Chicago Neighborhood. No idea where to Start (Lincoln, Roscoe: apartments, rent)

[Milwaukee3340]

Hello:

I am considering moving to Chicago from Milwaukee for a job late next month. The potential company is in proximity to the hard rock hotel. What is a safe and quiet area to live that I could be able to walk, bike or take the metra to work? What's the best sites to look and what train line is closest to n Michigan area?

I do not want to have a longer commute than 20 minutes each way. My salary will be around $60,000 starting out. I would like to pay around $850-$1,150 or so for a nice one bedroom or two if at all possible. Thanks!

[marothisu]

I'll have to correct you. If you are in the city, it's called the L, or bus. The metra is a mainly suburban rail system. There's some stops in the city though. All city train lines, except one, converge in the Loop, so that's not hard. For a one bedroom on that budget, you may consider areas like Lakeview, Logan Square, maybe Roscoe Village (MAYBE), Lincoln Square, etc. If you wanted a 2 bedroom for that price, you'd have to go to a quieter neighborhood like Bridgeport.

[svicious22]

That's a tall order as your rent you are looking to pay is a bit low and your commute time also on the short side. I would give up the idea of a 2 bedroom or you will likely not get your commute time down to anywhere near that low and you will be bored out of your mind living in a lame hood. I'd either look along the red line el or the brown line el since those are the nearest el lines but 20 mins north on the el from vicinity of Wacker and Michigan is still pretty high rent district.

Along N Lakeshore Dr since the express buses will go by your prospective employer along Michigan Ave is a possibility, but that will almost certainly be more than 20 mins, especially in bad traffic. Maybe you could find something due west of downtown (Riverwest?) and take a cross-town bus like Grand Ave and be sort of close to that commute time but it would probably be a bit longer. All of the neighborhoods the previous poster mentioned, while solid picks, will be more than 20 mins to downtown along the el. If possible try out the commute during rush hour, a weekend might not give you a realistic picture.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by svicious22

That's a tall order as your rent you are looking to pay is a bit low and your commute time also on the short side. I would give up the idea of a 2 bedroom or you will likely not get your commute time down to anywhere near that low and you will be bored out of your mind living in a lame hood. I'd either look along the red line el or the brown line el since those are the nearest el lines but 20 mins north on the el from vicinity of Wacker and Michigan is still pretty high rent district.

Well maybe it's 25 minutes, but you can find 1 bedroom apartments in Lakeview for the OP's budget. People for some reason think the rent there is all extremely high. You can still find it there and actually you will find some on that budget in Lincoln Park (not a ton, but some).

I guess factoring in walking time, waiting time, etc then yeah it's kind of tough maybe. I live in Gold Coast, my office is near the Sears Tower and best case scenario while taking the train just a few stops, and walking a half mile is 15 minutes.

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Well maybe it's 25 minutes, but you can find 1 bedroom apartments in Lakeview for the OP's budget. People for some reason think the rent there is all extremely high. You can still find it there and actually you will find some on that budget in Lincoln Park (not a ton, but some).

Lakeview will depend on what the OP's definition of "nice" is. The ones available for that price range in Lakeview will most likely be smaller and or not recently updated.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by PerseusVeil

Lakeview will depend on what the OP's definition of "nice" is. The ones available for that price range in Lakeview will most likely be smaller and or not recently updated.

For the upper range it'll be mid level. You can get something decent for $1150, but not luxury or anything (correct).

[chet everett]

The only way to have 20 minute walk to N. Michigan Ave. is by living in Illinois Center / "new east side".

Budget seems lie for that.

[vsc1976]

Rogers Park
Edgewater
Uptown (Sheridan Park or Buena Park)
Southport Corridor
West Ridge
Norwood Park
Jefferson Park
Lincoln Park (West of Clark Street)
Forest Glen (Depends where it is safe but the People are weird)
North Park
Bowmanville
Lincoln Square
North Center
Roscoe Village
Old Irving
Avondale
Little Italy (Taylor Street)

You can get 1 or 2 bedroom apartments within your price range in these areas.