Chicago is Just TOO Expensive to Live In! (Melrose Park, Lincoln: sales, apartments)

[Jesse69]

I was just looking at rents in Chicago through Craigslist and it's just too expensive to rent in Chicago! $1150 1bdr's! The economy is terrible and it seems rents went up! They even went up in Houston too!

Thank God I live rent free in my Wicker Park 3 story house which I will inherit. After inheriting my property tax will be around $7400 -- cheap compared to renting a 3 story house! And we have no mortgage!

Chicago also has expensive groceries. If you want expensive groceries and luxury food just shop Whole Foods and Treasure Island. Jewels is somewhat expensive if you don't shop sales and use a preferred card.

Well, but the best deal on 1/3 lb Angus Beef patties is at Whole Foods with 2 lbs costing $7.99 - the meat is healthy 35% saturated fat. The stuff at Jewels couldn't compare... So some stuff is better to get at Whole Foods.

At least electricity in Chicago is cheap. Houston lives on A/c during summer and electricity is expensive there where top floor apts can pay $300 / month on electricity during summer.

Gas in Chicago is expensive. So I drive down North Ave to Melrose Park and buy my gas there as well as treat myself to Culver's at the same time. So I avoid city gas taxes.

Dry cleaning in Chicago is expensive too!

What else in Chicago is expensive?

[xavier xerxes]

well im glad you are inheriting a house in wicker park.
you will just have to pay property taxes then.
whats even better than that is having income property.
I am personally against single family houses, because
yes you are paying yourself to live there.
but in multiunit, other people are paying you to live there
and other people are paying your property taxes.
so while you have a sweet deal there are others
with even sweeter deals.


so dont rent a 1150 one bedroom.
there are plenty of apartments one bedroom that are about half that.
in rogers park there are alot of 600-700 one bedrooms.
or get a roommate and live in a cheap 2 bedroom.


gas is always more expensive in the city.
there is cheaper alternatives for groceries always around.
Rents went up? Maybe in some areas because more people are
looking to rent instead of buy, but there is still a glut of housing
that is now converted from condos to apts
so i really dont think rents have gone up, its just that there
is alot of luxury apt there were formally condos.
Yes if you arent careful you will go broke in the city.
There are more things to spend your money on in the city,
some of it is very good stuff you cant get elsewhere.

but there are deals to be had, like salvation army,
i go to the one on devon every single week.

[andrew61]

People from Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis, anywhere in Iowa, etc., tell me Chicago is expensive.

On the other hand, people from NYC, Boston, DC, LA, San Francisco, tell me Chicago is cheap.

So who's right?

It is true that gas prices here tend to rank near the top in the U.S. as far as being expensive. But -- it is relatively easy to structure your life here so that you can not only survive, but also thrive, without a car. In many cities across the U.S., that's almost impossible.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by andrew61

People from Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis, anywhere in Iowa, etc., tell me Chicago is expensive.

On the other hand, people from NYC, Boston, DC, LA, San Francisco, tell me Chicago is cheap.

So who's right?

They're all right!

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

More hard-hitting insight from Jesse69. You want cheap housing? Then move to Youngstown, Ohio--which in recent reports had the best affordability ratio of any city in the U.S. (i.e. income to costs). Demand and/or restricted supply are what drive costs up. You won't have to deal with either in Youngstown. Enjoy.

Ehh... skip Youngstown. It's a dump. I'd say move to Cleveland instead, where there's lots more stuff to do and housing is still relatively cheap. It's possible to get a nice 1BR apartment -- in a great area -- for as little as $500/month there, heat included, maybe even less.

Then again, why would Jesse do that, when he's paying ZERO rent where he is now? For him, living in Ohio would be more expensive than Chicago.

[chicagojlo]

How about I take the free house off your hands, and you can go live somewhere cheaper? What can I say, I'm feeling charitable.

[chicago103]

Chicago is actually quite cheap for a world-class city, depending on where one is from and/or what one is used to it can be expensive but it also depends on your lifestyle.

In Chicago you have the option of living car free or car lite. I do not have a car and I live in Garfield Ridge not even considered anywhere near the top of transit oriented neighborhoods but I live right by a bus turnaround and can walk to almost any day to day shopping need I could have. My grandmother lived for 47 years in this neighborhood without a car.

If I lived in anyplace that would require me to car dependent housing costs might be cheaper but I would lose what I would gain and then some by higher transportation costs.

[chitown85]

$1150 for a one bedroom is in what neighborhoods? Wrigleyville (Lakeview), Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, and Bucktown. Of course those neighborhoods are more expensive. Most people want to live there, whether they are from Chicago or some little town in the middle of America.

I bet you can find a cheaper 1 bedroom in Lincoln Square, Portage Park, Avondale, Irving Park, and Ukrainian Village.

[Muppet123]

I bet you could find a 1BR even cheaper in East Garfield Park, South Austin, Lawndale, Woodlawn, or possibly even Humboldt Park

[MSchemist80]

Or just live in the suburbs and buy a metra pass. If you shop at Walmart, Aldi's or Meijers groceries are 30 to 50% cheaper if you accept private label brands. Gas is over 25 cents cheaper a gallon. Property taxes are still pretty high out there. Rents are significantly cheaper.