Another "Moving to Chicago" thread w/ a twist. (please help) (Lincoln: apartments)

[yamasho]

Hello All,

I am a 21 year old African-American male currently attending college in Michigan. I will be graduating in May and will be beginning my finance career in Chicago (Loop) in late June. Thus, I have been looking for places to potentially call home while I am there. I really dont want to spend more than $1,100/month on an apartment and I am hoping that I can keep my rent below the $1,000 mark. It seems as if every week I discover a new potential neighborhood to consider.

I made a trip out to Chicago for St. Patty's day and I did not get much accomplished at all. Being African-American I would like to be around the professional black crowd as well as the general crowds that compose most of the nice chicago neigborhoods. Everyone talks great about Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and Wrigleyville. Lately, I have also heard good things about the Bucktown, Wicker Park, and Uptown areas. It seems as though these are the most "hip" in the city for young professionals.

Do you all have any suggestions for me? Not just as far as neighborhood recommendations, but also where to look for apartments, what should be spent on an apartment, etc

I have been using Craigslist and the Chicago Reader thus far.

[Drover]

I've kind of already touched on this in another thread, but I'll have another go at it here.

The major issue here is that there's very little overlap between where black professionals live (in any sort of quantity anyway) and the kind of neighborhood you seem to be looking for. The "hip" neighborhoods in Chicago are also, frankly, white neighborhoods, some with a sprinkling of Hispanics as well. Most of the city's black professionals live in various South Side neighborhoods, which just don't have the kind of hipster scene that the north side neighborhoods do. As I noted before, the one place that has both a fair dose of black professionals and anything approximating a hip atmosphere would be Hyde Park, and even its level of hipness lags well behind the North Side neighborhoods. Otherwise, black professionals also tend to be found in the Ashburn, Chatham and South Shore neighborhoods along with the eastern portions of Beverly and Morgan Park. The Pullman neighborhood is starting to attract a professional class, but it's still a pretty dicey area. South Shore is also an area "in transition" for the better, and is in better shape than Pullman. The main thing with these neighborhoods though is they are generally more bedroom-community/residential neighborhoods rather than scenester-nightlife neighborhoods. So unless someone can name a portion of the city I'm overlooking, you'll pretty much have to choose one or the other: hipster neighborhood, or black professional neighborhood.

And finally, regardless of where you choose to live, you should be able to find an apartment for under $1,000/mo pretty much anywhere in the city except maybe right downtown or in the Gold Coast, though it will be a pretty small one in Lincoln Park or Lakeview. If you look patiently enough, $1,000/mo could even get you a 2-bedroom in Bucktown, or at the very least a spacious 1-bedroom.

[yamasho]

Thanx for your reponse, and I pretty much thought exactly what you've explained to be true. I just figured I'd ask someone who knows to get a clear answer.

I have come to the decision that I want to truly enjoy being in the city of Chicago. I want to be around an area that is vibrant and full of life. With that being said, seems as if Lincoln Park is the place to be. I almost know that I cannot deal with a studio. However, i know my job is going to be very very demanding and I really wont need anything more than a place to rest and sleep.

So, i would want a one bedroom in an area of the city that is full of life and would give me the best oppotunity to truly enjoy being in the city.

Do you know of any online resources I could use to search for apartments. As aforementioned, I have used craigslist and chicagoreader.com

[Drover]

Those are your two best online resources. If you can spare an extended weekend visit, there is an apartment agency that specializes in the high-demand north side neighborhoods (such as Lincoln Park) called The Apartment People. I know they work on Saturdays and I think maybe even Sundays. The service is free to prospective tenants. Their website is here. (http://www.theapartmentpeople.com - broken link) They have three offices; be sure to work with the Lakeview office -- that's the one closest to and most familiar with the area you're interested in. They have 1-bedrooms in Lincoln Park for as low as $850/mo including heat.

[yamasho]

Drover, thanx alot!

[Drover]

One last thing: if you plan on living in Lakeview or (especially) Lincoln Park, plan on not owning a car. You'll have no place to put it. Alternately, if you absolutely must have a car, plan on spending an extra $200/mo for an offstreet parking space.

With that in mind, you might want to figure out where you're working first and then figure out where to live. If you end up with a job out in the suburbs, it may not be practical to not own a car, and perhaps a less densely populated neighborhood would be a better choice. If you end up with a job downtown or some other place convenient to public transportation, then Lincoln Park or Lakeview would be a go.

[yamasho]

Drover,

I'm working in the Loop/West Loop at Monroe and Canal St. I still think I still want to own a car. $200/month is ridiculous, however.

[Manigault]

You know, that's why I love Hyde Park. I can be in my Loop office in 45 minutes by taking one express bus at the end of my block. There is also the IC commuter train and an alternate express bus. During the summer, I put my bike on the bus carrier in the morning and pedal the six miles back home at night on the beautiful lakefront away from traffic. Plus, I can park my car on the street! I also can walk to the grocer, the hardware store and the liquor store.

I can take rapid transit anytime of the day or night really without worrying about it and I walk the streets with no trepidation. Of course, I am a six foot male from NYC so your results may vary.

[yamasho]

I'm a 6'3 black male from the Eastside of Detroit but I cant do much against a gun thats common street sense...lol...I want to be a safe area. At the same time, however, my job is 70% travel so I'll never be home. lol

[pallygirl81]

Try South Loop, the Gold Coast, River North or West Town. These areas are more multi-culti and have great bars and nightlife.