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Old 03-28-2012, 08:28 AM
 
Location: Oak Park, IL
5,525 posts, read 13,944,069 times
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It might be helpful to list previous neighborhoods in other cities that you have lived in and enjoyed to help us determine what Chicago neighborhoods would be similar.
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Old 03-28-2012, 08:53 AM
 
Location: Jefferson Park Chicago, IL
537 posts, read 1,034,364 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5 View Post
Where are they? None are anywhere close to downtown as far as I know. I think there are some along Western Ave that I know of, but that isn't exactly a nice area that I would suggest to the OP.

1816 N Rockwell St Unit: B Chicago IL - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #08007673 - Realtor.com®

2107 W Webster Ave Chicago IL - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #08016147 - Realtor.com®

2339 N Leavitt Ave Unit: 1 Chicago IL - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #07989360 - Realtor.com®

2604 W Bloomingdale Ave Chicago IL - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #08017859 - Realtor.com®

This was just on the first 2 pages of 60647. There are a ton of townhouses all over the city. Now granted some of those are stretches to say Bucktown but I just did a quick 60647 search.
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Old 03-28-2012, 08:07 PM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,323 posts, read 23,905,668 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5 View Post
Where are they? None are anywhere close to downtown as far as I know. I think there are some along Western Ave that I know of, but that isn't exactly a nice area that I would suggest to the OP.
Honestly I've seen them all over the place except maybe River North (there might be a few small spots where town homes MIGHT exist in the area, but very very small areas). I've seen them in Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Wicker Park, Bucktown, etc. Hell, I even went with a friend once to his friend's place to "cat sit" for a few hours and it was in a nice town house in I think Avondale or Ravenswood somewhere.
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Old 03-28-2012, 08:14 PM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,323 posts, read 23,905,668 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CitynCountry View Post
The work address is 15th and California. I have a truck, but I certainly can take other transportation, i.e. train, subway, etc. Don't know my options as this is possibility is all so new and I know absolutely squat about Chicago. I'll be making approximately 90,000 max annual is my guess, if it happens. My wife will work as an administrative assistant somewhere I'm sure. We don't live "high on the hog" and we would want a moderate sized townhouse at most. Does that help at all?
Getting back on topic, you might want to check out the Bucktown area. It's a nice, up and coming type of neighborhood, but it's not up all night. There's a number of restaurants and shops and stuff in the area and if you want to go out late at night to numerous bars, right south of there is Wicker Park which is pretty lively (They have some 5am bars for example). I guess you could liken it to the Greenwich Village of Chicago, but there's also a lot of nice places and some nice bars/lounges there (i.e. Violet Hour) mixed with a lot of nice condos/houses. It used to be a semi bad area of town, but you know, hipsters moved there awhile ago, it gentrified, etc. Some music venues in the place as well, and one of the best (if not the best) independent pizza places in the US (Piece Pizza).

As far as having a car and commuting, I'm sure you could find parking there which would hopefully be included in your place. Bucktown is close to I-90 which would mean your commute would be really simple for a drive.

Check out this site. There is a video associated with it and some info. It looks like 2 Bedroom rent is average just under $1500/month in the area.
http://www.chicagoapartmentfinders.c.../bucktown.aspx


Also one you might hear is Lakeview, which is actually a really large neighborhood and technically where Wrigley is, but there's a lot more to it than that. Chicago is interesting because there's a number of places that could be bustling and 2 blocks over in a residential area, you'd have no idea. You're going to want to stay away from Wrigley though IMO.
http://www.chicagoapartmentfinders.c.../Lakeview.aspx

Last edited by marothisu; 03-28-2012 at 08:27 PM..
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Old 03-28-2012, 09:43 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 103,138,905 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5 View Post
Where are they? None are anywhere close to downtown as far as I know. I think there are some along Western Ave that I know of, but that isn't exactly a nice area that I would suggest to the OP.
There's whole blocks of them in the Gold Coast. Quite pricey too.
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Old 03-29-2012, 04:05 AM
 
14 posts, read 45,679 times
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Check out Hyde PArk you will love it! The good thing about your future job location is that there is a train(pink line I think) so you can probably live anywhere in the city..there is no train in Hyde park except the Metra but driving from Hyde park should only take 20 min..I used to pick up my Bf from that hospital everyday.
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Old 03-29-2012, 07:58 AM
 
Location: Chicago
3,918 posts, read 6,829,377 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by loveblossom View Post
Check out Hyde PArk you will love it! The good thing about your future job location is that there is a train(pink line I think) so you can probably live anywhere in the city..there is no train in Hyde park except the Metra but driving from Hyde park should only take 20 min..I used to pick up my Bf from that hospital everyday.
I wouldn't move to hyde park if you dont know the city. There are some nice areas around Hyde park, but if you go to the wrong areas, it can be very dangerous. Its home to U of C which is a very prestigious and expensive school. I have a couple of friends from there and they told me that it can be very dangerous is certain areas.

With your budget you can afford nicer which is why I would recommend Bucktown or Wicker Park.

My view of a "townhouse" is different than other posters. I am not just thinking shared living space, but I am thinking a walkup style building with a basement garage. So I guess thats good news for you that there is.
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Old 03-29-2012, 08:27 AM
 
11,289 posts, read 26,182,626 times
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If you're looking for an area not squat in the middle of the city you could check out Riverside and Oak Park to at least see how you feel. There's a metra that would easily take you from Riverside to Mt. Sinai, or you could just drive. In Oak Park you could drive as well if you came straight down Roosevelt.

Bucktown and Wicker Park are nice, but they're very urban dense areas with a lot of younger people. I love the areas, but not entirely sure how "city" you want to live.
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Old 03-31-2012, 07:54 AM
 
12 posts, read 32,494 times
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Oakparkdude & Chiguy,

Thanks so much for getting the ball rolling ChiGuy2.5.

Oakparkdude.......Very helpful my man. I appreciate it immensely. I hope to hear next week about the date of my interview and I anticipate enjoying my first real visit to the Windy City to scout things out. Hoping it all works out!

CitynCountry
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Old 03-31-2012, 09:07 AM
 
Location: USA
5,738 posts, read 5,440,415 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5 View Post
That should be enough information for us to help you out!

Townhouses dont really exist if your looking to live "IN" the city. If your work is located near Western and 15th you have the option of both the "L" and the Metra, which means you can live in the suburbs should you choose, where townhouses exist (just throwing out the option). In chicago, most buildings are multi unit brownstones (look like this http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rownstone1.jpg).

Since to me it seems like you want to move to the city, I would mostly suggest you check out Wicker Park/Bucktown. It has the neighborhood feel, but it also has a good nightlife and excellent restaurants/shopping. Its not loud, nor is it dangerous. I assume security would be a concern for you right?

A 2 bedroom in Wicker Park averages $1800 per month in rent, in bucktown its $1600. If your looking to buy, I dont entirely know what a mortgage would cost. Your commute from bucktown/wicker park would be VERY easy, and there is usually FREE street parking so you dont have to worry about any extra costs for parking.

Let me know what you like/dislike about the suggestion and I of course can suggest further.

Here is an excellent guide that will provide you with what to expect cost wise. Top Secret Apartment Data | Domu Chicago
There are lots of townhouses in Chicago. Brownstones are rare in Chicago, and I don't think I've ever seen a brownstone multifamily here that wasn't a blatant conversion from a single-family (that photo is from Brooklyn). Those sound like high average rents, and I feel I should inform the OP that they need not pay so much.

Anyway, Tri-Taylor might work for the OP. It's nice, close to work, and this neighborhood has the most rowhouses out of anywhere in the city. It's a little less than gentrified, and won't have as much going on as North side neighborhoods, but in a tradeoff, you get relatively calm and cheap. The part west of Western Avenue is supposedly not so good according to people on this forum, but I have known two people who lived there, and they liked it and had zero problems. Your call.

From there, it's a short drive or bus ride or an extended walk to work. I think a bike ride would take about 10 minutes.
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