Wrigleyville apartments: to live or not to live (Addison, Lincoln: lease, how much)

[KanyeStan]

I'm a 19 year old freshman at DePaul University. I currently live in a dorm. The deal with Depaul students is freshman year you live in a dorm( they cost about 1K a month) and after freshman year you move to apartments. The most popular apartment is called 1237 West( costs about 1,300 per month). 2 of my friends and I want to move into an apartment together( unless one of my friends gfets accepted to be an RA then it'd be me and the other guy). There's a guy I know who's a sophomore and he lives in a Wrigleyville apartment for 500-550ish a month with 2 other guys. Would that be a good move? Wrigleyville? My dad also brought up living in a studio near Clark and Division. My roommate now is hardly in the room so I'm used to being alone, I don't like it, but if it came down to it, I could do it. What would be the better move?

[marothisu]

Wrigleyville is definitely cheaper if you have roommates. $550 might be a little low but there's probably some 3 bedrooms out there in that range per person before any utilities. The average 3 bedroom in that general area is more like $2100-$2300/month, or $700-767/month per person. There are also places that cheap around you, or were. They aren't amazing but they are out there sometimes. My ex girlfriend looked at a 3 bedroom a little over a year ago that was above Lincoln Hall and like $1800/month total. The place wasn't amazing, but doable if you don't care about living in luxury.


I think it comes down to how much money you want to spend (if you do or if money is no concern), if you want roommates or not, etc. You'll probably end up saving more money if you do the roommates thing on average of about $200/month I'm guessing. Just think what you can do with $200/month (unless your parents are paying for it and it's not your money ;-) ). I have a friend who lives on LaSalle & Maple in a studio for about $800/month, but as a resident 3 blocks south of that area, I'd say the average cheap studio in the area is more like $1000/month or more.

[emathias]

"to live or not to live"

Well, Wrigleyville may not be for everyone, but I like to think it's not so bad you'd off yourself.

[ToriaT]

My son was in the same boat. He rented in a variety of place all with room mates. If you can get fellow student room mates from de paul, its a good idea. You can get a bigger place and you will have people around you. Wrigleyville is fine. My son bounced around from Lincoln Park, to Andersonville, to Logan Square, again to Wrigleyville and then back to Logan Square. He's always had roomates, some from DePaul, some from UIC, some from Columbia College.

[peanut24]

I lived on Grace st a block from Wrigley for 2 years when I was at Columbia college. This was 2000-02. I had a roommate and it was a nice area in the residential part. I always felt safe. It can get very hard to park if you plan on having a car in the baseball season. Also the Addison L stop gets annoying and very crowded when games are going on. I walked to a different stop to avoid it. I got tired of hearing loud drunks and couples arguing out my window especially after night games when you have class and work the next day. I also got tired of having a roommate. I ended up moving to Lincoln Square right when it was up and coming and I loved it..but... It was definitely an experience in Wrigleyville and I am glad for the time I lived there. I would say go for it and just don't sign longer then a one year lease incase you want a change.