$1,100 30 minutes to loop where to live? (Chicago, Oak Park: apartments, for rent, loft)

[pete6032]

I live in North Center right now but I'm looking to get a studio or 1 BR (really anything where I live alone) with a 30 minute commute to the loop. The usual neighborhoods I hear about are Lakeview, Lincoln Park, South Loop, West Loop, Logan Square, Pilsen. I think I'm priced out of South and West Loop at this price point and I don't want to live in Pilsen. Are there any other neighborhoods I should be considering? Any idea in which of these neighborhoods my money would go the farthest?

[NealIRC]

Chicago.Craigslist.org.

Set the max value to 1100.

[emathias]

If you live in the NE corner of Hyde Park, the #6 express bus will get you to Madison and Michigan in under 20 minutes, leaving you plenty of time to walk to your final destination for a total trip time under 30 minutes. And you'd be close to the Lake and Hyde Park has a lot more going on than it used to. It's not Lakeview, but it's not dead.

Rogers Park near the Metra stop would give you a 30 minute commute if your office is near Ogilvie station.

Living near Lake/Harlem in Oak Park and using Metra could also give you a 30 minute commute if your office is near Ogilvie.

Bridgeport if you're near Archer could give you a 30 minute commute. Same for McKinley Park.

Tri-Taylor area would probably work, too.

There are a few old, tiny studio buildings in the Gold Coast near Division that have studios you could afford. But they would be small. But convenient.

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by pete6032

I live in North Center right now but I'm looking to get a studio or 1 BR (really anything where I live alone) with a 30 minute commute to the loop. The usual neighborhoods I hear about are Lakeview, Lincoln Park, South Loop, West Loop, Logan Square, Pilsen. I think I'm priced out of South and West Loop at this price point and I don't want to live in Pilsen. Are there any other neighborhoods I should be considering? Any idea in which of these neighborhoods my money would go the farthest?

You can certainly still get studios in Lincoln Park and Lakeview for $1100 or less, but it also depends on what you're looking for in a building. Does it need to be a newer or recently renovated building with lots of amenities, or is an older building with a non-updated apartment ok?

Also looking at Uptown or Edgewater would bring you into one bedroom territory in addition to studios, while making a 30 minute commute still feasible so long as you look at areas near the Red Line and your job not being far from a station downtown. Buena Park in Uptown, for example, would give you the option of taking the Red Line or the 148 express in the mornings, which will get onto LSD right at Irving Park and exit onto Michigan.

[MarianRavenwood]

You can actually find apartments for under $1100 in all of these neighborhoods, so long as your expectations are reasonable.

You don't HAVE to have central AC and a dishwasher and a loft style apartment with a balcony and a rooftop dog park.

It all comes down to what is more important to you--the commute time or the amenities when you are at home?

[personone]

Originally Posted by pete6032

I live in North Center right now but I'm looking to get a studio or 1 BR (really anything where I live alone) with a 30 minute commute to the loop. The usual neighborhoods I hear about are Lakeview, Lincoln Park, South Loop, West Loop, Logan Square, Pilsen. I think I'm priced out of South and West Loop at this price point and I don't want to live in Pilsen. Are there any other neighborhoods I should be considering? Any idea in which of these neighborhoods my money would go the farthest?

You can definitely find studios for $1,100 in all of the neighborhoods you listed. Craigslist is the best place to start, but walking around the neighborhood in Lakeview, you can find "for rent" signs all over the place, and there is so much housing available there, that you should be able to find some options that may not be advertised online. So I would suggest strolling around the neighborhoods you are interested in to find some non-advertised options. To answer your original question though, you can definitely find at least a studio for 1100 in the neighborhoods you've listed.

[usamathman]

Originally Posted by pete6032

I live in North Center right now but I'm looking to get a studio or 1 BR (really anything where I live alone) with a 30 minute commute to the loop. The usual neighborhoods I hear about are Lakeview, Lincoln Park, South Loop, West Loop, Logan Square, Pilsen. I think I'm priced out of South and West Loop at this price point and I don't want to live in Pilsen. Are there any other neighborhoods I should be considering? Any idea in which of these neighborhoods my money would go the farthest?

Yeah, I think you are right when you say you'll be priced out of South and West Loop. I don't remember ever seeing any apartments for $1100 and under.

I would go with lincoln park, followed by logan square and lakeview. Look up BJB properties. They have a lot of nice buildings in Chicago that meet your price range.

[Tonytime224]

Little village

[dlong1991]

Originally Posted by Tonytime224

Little village

If he doesn't want Pilsen, he is really not going to want Little Village.

Let's stop plugging Little Village, we don't want it to prematurely gentrify.

AKA I can't afford to buy there yet so keep it under the radar

[ChiGuy2.5]

Check Domu.com too! There are great tools on Domu that make searching very convenient!