Down to Earth Place to Live in Chicago (Skokie, Rock Island: apartments, rent)

[tanzall]

Hello.

I'm moving to Chicago from Dayton OH. My salary will be be in the 50K-60K range. I'm a single mom and would like to live somewhere DIVERSE, relatively safe, decent school, mayber near a park, shopping, and near good restaraunts. When I arrive, I'll be renting so its okay if I live in an area where I can't afford a house but can afford an apartment. ($1100 - $1500 per month is ok) I'd also prefer to live in Chicago in one of the community areas, can deal with the subarbs, but don't want to be too far out in the subarbs.

Diversity and crime are the two most important issues for me. Dayton, OH has very high crime so I'm not one of those Americans that feel they have to run from the city because all poor people are criminals. However, I don't want to hear gunshots every 5 seconds and run for cover when entering my building.

Thank you.

[TeacherMan]

My wife and I are relocating to Chicago from SE Michigan. We had MANY of the same concerns. I have spent many ours researching and "picking the brains" of people on this forum (Special "shout out" to Drover!). We have decided to live in Bridgeport. I have other suggestions and research if you are interested. Post more info here on your desired rent, area of the city, etc. or PM me!

Good Luck!!!
-TM

[JPprivate]

tanzall: My favorite choice would be Lincoln Square, very family oriented, with parks and many nice restaurants.

Other areas might be West Ridge (parks, restaurants, a little less pricey than Lincoln Square) or Irving Park neighborhood.

The schools are going to be problem though, if you want good schools (and don't want to pay for private school) move to the suburbs. Skokie has good schools for example (and isn't too far away from the city), and Skokie has an excellent park district.

[Scribbler]

RE: schools being a problem...don't forget that CPS does have magnet/prep schools. I used to work with kids living in the Lincoln Square, West Rogers Park, West Ridge areas who went to schools like Lane Tech and North Side Prep.

[tanzall]

Thank you very much everyone. When you say the schools are not good in the city, do you mean there's a lot of crime/violence or the currculum is not good and resources (i.e. books, computers, etc.) are in short supply?

[Scribbler]

Originally Posted by tanzall

Thank you very much everyone. When you say the schools are not good in the city, do you mean there's a lot of crime/violence or the currculum is not good and resources (i.e. books, computers, etc.) are in short supply?

State government's grasp on educational funding is in the toilet...while schools in affluent communities are performing well, this is rarely the case in urban and rural school districts, where the funding isn't there, so it's harder to attract and retain quality educators at the salary/benefit packages available, and because of this, federally mandated test scores go down, so funding gets even more difficult to secure if it gets to the point where you're a watch-listed school. And the cycle continues. It's not that schools aren't good specifically in the city, it's that public education is really hurting in all but the most overall affluent communities, statewide. And this includes many city schools, obviously.

[cvatasoiu]

Originally Posted by tanzall

Hello.

I'm moving to Chicago from Dayton OH. My salary will be be in the 50K-60K range. I'm a single mom and would like to live somewhere DIVERSE, relatively safe, decent school, mayber near a park, shopping, and near good restaraunts. When I arrive, I'll be renting so its okay if I live in an area where I can't afford a house but can afford an apartment. ($1100 - $1500 per month is ok) I'd also prefer to live in Chicago in one of the community areas, can deal with the subarbs, but don't want to be too far out in the subarbs.

Diversity and crime are the two most important issues for me. Dayton, OH has very high crime so I'm not one of those Americans that feel they have to run from the city because all poor people are criminals. However, I don't want to hear gunshots every 5 seconds and run for cover when entering my building.

Thank you.

I would suggest Bucktown, or even Wicker Park, affordable prices,good areas, tons of parks for kids. If you choose Wicker Par, stay away from the North Ave, Milwaukee and Damen intersectio since it gets noisy at night.

If you want a more family oriented neighborhood, on that comes in my mind right now is Lincoln Square

good luck

[tanzall]

Thank you everyone, I'm researching those locations as we speak.

[pubgrrrl]

I don't really think of Bucktown and Wicker Park as affordable, although they are both fun places to live. If you want diverse and affordable I would suggest Logan Square or Hyde Park.

[cdc3217]

South Side advice

Check out the Beverly neighborhood on the far south side. It is diverse, there are apartments with rent in your range, lots of parks, and a good selection of shops and restaurants. You will have the Chicago school dilemma, still, but there are magnet schools in the area. Very family friendly. For affordable nearby suburbs, you could look into Blue Island, which is very diverse, affordable, somehow both urban and small-townish, and the schools are doing all right/improving, but they have challenges. Blue Island and Bevery are both served by Metra's Rock Island commuter rail line, which is a big benefit as well.