Ukrainian village for newlyweds planning on having kids? (Chicago, Humboldt: apartments, renting)

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Yeah, I understand. I know they exist though (I just found a few on Zillow). I remember a month or two ago, I was showing a friend of mine in SF the price of rent here in some areas. I found a 3 bedroom for $1500/month in Noble Square that was decent (not bad, not luxury). Of course it's gone now..I have an acquaintance that pays around $1000/month for their 2 bedroom in Noble Square too.

It seems as if the vacancy rate is really low at this price range though currently.

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.

[jwaiter]

I'm not sure what the OP is looking for is even possible. Not sure what to suggest, suburbs maybe.

[chet everett]

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.

Especially for folks using "craigslist" as a source of potential rentals the boundaries of neighborhoods get blurred way past what any reputable leasing agent would suggest.

It is not just the affordability factor either -- when a neighborhood has a mix of housing that is scaled to families (like Jefferson Park, Ravenswood Manor, or parts of Lincoln Square) one will have encounters with others that may lead to friendships so that down the road when one needs advice about how "play groups" work or who has an inside track for reliable babysitters the conversation is easy. In areas where it takes a whole lot more dough for even a place that is NOT big enough for a family those conversations are much harder.

Heck even in areas like Roscoe Village where the divide between single family homes and rentals / condos is pretty marked not just in price but also physical lay-out there are a whole bunch of issues that would give me pause about reccomending the area to young newlyweds with a modest income and a desire to start their family...

Originally Posted by jwaiter

I'm not sure what the OP is looking for is even possible. Not sure what to suggest, suburbs maybe.

Glad you suggested that, I get darned tired of being the sole voice of reason for threads like this...

[Aleking]

again OP is renting and doesn't have kids, they can just move to elmhurst in a few years.

[chet everett]

It is rather easy for a single guy (or gal) to sorta rope some pals into helping schlep their futton from one neighborhood to another every time their lease runs out and the realize how dumb they were to rent in someplace that did not fit their lifestyle.

It is a whole other things for a couple with kids that presumably values things like "being close to their church" and making friends with likeminded families as they decide on living somewhere to just say "screw it, time to head to the land of heavy rail" -- I would recommend trying to find somewhere that won't make the commute to church utterly impossible while still offering them the day-to-day opportunity to have interactions with others like themselves AND NOT GO BROKE...

[Aleking]

lol ^

Chet done changed the game

[UrbanCheetah]

Originally Posted by Attrill

While it would be tight, it can be done on $60,000/year. For schools you might want to widen your search a bit to include parts or Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Noble Square. You won't have a lot of options at $1,200/month for rent.

Some of the good elementary schools in the general area are Pritzker, Burr, Drummond and Pulaski. Our daughter is in CPS and all of her classmates live in in the general Ukrainian Village/Bucktown/Logan Square area. At least half are in Ukrainian Village. It's a fine place to raise kids.

Yeah I find it interesting that most people that were raised in the city like me, LOVED being raised in the city and IMO tend to be more well rounded and culturally aware than those who aren't. Point is they loved being raised in the city and plan on staying. Most people I know who were raised in the suburbs tend to be indifferent, or lack the excitement that they grew up in the suburbs. A good chunk hated it.

I just find it interesting. There is such an emphasis on raising your kids and having your family in the burbs for our area, yet when the kids get older many have nowhere near the level of excitement or pride that they grew up in their respective suburb compared to the pride and excitement that people who were raised in the city do.

[TeresaChicago]

Wow, thanks for all the advice. I'll try to answer the questions but let me know if I missed something.

Schools: I'm not really concerned about schools because I do figure we'll move before that time comes and I don't think we'll go the public school route anyway.

Exact location: Okay, looking at the map, not everything that I saw was actually in Ukrainian Village. You guys are right about that. A lot of them are in Wicker Park and I guess the majority are west of Western Avenue (which I gather is bad).

Buying vs. renting: We're definitely not looking to buy. I doubt we'll be in the city long term. When we move out, we'll probably move to NW Indiana.

Other: Yeah, the issue of being close to church is why we want to be in the city rather than a suburb. And the issue someone brought up about wanting to be near other young couples to get in the loop about playgroups and stuff is also a factor.

[Aleking]

take a breather dude

[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.