Moving to chicago or the burbs (Orland Park, Lincoln: apartment, rental, condo)

[Rod_moore]

Hello all,

I'm very familiar with Chicago. I will be moving there within the next month. My job is going to out by O'hare(higgins road), and I don't know where i would want to live. I thought about living out by Tinley/Orland Park (i love that area) and just take 294 to work everyday. Or maybe renting a condo downtown( but i know that would be a little pricey). Where can i get decent square footage, in a nice area with a nice rental home or condo. Price range monthly is about $1,000-$1,300.maybe a little more if i find somewhere i really like. I don't mind driving about 45 mins to work everyday.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Rod_moore

Hello all,

I'm very familiar with Chicago. I will be moving there within the next month. My job is going to out by O'hare(higgins road), and I don't know where i would want to live. I thought about living out by Tinley/Orland Park (i love that area) and just take 294 to work everyday. Or maybe renting a condo downtown( but i know that would be a little pricey). Where can i get decent square footage, in a nice area with a nice rental home or condo. Price range monthly is about $1,000-$1,300.maybe a little more if i find somewhere i really like. I don't mind driving about 45 mins to work everyday.

Depending on what you mean by "downtown," $1,000 - $1,300 won't go far. You could get a studio in the central area, maybe, but it would be a small one. Certainly no single-family homes for that price downtown.

So, what do you mean by "downtown"?

[Rod_moore]

yeah, well I'm certainly sure that the budget of 1,300 won't go that far downtown. But I thought maybe the southloop..

Also, I'm taking every area into consideration. Honestly, I could go up to about $2,000 a month but I wouldn't want to spend that much if I could get something with more space out in the burbs.. I'm just taking suggestions.

thanks for your response.

[OrangeAndBlue]

If all you care about is space for the money and you don't care about having various amenities nearby or other things that an urban lifestyle may offer, I'd suggest you look in the suburbs. There are dozens of them within 45 minutes from where you will be working.
If you care about other things besides space and want to live in the city, there are also lots of options besides downtown where you can find a decent one or two bedroom apartment in your price range. To stay within 45 minutes of work, look at neighborhoods close to the Kennedy Expressway and north / northwest of downtown (i.e. Bucktown, Wicker Park, west Lakeview, maybe Lincoln Square, etc.). The further northwest from downtown you go, the less trendy the neighborhoods generally get, but they also become more affordable. For $2,000 a month, you can rent a pretty nice one bedroom apartment in a highrise downtown (~1100 to 1300 sqft) and that would probably also include a covered parking spot, but I'm not sure if your commute would be 45 minutes from downtown. Traffic on the Kennedy sucks.
If it's possible to walk to your office from one of the Blue Line stops close to O'Hare, then you could live near the Blue Line and have a relatively easy commute.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Rod_moore

...
Honestly, I could go up to about $2,000 a month but I wouldn't want to spend that much if I could get something with more space out in the burbs.. I'm just taking suggestions.

I'm biting my tongue here ...

Unless you're wanting to live in sketchy areas of the city, you will *always* get more space for the same amount of money in the suburbs. It's just the way the world works and to say you want to look in the city, but then follow up with ridiculous statesments like the one I bolded really indicates you aren't really understanding the point of city vs. suburban life and will almost certainly be happier in the suburbs. My brother rents a whole 4-bedroom house in the suburbs for about $1,500.

I'm not saying that as a criticism, to each his own and almost everyone likes a little extra space. But when you strongly emphasize space without mentioning any of the amenities cities vs. suburbs offer you're fooling yourself to think you'd be happier in the city than the suburbs.

Originally Posted by Rod_moore

thanks for your response.

You're welcome.