Ukrainian village for newlyweds planning on having kids? (Chicago, Skokie: daycare, home)

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

I found two on Zillow, and they both looked quite crappy, one was on the Western border and the other was a "2 br" that was 800 ft.

Again, I'm sure they exist, I am just telling the OP to be careful that they are not getting dumped on the wrong side of Western or on a rough street.

Of course, and also west of Western a little bit isn't as bad as people may think anymore. I mean it's not perfect, but it's far from a hell hole. Really depends on how far north or south you are too. There's a lot of hipsters who live in the area around Chicago Ave west of Western for example. One of the best sushi places in the city is a few blocks west of Western on Chicago ave, amongst other things. There's actually some new residential construction going on between western and california as we speak in that area. I'm not saying to live there but just that it isn't as bad as you may think.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Of course, and also west of Western a little bit isn't as bad as people may think anymore. I mean it's not perfect, but it's far from a hell hole. Really depends on how far north or south you are too. There's a lot of hipsters who live in the area around Chicago Ave west of Western for example. One of the best sushi places in the city is a few blocks west of Western on Chicago ave, amongst other things. There's actually some new residential construction going on between western and california as we speak in that area. I'm not saying to live there but just that it isn't as bad as you may think.

"If the liars on Craigslist try to get you to believe that a place west of Western is a steal that will make a great new home for your young family skip checking out the apartment, but if you want some tasty sushi and you don't mind riding the bus with some folks in tight jeans go check out Kai Zan which is technically in Humbolt Park, which is no place to think about having kids..."

[chet everett]

I eat all kinds of stuff all over the place. When I do I think mostly of how much I can offend pretensious idiots by deflating their self important thoughts of any place with an old man like me in my chronically un-ironic clothing choices could not possibly make their choice in cuisine any less hip...

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I eat all kinds of stuff all over the place. When I do I think mostly of how much I can offend pretensious idiots by deflating their self important thoughts of any place with an old man like me in my chronically un-ironic clothing choices could not possibly make their choice in cuisine any less hip...

Actually, you are probably very hip with that description. Hipster now Chet?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Actually, you are probably very hip with that description. Hipster now Chet?

I was thinking that. They'd probably just think he was an old hipster. If he wanted to make people cringe, he would wear khakis, a ****ty button up shirt, and tennis shoes. Both the pants and shirt have to be about 1-2 sizes too big too.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

Come back when you are looking at a specific intersection to get intel on it.

I personally would not go west of Western, in most instances, and other cheap properties may be on undesirable streets or adjacent to public/section 8 housing.

I don't think living in the city ONLY to be close to a church makes much sense.

Live somewhere safe that you can afford and drive to the church.

If you love city living, that is another story.

I do think finding a desirable 2BR in a good neighborhood for $1200 will be tough.

I think this is good advice for the OP. There are thousands of churches in the Chicago region. There's no reason to live in the city if you plan to have a family right away on such a tight budget.

Now, if you really are in love with living in a big city and want to enjoy culture and nightlife, then that's one thing, but nothing in the OP's posts has suggested that to me.

Also, having recently moved out of Humboldt Park (2 blocks west of Western just north of Division), I would not want to raise a family there, personally. The area isn't horrible, but I guess it's just not what I want for my future kids.

[Ace Rothstein]

You shouldn't rush to have kids, have some fun first. Not many people in the area are having kids in their early 20's.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Ace Rothstein

You shouldn't rush to have kids, have some fun first. Not many people in the area are having kids in their early 20's.

...but this is not the "relationship / life advice" subforum. It is the information relevent to those relocating / shopping for an apartment section of city-data...

Let's say that instead of the OP mentioning age / newly married status they instead just said "my partner and I have been thinking about having a kid. Partner has a decent job lined up downtown for about $60k, we found a cool church in River North, would it be nuts to shop for apartments that cost about $1200/mo and the landlords say are in Ukrainian Village but seem to be more like Humbolt Park..."

I know what my answer would be...

(btw, "having fun" and "having kids" is not mutually exclusive, heck even beyond the getting pregnant part raising kids was mostly a blast, and if you have kids early you have all kinds of time after the kids move away to have fun with your spouse while your knees and other important body parts still work)

[Larry Siegel]

Hmm.. lots of heat and not a heck of a lot of light. Is the OP's partner likely to be making $120,000 in five years? That would change the picture. Is the question "should I rent in UKV and starting thinking about moving when the kids are school age"? Is it "...when the kids are high school age"?

We raised our kids in the city until they were school age, then moved. This is not exactly uncommon! I'm a private school brat, but I'm an only child. We decided to do something different than what my parents did. We moved to an excellent suburban school district rather than try to put *two* kids through private schools in the city, especially since there's no guarantee they'd be accepted at one.

I think that renting in UKV and then deciding, when the kids are a year or two from starting school, whether to stay or move depending on then-current circumstances is a good idea.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Ace Rothstein

You shouldn't rush to have kids, have some fun first. Not many people in the area are having kids in their early 20's.

Originally Posted by chet everett

...but this is not the "relationship / life advice" subforum. It is the information relevent to those relocating / shopping for an apartment section of city-data...

Let's say that instead of the OP mentioning age / newly married status they instead just said "my partner and I have been thinking about having a kid. Partner has a decent job lined up downtown for about $60k, we found a cool church in River North, would it be nuts to shop for apartments that cost about $1200/mo and the landlords say are in Ukrainian Village but seem to be more like Humbolt Park..."

I know what my answer would be...

(btw, "having fun" and "having kids" is not mutually exclusive, heck even beyond the getting pregnant part raising kids was mostly a blast, and if you have kids early you have all kinds of time after the kids move away to have fun with your spouse while your knees and other important body parts still work)

There's a happy medium between both. Besides people will till their 90s probably. Maybe longer.