Moving again, this time to Chicago! (Madison: low income, section 8, apartments)

[blondesofmonroe]

Okay so I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseum, but thought one more thread on neighborhood tips can't hurt anyone


Here are our needs:

2-3 bedroom place
a $1000/month range - give or take a couple hundred
2 medium (55-60 lb pups)
an updated kitchen
safe safe neighborhood, where I can take my puppies out if they desire to 'go' at rare hours (only happens rarely, but my husband does travel)

We looked at a bunch of places in Rogers (?sp) Park, Ukrainian Village, Southloop etc.

My questions are:

1. What is the best time to lease with maximum vacant apts?
2. what tell tale signs should we look for that indicate compromised safety
3. what are specific areas to avoid in/near Rogers Park and the South Loop?
4. How safe is the neighborhood near Devon street - near the India town? We have never lived near an India town before and since this is a short term move, we thought we'd indulge in the lure of ethnic groceries at an arms distance
5. what is section 8 - I have only seen them on ads in craigslist for Chicago.

Thank you so much!

[oakparkdude]

Where are you working/going to school? Regents Park is in Hyde Park which is about 20 miles from Devon St, so you're kinda looking all over the place. 20 miles is easily an hour commute. The best bet is to live relatively close to place of employment/education. Section 8 is a Federally-subsidized housing voucher program for low income people. In Chicago that typically means "ghetto" residents. In generally, you don't want to have section 8-types as your neighbors.

[blondesofmonroe]

Ah! thanks for reminding me of the one essential detail! My husband will be working from downtown, Madison W to be exact. I work from home, but would like to have my husband be able to come home from lunch from a 4-7 mile commute.

Thanks so much on the info on section 8. If a landlord says in their ad that section 8 is okay, that should also be a zinger right? Or is it due to the massive ebb in renters...

What I want to also avoid is dead neighborhoods. One tenant spaced between a hundred empty apartments lol!

[emathias]

Originally Posted by blondesofmonroe

Ah! thanks for reminding me of the one essential detail! My husband will be working from downtown, Madison W to be exact. I work from home, but would like to have my husband be able to come home from lunch from a 4-7 mile commute.

Thanks so much on the info on section 8. If a landlord says in their ad that section 8 is okay, that should also be a zinger right? Or is it due to the massive ebb in renters...

What I want to also avoid is dead neighborhoods. One tenant spaced between a hundred empty apartments lol!

Unless your husband has the flexibility to have 2-hour lunches, 4-7 miles will not make "coming home for lunch" possible. Maybe, MAYBE, if he drove and you lived in an area with unusually light noontime traffic he could theoretically have a whirlwind lunch and get back in an hour. I live a mile from the office, and when I do go home for lunch, I have a hard time doing it in an hour even if I cab it.

Furthermore, for lunch if he drives and he's downtown - east of the Kennedy - he'd have to pay about $300/month for in-out parking priviledges, otherwise leaving int he middle of the day will mean he has to pay twice - not cheap. Transit won't get him home and back in what any employer I've ever worked for would consider a reasonable amount of time - and I'm guessing you don't want him to be spending all day, every day with you, if you catch my drift.

If you really want him to be able to come home for lunches in a reasonable amount of time, you'll need to live within about 2 miles of his office no matter what mode of transportation he'll be using. West Loop would be a good choice for your purposes. River West, River North and South Loop, or Lakeshore East could probably also work. Depending on exactly where his office is, University Village, Wicker Park, Gold Coast or Ukranian Village may also be possible. Anything further than that, and lunchtime visits just won't be practical unless he's the owner - and even then, it would financially be a poor use of his time.

[blondesofmonroe]

Originally Posted by emathias

Unless your husband has the flexibility to have 2-hour lunches, 4-7 miles will not make "coming home for lunch" possible. Maybe, MAYBE, if he drove and you lived in an area with unusually light noontime traffic he could theoretically have a whirlwind lunch and get back in an hour. I live a mile from the office, and when I do go home for lunch, I have a hard time doing it in an hour even if I cab it...... Anything further than that, and lunchtime visits just won't be practical unless he's the owner - and even then, it would financially be a poor use of his time.

Sigh....emathias, thanks for the gloomy advice I guess I am spoiled due to our experience in the Bay Area - he worked in Menlo Park and we lived in Mountain View and he used to come down for lunch so often - and make it back in time. Ah well...we got to grow up some time right?


Thanks for the advice on the areas...it makes search so much easier!