Yet another "I'm moving to Chicago" thread... but advice sorely needed! (Montrose: leasing, neighborhood)

[gomexico]

Reading through the For Rent listings in the Chicago Reader will give you a good idea of the rental rates in various parts of the city, including Andersonville. Rents in that neighborhood have increased steadily due to its popularity. You should be okay at $2,000 per month budget level. Most of the older buildings, and Andersonville has mostly "older" buildings, include heat with the rent. Water cost is included, as well. You'd probably have to provide window air conditioners unless the unit has been fitted with central air, for which you would pay the electric cost. Traveling on public transportation from most of Andersonville will probably take an hour; could be slightly more (depends upon just where in Andersonville you locate). Best of luck with the move. Lucky you! Chicago!

[Vlajos]

I lived in Andersonville for over 10 years, the commute to downtown is about 45 minutes (on the red line) including walking. It's a very nice area. The $2K budget should be more than enough, I doubt you need more than $1500 for a two bedroom including utilities.

[berniekosar19]

Thanks for the reply!
I'm sure it's comical that I'm concerned about our housing budget, but if you only understood the housing market in NYC right now... we're paying $3300 for a 2BR right now and that's considered a steal. So yeah, not really knowing the Chicago housing market, I was definitely concerned that we'd have to pay the same for something nice, especially during (at least in NYC it's this way) the hot summer rental season. Really, I'm more stressed about the prospect of having to find a place in just one weekend; just wanna make sure we don't end up someplace terrible because we're pressed for time and unfamiliar with the neighborhoods.
I did have another quick question: in NYC, you definitely pay a broker's fee for apartments. Is that the case in Chicago/

Originally Posted by Lorielicious

I love it when people from NY/CA come to Chicago threads with these high-ass budgets wondering if that'll find them something nice. Chicago isn't expensive, and $2,000 will definitely get you a decent place. It'll for damn sure get you a decent place in Andersonville. All of the other areas you're looking into are perfectly fine. Some "cooler" than others, but all nice, safe, good amenities, and with convenient access to the L. The advantage of Andersonville is it's close to 1 of 2 L lines within the city that runs 24 hours/day. The CTA is okay. You're right to want to live along the L, as that'll make getting around easier and less maddening than dealing with buses which can be kind of terrible at times. Another thing to keep in mind is the L here isn't meant to get people from neighborhood to neighborhood. It's to get the in and out of downtown. So for the wife lady's work commute downtown, things will be easy peasy. If she wants to get across town, drive.

Parking will (of course) depend largely on the neighborhood. Yes, Chicago is dog friendly. Ridiculously so. There are dog parks everywhere, and you can't walk down the street without seeing folks with their dogs (which makes it really hard on me, because I want to pet all of them).

The apt searching services aren't all bad; they just take you to the same five neighborhoods over and over again, but from reading your OP, it looks like you're looking into the places they usually show you anyway. Craigslist is rife with scams, but assuming this isn't your first rodeo, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to separate the good stuff from the BS. I found my apartment on CL.

[berniekosar19]

Thanks so much for this!
The car is most likely going to stay put on the weekdays unless she gets lazy and drives to work, so this is really good to know.

Originally Posted by chirack

Better warn you about street parking in Chicago. The two big things that can cause you to get tickets for street parking are the abandoned vehicle law:

Parking Ticket 101: Move Your Car Weekly | theexpiredmeter.com

City of Chicago :: Report Abandoned Vehicles

and street cleaning:

City of Chicago :: City of Chicago Street Sweeping Schedule Season Begins April 1, 2013

Street cleaning about once a month per side on side streets and more often on major streets. These laws can become a bit of a problem for someone who just takes public transit to work and parks on the street since the car won’t move so much(i.e. It is likely to be parked when street cleaning comes through and you are at work. Or you didn’t move your car ten days because you didn’t need it to get to work. and in Places with bad parking you don't want to move for fear of not getting an spot.) In areas where parking maybe a bit more contested they do report cars that have sat too long.

Also you should clear your car of snow in winter because even snow on the car left for 7 days can trigger the abandoned vehicle law. On the street parking may be cheap but those two might cause some hassle for you. I think New York has a law that requires you to move the car across the street every so often that serves the same purpose.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by berniekosar19

I did have another quick question: in NYC, you definitely pay a broker's fee for apartments. Is that the case in Chicago/

Nope, in general. The apartment finder services get paid through the landlord. So you are indirectly paying for it.

[berniekosar19]

Ok, that is great to know, as most of the listings I've seen either don't mention it or make a point to say it's not included, so was starting to get concerned that would be an extra cost I wouldn't know what to budget for.
2-3 flats are basically 2-3 family houses, right? Those would most likely be the ones that would have signs in the window if we walk around the neighborhood, or do they generally advertise online or in the paper?
NYC rents are so astronomical I just can't fathom you can get a nice 2BR for under $2000!

Originally Posted by knitgirl

If the wife likes vintage courtyard buildings you should know that those generally DO include heat and hot water. In that case, you're generally just paying for electric to run your lights and appliances and for gas for the stove. With your budget, you'll do just fine in Andersonville, or Ravenswood, or Lincoln Square. So nice to see somebody moving from out of state whose not obsessed with living in just Lincoln Park, Lakeview or the Gold Coast. I would also definitely look into 2 or 3 flats. You may luck into yard access, possibly even garage space. Your budget is more than enough to include parking in those neighborhoods.

[Lorielicious]

Originally Posted by berniekosar19

Thanks for the reply!
I'm sure it's comical that I'm concerned about our housing budget, but if you only understood the housing market in NYC right now... we're paying $3300 for a 2BR right now and that's considered a steal.

Oh, dude, I know. I come from LA which isn't as bad as NY, but still gets pretty ridiculous. I don't want to pump you up with too much hope, but if you stick with neighborhoods like the ones you're looking in, make sure to you're close to the L, and you like the apt and building itself, you should be fine. A week is short notice, but it's been done.

[berniekosar19]

So, neighborhood safety question: have come across several listings in, I guess, Uptown.
One by the Argyle stop on Winnemac and N broadway and a couple more by the Lawrence stop on the Red line. They're all on Lawrence Ave, east of N Broadway.
I've read that the Wilson stop area is pretty sketchy but are those specific areas just as bad?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by berniekosar19

So, neighborhood safety question: have come across several listings in, I guess, Uptown.
One by the Argyle stop on Winnemac and N broadway and a couple more by the Lawrence stop on the Red line. They're all on Lawrence Ave, east of N Broadway.
I've read that the Wilson stop area is pretty sketchy but are those specific areas just as bad?

The area around Winnemac and Broadway isn't bad. That area is basically Little Vietnam (Saigon) with a load of Vietnamese and some chinese places there. If you go a little East on Argyle, you can run into some shady stuff, but meh.

Near the Lawrence stop is the Riviera Theater (music venue) and Green Mill (famous Jazz club open until 4am or 5am pretty much every night). The area around there isn't bad, but again go a few blocks east and it's weird.

Personally, I think you can do better. I like the Argyle area, but personally I would look a little bit away in North Center/Lincoln Square area like around the Montrose Brown Line, Damen Brown Line, or Western Brown Line...or Irving Park Brown Line. I know for a fact there are two bedroom places for $1500/month around those places and anything more would probably be better.

Although this is Craigslist...
https://www.padmapper.com/show.php?t...64310&src=main

Bigger ones not from CL:
* The Harry Frank Building | Chicago, IL Apartments for Rent | Rent.com® (Ravenswood)
* 851-59 Cornelia | Chicago, IL Apartments for Rent | Rent.com® (Wrigleyville/Boystown)

A few at least near train lines and all that.

[berniekosar19]

Thanks for the tips!
For me, personally, I'm ok with an area that's still a little gritty but the wife, not so much.
It's definitely disconcerting not knowing whether an area is iffy or not from afar; trying to do as much homework as possible before flying out there to see places in person so we don't waste time running around neighborhoods we're going to hate.

Originally Posted by marothisu

The area around Winnemac and Broadway isn't bad. That area is basically Little Vietnam (Saigon) with a load of Vietnamese and some chinese places there. If you go a little East on Argyle, you can run into some shady stuff, but meh.

Near the Lawrence stop is the Riviera Theater (music venue) and Green Mill (famous Jazz club open until 4am or 5am pretty much every night). The area around there isn't bad, but again go a few blocks east and it's weird.

Personally, I think you can do better. I like the Argyle area, but personally I would look a little bit away in North Center/Lincoln Square area like around the Montrose Brown Line, Damen Brown Line, or Western Brown Line...or Irving Park Brown Line. I know for a fact there are two bedroom places for $1500/month around those places and anything more would probably be better.

Although this is Craigslist...
https://www.padmapper.com/show.php?t...64310&src=main

Bigger ones not from CL:
* The Harry Frank Building | Chicago, IL Apartments for Rent | Rent.com® (Ravenswood)
* 851-59 Cornelia | Chicago, IL Apartments for Rent | Rent.com® (Wrigleyville/Boystown)

A few at least near train lines and all that.