Confused about Chicago housing/ apartments. standard of living (Lincoln, Ashland: rental, condo)

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by patrix542

im not moeaning at chicago or anything so i dont understand why some people have to be so mean. i said downtown chicago and downtown apartments are nice and affordable as well as Chicago suburbs im just talking about rest of the city... whats wrong with that?

We're not trying to be mean. You seem to be looking for something that isn't readily available in Chicago for the price range you're looking for, so if glossy new single family housing is your ultimate ideal, why move to Chicago?

[patrix542]

i didnt know what Chicago is like so i just asked if thats how most of chicago looks like. Im not saying that it is aweful or anything like that because UK is MUCH worse if we are talking about housing.

Is it possible to live in plainfield, aurora or joliet (all of them are about 35 miles away from chicago) and work in downtown? because that would definetely be good for me, i love houses there.


So basically what you are all saying $250,000 in chicago is just not a lot at all... well ok.
what about renting how much would it cost to rent a nicer house in chicago is it very expensive as well? i guess it probably is ;P

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by patrix542

i didnt know what Chicago is like so i just asked if thats how most of chicago looks like. Im not saying that it is aweful or anything like that because UK is MUCH worse if we are talking about housing.

Is it possible to live in plainfield, aurora or joliet (all of them are about 35 miles away from chicago) and work in downtown? because that would definetely be good for me, i love houses there.


So basically what you are all saying $250,000 in chicago is just not a lot at all... well ok.
what about renting how much would it cost to rent a nicer house in chicago is it very expensive as well? i guess it probably is ;P

Living in the suburbs and commuting to Chicago for work is certainly possible. People do it every day. Do you have a job in Chicago? I'm trying to understand where you're coming from...

[meatpuff]

Originally Posted by patrix542

i didnt know what Chicago is like so i just asked if thats how most of chicago looks like. Im not saying that it is aweful or anything like that because UK is MUCH worse if we are talking about housing.

Is it possible to live in plainfield, aurora or joliet (all of them are about 35 miles away from chicago) and work in downtown? because that would definetely be good for me, i love houses there.


So basically what you are all saying $250,000 in chicago is just not a lot at all... well ok.
what about renting how much would it cost to rent a nicer house in chicago is it very expensive as well? i guess it probably is ;P

Patrix,
I think you've basically got it right. There is a large premium for detached SFHs in the city. And I agree that most of the detached homes in the city are generally older. Whereas there are many newer apartments/condo buildings. And that they are far more expensive than Houston and Phoenix and far cheaper than NYC. As someone said, there is a glut of recently completed downtown apartments/condo buildings, so especially now it is affordable to buy a unit in certain perfectly fine areas of the city.

The large majority of people around the American Midwest seem to want a detached house once they get to be of the age to start a family. No doubt this is what is causing the price differential you are seeing. You were right, $250K is not much to buy a detached house in either a nice Chicago neighborhood or a nice nearby suburb. If having your own lawn is not important to you, you can save a lot of money on housing and $250K is probably enough. It depends on how posh of an area you want to live in; the sky is the limit in this city, even for apartments.

There is also a large premium for renting detached houses. There are no hard and fast rules, but I would expect it to cost at least twice as much. So, if 2 bdrm 1000 sf apartments are renting for $1,500 dollars, I would expect a SFH on the same block, 2 bdrm 1000 sf, to rent for $3K-4K per month.

And yes, people live in Aurora, Joliet and Plainfield and commute downtown. It depends on what you're willing to tolerate as far as drive time, and it sounds like you will tolerate more than most. Fortunately, in Joliet and Aurora there is nearby commuter rail which might make it easier if you work in the Loop.

[Avengerfire]

[OrangeAndBlue]

You're also comparing 1 bedroom condos (probably around 700-800 sqft) to single family homes that probably have 3+ bedrooms are 1500+ sqft. That is simply not an even comparison. There are tons of townhomes and single family houses available in the "desirable" neighborhoods of Chicago, but townhomes and single family homes will typically be much larger than a condo in a highrise, so of course they will be much more expensive too. A 3 bedroom condo in a high-rise downtown will cost considerably more than $250,000 as well. If you compare $/sqft, you'll find that you get far less space downtown.

[Jesse69]

Yeah, Chicago Real Estate is TOO EXPENSIVE! I worked at Sychro Start back in 2000 and most of my coworkers couldn't afford a house in Chicago and they drove in from the suburbs. I'd also be a poor guy with no $30,000 bike collection and 120+ skirt suits if I didn't live rent free and stand to inherit my house!

And I'm REALLY GLAD FOR DECLINING HOUSE PRICES! As that false mortgage boom caused our economic problems and severely inflated housing prices! I always detested people who made $$$ riches of the expense of making housing expensive and unaffordable!

We unfortunately DO NEED A HOUSING CORRECTION OF LOWER HOUSING PRICES TO MAKE HOUSING AFFORDABLE!

[Avengerfire]

^Ok, what does everyone think? Mad cow disease or terminal syphilis?^

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

^Ok, what does everyone think? Mad cow disease or terminal syphilis?^

[Lookout Kid]

Patrix, here's an example. I live in Buena Park, which is a somewhat decent lakefront neighborhood about five miles north of the Loop. You can find two-bedroom condos in Buena Park for $250,000, but the detached single-family homes are mostly over a million dollars. There is a HUGE premium to live in a detached single-family home in this neighborhood, and this isn't even considered an upscale neighborhood like Lincoln Park or Lake View.

The single-family homes in Buena Park are typically quite spacious on larger-than-typical lots. Most of them are in the five-thousand-plus square foot range, and there are hardly any new homes. But there are two new detached homes currently being constructed on a block near the lake on VERY small lots, and the asking price for each is $1.7 million. And this is on a block with MANY condos in your price range.

707 West Gordon Terrace, Chicago IL 60613 - Trulia