Commuting from Indiana (income, living in, move to) - Chicago - Illinois (IL) - Page 3 - City-Data Forum

vkschicago · 03-13-2008, 12:30 AM

Would I be nuts to think I could find a newer place in that price range?

Drover · 03-13-2008, 12:34 AM

Probably. With a newer place, you're paying more to help the builder/owner/developer/whoever recover a lot of upfront costs. With older places, much of those costs are already recovered.

Avengerfire · 03-13-2008, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vkschicago

Would I be nuts to think I could find a newer place in that price range?

Probably but not in all cases. It depends where you are looking. Why do you need a new place? Many new places are built like crap.

vkschicago · 03-13-2008, 12:40 AM

Well the reason I am looking at newer places is because all of the placed I have found which were built before around 95 (guess) are built in a very closed off style. i.e. four walls divide each room. This drives me nuts esp in the winter when you feel boxed in anyways. The newer buildings generally tend to have a more open living area.

Drover · 03-13-2008, 12:47 AM

In that case, I invite you again to check out the unit above me. The living room and dining room are pretty much open to one another. I would estimate that combined they are about 800 square feet. They do have some wall to separate the two and give them each their own function, but the archway between them is about 9 feet wide.

Also, it's not uncommon to find units in vintage buildings that have been rehabbed with a more open floor plan.

mel2000 · 03-14-2008, 09:39 PM

So $1250 is OK but $1500 is not? Surely tou realize that the cost of your daily commute from Indiana to the Loop will eat up more than the difference? And gasoline is only going to go higher. And I think that back-breaking commute will leave you very little free time for the home office work you describe.

Drover · 03-14-2008, 09:50 PM

Well, I don't know how else to help the woman. I offer to hook her up with an apartment that fits all of her stated needs and then some at well under her budget, but she's still not interested. As far as I'm concerned, she's on her own.

mel2000 · 03-14-2008, 10:08 PM

Another observation: The open floor plan she likes might work well in California, but in Highland, IN it will increase her utility costs to control her indoor climate.

vkschicago · 03-15-2008, 04:01 PM

Wow.

First, I would appreciate a tip on the affordable apartment. I have been traveling to visit family and as such have not been able to respond. Often there are many reasons why people don't reply immediately to these message boards.

Second, my earlier post stated that 1500 was "getting high." That does not mean that a place at 1500 was not an option.

Thank you for the observations regarding the commute. I did factor all of this in when deciding whether or not to even consider the location in Indiana. These considerations did include the cost of paying for parking near the places in the city which I am considering combined with the cost of taking the L on a daily basis vs. the cost of parking near my office and the cost of gasoline which is much cheaper in Indiana. As for the open floor plan vs. the closed floor plans/older buildings in regards to utility bills, I have spoken with residents of the complex (outside the oversight of the office) in order to determine utility bills. The open plan does not seem to vary much in cost of utilities. Additionally, I currently live in an open floor plan apartment and the utilities do not differ significantly from the closed plan apartment which I lived in prior even when inflation is factored into the bills. Additionally, I have noticed that many of the older apartments are difficult to heat in the winter because of old drafty windows. I would say from what I have discovered, it depends more on the construction of the building then on the floorplan, but I am by no means an expert. Thank you for pointing out additional things to consider though!

Drover · 03-16-2008, 01:02 AM

I assumed a lack of interest on your part because you were still online and posting responses in real time when I first offered and you didn't seem to notice.

Anyway, I will send you my landlady's phone number in a private message. If you do take the apartment, I can hook you up with wi-fi internet access for a very fair price.