Suggestions for affordable neighborhoods working near North Chicago (Humboldt: low income, cheap apartment)

[fmatthew5876]

Hello everyone,

I will be starting a new job in Chicago near River North / River West areas between the Blue and Brown/Purple lines. I will be living alone and would be looking for a small cheap apartment with a reasonable commute to work.

The biggest factors in my mind are commute time, rental price, and personal safety. Being on the blue, brown, or purple lines would be nice to commute but I'm also not opposed to taking a bus or even bringing my car and driving to work if that turns out to be the optimal solution. Additional secondary perks would be green space and very distant 3rd perk would be local night life and restaurants.

Currently I live in the Bronx in NYC and I pay just a bit less than $1000 / month for a studio apartment. I'm ok with getting another studio and would like to pay no more than this and optimally pay even less since Chicago is supposed to be a more affordable city. I don't have a fixed budget per-se but I don't want to overspend for unnecessary luxury that I don't really need.

I live in a low income working class neighborhood so I'm totally cool with living in a somewhat "rough" area that requires a bit of street smarts. I'm white and nearly all of my neighbors are latino and also I'm ok being the minority. My neighborhood has some rough patches and shady characters, but on the whole its mostly working class families just trying to make it and people are friendly. Something similar to this would be fine.

What I'm not ok with are areas with serious safety concerns. Gang activity, gun violence, a history of random muggings or attacks on strangers, real risk of physical violence. Also a concern if its a mostly black or latino area is racial prejudice or tensions due to gentrification or other social and/or political concerns. In NYC this is a hot button issue in some neighborhoods and not at all an issue in others like where I live now. I don't want to feel unwelcome or distrusted by the community I choose to live in.

As a side question, what avenues do people typically go for when searching for apartments in Chicago? In NYC we have sites like streeteasy and naked apartments among many others.

Thanks!

[NealIRC]

Chicago.Craigslist.org.

Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood is the largest Puerto Rican neighborhood, which may be the most similar to the Bronx.

[sbking]

You can live in the best area. Why not do it?

[glass_of_merlot]

Originally Posted by NealIRC

Chicago.Craigslist.org.

Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood is the largest Puerto Rican neighborhood, which may be the most similar to the Bronx.

Humboldt park is not a good neighborhood. lol