attribute I am looking for, besides a yard.

We will probably pare things down to just one car between the two of us. I am not sure what kind of commute I consider "tolerable". I now work in Downtown Austin, TX and we live approximately 9 miles from downtown. That drive can take up to 45 minutes some days, which I don't think is tolerable. But other days can be 20-30 minutes.

So much of this seems like comparing apples to oranges to me. We pay $850 a month for the place we have now-3 bedroom, 2 bath, with a yard and a one-car garage.

We are thinking our budget for Chicago rental to be about 1500-2000?