Moving to Chicago (fit in, apartment, to rent)

[keenam3]

We are considering a move to the Chicago area. My husband will be traveling quite a bit and will need to have airport accessibility (within 40 minutes anyway). We are recently empty nesters and are 40 and 45 years old. We want to live somewhere with a good entertainment district as we love to go out and eat and drink. We like trendy communities with lots of restaurants, bars and dance clubs as we do not look or act as old as we are! We are looking to rent a condo/apartment. Need a minimum of 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath and would like to stay under $2000 per month. Love downtown Chicago but don't know if there are any areas that fit into our budget and are safe. We are not opposed to suburbs either as long as we can easily get to downtown Chicago. Would prefer access to public transportation as I am from the south and have no intention of driving in the snow! Any suggestions as to areas? Any help would be greatly appreciated so that I at least know which areas to research further.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by keenam3

We are considering a move to the Chicago area. My husband will be traveling quite a bit and will need to have airport accessibility (within 40 minutes anyway). We are recently empty nesters and are 40 and 45 years old. We want to live somewhere with a good entertainment district as we love to go out and eat and drink. We like trendy communities with lots of restaurants, bars and dance clubs as we do not look or act as old as we are! We are looking to rent a condo/apartment. Need a minimum of 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath and would like to stay under $2000 per month. Love downtown Chicago but don't know if there are any areas that fit into our budget and are safe. We are not opposed to suburbs either as long as we can easily get to downtown Chicago. Would prefer access to public transportation as I am from the south and have no intention of driving in the snow! Any suggestions as to areas? Any help would be greatly appreciated so that I at least know which areas to research further.

Which airport? Ohare or Midway?

[emathias]

Originally Posted by keenam3

We are considering a move to the Chicago area. My husband will be traveling quite a bit and will need to have airport accessibility (within 40 minutes anyway). We are recently empty nesters and are 40 and 45 years old. We want to live somewhere with a good entertainment district as we love to go out and eat and drink. We like trendy communities with lots of restaurants, bars and dance clubs as we do not look or act as old as we are! We are looking to rent a condo/apartment. Need a minimum of 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath and would like to stay under $2000 per month. Love downtown Chicago but don't know if there are any areas that fit into our budget and are safe. We are not opposed to suburbs either as long as we can easily get to downtown Chicago. Would prefer access to public transportation as I am from the south and have no intention of driving in the snow! Any suggestions as to areas? Any help would be greatly appreciated so that I at least know which areas to research further.

You might be able to find a place in Wicker Park/Bucktown for that price, and there's good food, drinking and nightlife there, and the Blue Line to O'Hare runs right through it.

[Vlajos]

Assuming O'Hare is the airport more likely to be used, the Wicker Park/Bucktown recommendation is perfect.

[It'sAutomatic]

You can find an apartment in any neighborhood at that price. Live downtown if you like, though the better areas of "downtown" to live in are the near north side (River North, Gold Coast, Streeterville), as the loop itself is quiet and empty after working hours. I think this place is right up your alley:
2BR in desirable River North location (http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/2597015719.html - broken link)

[keenam3]

Nana, either airport if fine. He prefers to fly either Southwest or American which fly out of 2 different airports so he can change his preference to one or the other depending on which airport we are near. Thanks everyone! This gives me a good starting point.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by keenam3

Nana, either airport if fine. He prefers to fly either Southwest or American which fly out of 2 different airports so he can change his preference to one or the other depending on which airport we are near. Thanks everyone! This gives me a good starting point.

Than you may want to live downtown, South Loop, River North type area to have good access to both airports.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Than you may want to live downtown, South Loop, River North type area to have good access to both airports.

Wicker Park isn't bad either. It's maybe 35 minutes to O'Hare, and 10 minute to Clark/Lake where you can transfer to the Orange Line (using elevators) and still be to Midway in under an hour. You don't need to be downtown to have good access to both airports, you just need to not be way out. Wicker Park is only 3-4 stops outside of downtown on the Blue Line, which realistically only adds about 15 minutes to a trip to Midway, and cuts about 10 off a trip to O'Hare. If you lived in the South Loop near Roosevelt, you'd probably be an hour away from O'Hare by transit, and still about 30 minutes from Midway. Living in Wicker Park, you're 35 minutes from O'Hare and probably 50 minutes from Midway.

River North close enough to the River to walk to Clark/Lake may be the best of both worlds, but getting a 2-bed, 1.5 bath place for under 2k/month will be possible, but rents have been rising steadily lately so it may not be quite as easy as you think. The listing It'sAutomatic linked to only had 1 bath, for example.