Relocating family to Chicago from Pittsburgh (Aurora, Naperville: apartments, for rent, crime)

[williameconnors]

I am relocating my family from Pittsburgh to Chicago for work. I know nothing about Chicago. I made about 60k in Pittsburgh and will be making about 80k in chicago. I'm not sure where I will be able to afford to relocate. I will be working on Michigan Ave in downtown Chicago. I'm definitely thinking I will want to go to the suburbs. The only affordable suburbs I have seen that is a nice area was Montgomery and Oswego. I would be a 3 bedroom for about 1500.00 or less per month. Don't want to buy because I might only be there for a short time. Will also probably have to take some type of transportation since it's very pricey to park on michigan ave. Any ideas? Is the areas I suggested nice and somewhat easy to get to where I need. Thank you all in advance.

[holl1ngsworth]

Do you have children -- are good schools a necessity? What kind of amenities are looking for?

Where on Michigan Ave?

[elanmorin25]

Chicago is very different than Pittsburgh in that traffic is much, much worse, and the public transportation options are much, much better. While it's a bigger metro area, it's also a lot more dense. You will also have to simply adjust to spending a larger chunk of your paycheck on comparable housing in Chicago, it's just the nature of living here.

To get to Michigan Ave via train, your options are the Metra and the L. The L serves the city and the first ring of suburbs, while the Metra serves areas as far as Wisconsin and Indiana. Michigan Avenue is a bit of a walk from most of the Metra stations with the exception of the line that comes up from the south suburbs and northwest Indiana. It's not far from L stations for any of the L lines.

A few ideas of places where you might be able to rent a 3 bedroom place for $1500 or less and have a reasonable commute to Michigan Avenue are: Flossmoor, Skokie, Palatine, Des Plaines, and Westmont. You're going to want to scope out your commute from wherever you are looking before making a decision, rather than figuring out where you want to live and then deciding from there how best to get to work.

Is there any reason you've ruled out living in the city? There are some very affordable safe city neighborhoods from which you'd have a much easier time getting to Michigan Ave compared to the suburbs.

[williameconnors]

I have not rolled out living in the city. We have always lived suburbs and think my wife would adapt easier.

I have 7 month old daughter. So schools will be important in a couple years. But that's why I'd rather rent first and after I get some more raises I could move and be more comfortable.

I would be working for Tiffany and Co. On michigan ave. As for amenities we are pretty easy living. Just think we would be most comfortable in a three bedroom because we are looking to have another child.

[Army_Guy]

Check out the southwest suburbs such as Tinley Park and Orland Park. Both are accessible by the Metra train. Both are great suburban communities but I'm not sure what pricing is like in those areas.

While Pittsburgh and Chicago are very different cities, one thing they both have in common are an incredible passion for their sports teams.

[chet everett]

Beleive me, any 3br you find in Chicago for $1500/mo ain't gonna be any kind of place that you want to have your kids in.

Frankly if that is all you can afford and work is on Michigan Ave I would accept the transfer, staying in Pittsburg is a better option. It would take a very long time to commute from Oswego to a train station in Aurora or Naperville, then you'd need to spend several hundred dollars a month for train tickets and a CTA becuase you could need about 30 minutes to get from Union Station to Michigan Ave. You'd waste nearly four hours a day on this commute!

[ToriaT]

My advice is look for a two bedroom closer to the city and one where you can take public transportation. Your daughter will not be in the public school system for some time so that won't be an issue, although day care could be. You could look into a two bedroom apartment in Oak Park, or maybe something like Lincoln Square. Be sure to locate around places you can easily get to public transportation such as the "L". Forget about Oswego or the far flung suburbs. If you don't like where you are at after a year, you can have that time to explore other options and move somewhere else. There are some lovely apts in Lincoln Square in your price range that are available on Hot Pads.

[chet everett]

The "shock" of a new job and probably a very very different kind of life in the city for someone coming from Pittsburgh is going to be extreme.

I wonder if they are just "scaling up" their Pittsburgh budget by the new boost in salary -- becuase of the considerably higher cost of living here they may need to readjust their expectations.

There are probably some two bedroom apartments in Lincoln Square that are around $1500/mo but overall Lincoln Square;it is a fairly nice part of the city though the commute to retail section of North Michigan Ave is not partcularly easy nor is there much to suggest the OP would be best in the city....

There are a whole lot of options between the extremes of Oswego and Lincoln Square -- it would be easier and cheaper to live in Berwyn, good train access to Metra/ BNSF, cheaper train fares, more options for faster commute. Berwyn is safe and central enough that they could explore lots of other options. Suburbs north of Chicago like Skokie that have direct ties to CTA would be cheaper than desirable neighborhoods inside the city, though the commute would be no faster. Same thing goes for places like Norridge or DesPlaines...

In some ways I guess it probably makes sense to accept the new job but there are going to be some big trade-offs / changes that need to be evaluated. 80k is on the one hand excellent compensation for retail, but if the lifestyle changes are too extreme it might not really work out.

[elanmorin25]

Since schools are not an issue yet, you want to keep rent low, and you seem to be interested in a more suburban type area, I would highly recommend looking at the city neighborhoods on the northwest side, Jefferson Park and Norwood Park. Both have L access to the loop via the blue line as well as metra stations and both are relatively inexpensive. A lot of cops and firefighters live there so they have the lowest crime in the city, and lower than many suburbs.

A quick Craigslist search indicates that there are definitely 3 bedroom apartments available in Jefferson Park within your price range.

chicago apts/housing for rent "jefferson park" - craigslist

[williameconnors]

Thank you that's big help. Is Naperville a realistic commute? Looks like I could get my price range there as well.