Downtown living (Chicago, Washington: real estate, apartment, rent)

[alcox27]

Hey everyone,

I just got a job in downtown Chicago along S Wacker Drive. I'm moving in from out-of-state and would like to find a studio downtown so I can just walk everywhere or take a cab, instead of keeping my car.

Does anyone have any recommendations for places to look for and/or avoid when I'm searching for a place to live? I can afford a monthly rent of up to $1500 and would love it if I could walk to work. Also, can I also get an idea of how much cab fare usually runs just getting around downtown?

[Vlajos]

Do you really mean downtown or in the City? You can take public transit and save some money on rent, still no need for a car.

[Ace Rothstein]

If you want to walk to work I'd definitely take a look at Printer's Row.

[alcox27]

I believe downtown? Since I'm new to Chicago, I see it as downtown just based off location in the city, but my work's zip code is 60606 if that helps. Zip codes I'd consider are within walking distance would be 60601, 60602, 60603, 60604, 60606, and 60661.

Walking distance would be great, but just the same, if one of the means of public transportation is cheap enough to go outside of that to be in a safer area, I'm open to suggestions. Since I'd like to get away from the need to have a car and I'll be working a lot, being closest to work is my biggest priority.

Also, does anyone have a suggestion for a good company, that deals in that area of the city, that I could get into contact with that would help in the search since my ability to tour places is limited since I'm still out-of-state?

[Jandur]

$1500 can get you a very nice studio or even an average to nice 1 bedroom in just about any area in the city. It really depends on what you want in a neighborhood besides walkability. If you want to walk to work you're looking at South Loop or West Loop. You could walk from River North as well but that would be a bit longer depending where on S wacker you are exactly (I work at 300s myself)

Cabs in Chicago are pretty affordable. Obviously that depends where you are going to/from but I'd say my average trip is around $10-$15 one way. Rarely do I ever take a cab that costs $20 that would be a fairly far trip. Generally speaking I only cab on the weekends to/from bars. I'd say I spend $100-$150/month on cabs. You could easily do more or less though. Zipcar is also a cheap option for quick trips as well.

Also I would just try to contact a local real estate agent to set up showing on a weekend. Avoid Chicago Apartment Finders and Apartment People. They are pretty awful.

[marothisu]

$1500 can get you a 1 bedroom in probably any area of the city. No need for your car either as the public transit here is far reaching. I would explore neighborhood options as your commute even with the train wouldn't be that long from many areas of the city. If you're hell bent on staying near downtown, I would look at River North, South Loop, and Gold Coast. I pay under $1400/month for a 1 bedroom downtown FWIW, so $1500 should be able to get you into many places (but not all).

[Vlajos]

My personal opinion is the more interesting and lively areas are outside the downtown area. I would look along blue, brown, red lines for a neighborhood you like. Unlimited ride CTA pass is $86/month. Rent should be cheaper too.

[ChiGuy2.5]

Give us more info to what your looking for and we can suggest a proper neighborhood for you to live in. How old are you? Do you drink? Are you single? Do you have a dog? Do you want to be close to the beach? Do you like high rise living? Let us know more about you.

If you are fairly young (mid 20's) I would not recommend you stay hell bent on "walking" to work. The area around your work isn't very lively at night/weekends. The South Loop sees some action, but its not as much as most places.

[gomexico]

Near North Side of the city: River North, River West, West Loop, Randolph/Washington Streets. Printers Row is lame, IMO.

[emathias]

Downtown, walk to work on South Wacker, you'd be looking at either the Printers Row portion of the South Loop, or the near West Loop. Cabs in Chicago around downtown will run you $7-$10 for the most part, including tip.

Printers Row is less lame than it was even just 3-4 years ago. But it is quieter than other parts of downtown - for some people, that's a positive in that it's close to a lot, but still quiet and pleasant.

You could also live in River North, although depending on what part of River North your walk to work might stretch to 25 minutes or so. There are also a lot of transit options between River North and South Wacker. I've spent about 11 years of my career working on or near South Wacker and I live in River North. I've walked, ridden a bike, taken the "L", take cabs, and taken buses. Sometimes all in the same week - I like the flexibility.