Downtown Apartments

Well, sorry, I can't help you as far as Apartments in the City go....It's been a long time since I lived down there. But, I DO know that, yes, $1400.00 for a 1 BDR is steep. Unless you've been looking along the Gold Coast or Lincoln Park.

And, you DEFINITELY do not want to keep a car down there. (unless you can get Parking in your Building) "On the Street Parking" is Horrible!! IF you ever take it out, it will take you about 3 weeks before you can move it into a parking space somewhat close to your place. All that a Car will do is give you more aggravation and paying Auto Insurance needlessly, as, you'll really never use it.

There is plenty of Public Transportation. But, if you move Downtown,or in the Near North Side. You can walk or take a short Cab ride anywhere that you want to go. Everything that you need is all there. And Trains out to any 'Burbs, if you need to get out that away.

Try looking in the Chicago Newspapers 'Real Estate sections' for Apartments. There is also a place called Apartment finder, but they charge you to find one.

The Papers in Chicago are; The Chicago Tribune. And the Chicago Sun Times. Also try the Reader. Sorry, I don't have web addresses. Maybe try Google. Good Luck! And Welcome to Chicago!

 

Downtown apartments will be Expensive (note: capital E). Near north is a bit better, but as Frank alluded to don't be surprised at the prices in the Lincoln Park area. But contrary to popular belief $1,400.00 is not a lot for downtown or the more toney areas of Chicago.

Northwestern (Evanston) north suburb adjacent to Chicago, and U of Chicago (Hyde Park) south side, both have highly respected law schools, but have the advantage of being a bit outside the downtown area. Public transportation is available to get downtown if wanted or needed.

Check with your prospective schools and see if they offer any sort of assistance in locating living quarters, or even school administered buildings.

Good luck,
Bill

 

PM me if you are interested in a 1 bedroom condo to rent two blocks from Wigley Field and one block from Ltrack. I'm involved in rehabbing a 43 unit apartment building and we might be able to offer you something.

 

Brad, how much are you looking to spend on rent/month? Might be able to help you if I know your budget. Feel free to PM. Btw, let me know if you decide on DePaul or Kent. I think I already told you that I'm currently @ DePaul.

-Awais

 

One more thing; if you can spend around $1400-1500, I would recommend buying a Studio simply because when you're finished with law school, you can sell it for a nice profit. I have a 2-br in downtown/lakeshore dr and it has appreciated nicely.

-Awais

 

Living in the Loop is going to be extremely expensive since it is such a business related area and rather small (Loop as defined in the rectangle the L lines make South of the river). And quite frankly there is no need to live in the loop given the city's public transportation.

As others said the most affordable areas to find something will be West and South of the Loop. Northwest would work too or simply North past the 4,000 line (roughly where Daytonarick is remodelling).

I live North around 4,000 and commute to the Loop for work everyday. No biggie with the bus or L. Just make sure your apartment is close enough to a stop.

 

Brad,
Have you ever visited Chicago? If not, I might recommend taking a weekend and making the trip up here, just to get the "lay of the land." There are many places that offer somewhat easy access to the downtown area, that are not in the middle of it.

 

I think I start to see why you're focused on the Loop. Safety. Well, it ain't that bad. There are neighbourhoods to avoid, no question, but the "safe zone" is a lot bigger than the Loop. Especially North of it. And even West you can safely go as far as Halsted and in some areas beyond that without 2nd thougths.

I don't know the Shoreham, but I know there is A LOT of construction going on all over the place and particularly North of Grant Park. I'm no real estate expert, but I think it is a safe bet that any place you buy there will at least keep its value and most likely go up up and up.

I remember I had a chance to buy a 2 bedroom at the North End of Grant Park (harbor view and balcony) for a quarter million about 7 years ago. And I was stupid enough not to do it. One of my biggest regrets in my life. That place would today easily go for twice of that. *IF* you could even find it.

In regards to your car: You don't really need it for living in the city. It becomes an expensive obstacle because you need to find a place to park it. Expensive! In a way it is a bit like NY. Rent one for the weekend if you like to go outside the town. Otherwise cab around.

 

Does anybody know what Marina City Apartments go for? Or all those all Condo now? Thats a nice spot, not to mention having a 'House of Blues' at the Ground level. Good Parking. Great Restaraunt district. Close to the Loop. Not too far from the Lake.

I just heard an advertisement today about Condo's going For Sale at "One Museum Place". Right about at Roosevelt Rd. and LSD. 50 Stories with unobstructed, and never to be obstructed, Views of the Museum campus, Lake (which is only a block away),Soldier Field, And in an up and coming neighborhood.....But....Prices start at $450K up to $1.7 Million.....Man, that would be a cool spot to have a condo though...

 

And somewhat dilapidated. BTW: You forgot to mention the McQueen movie.

If I had that kinda money I'd go for the new Trump tower just a block East of that. Jerry's gonna go there. Good for him. There is money in dirt...

 

Get a rental car and then drive from O'Hare to downtown. Then take a leisurely stroll along Michigan avenue. Do all that in rush hour traffic and she'll gladly throw away the keys.

Trust me: You don't want to drive a car in the city. Even if you had parking. Now doing Ferrari events on the weekend, that's a whole other story...

 

Let your wife know that an added "bonus" for having a car in the city is the months that snow routes are in place...even less parking availale during that time. If your car gets towed, it costs hundreds of dollars to FIND...and retrieve your car. Mix that with partially plowed roads and parking spaces...and you have no place to park. You can spend hours looking for a spot to park.

And then there are the days that there is street sweeping. One side of the road will be "closed off"...more opportunity for money...I mean tickets to be handed out. Again, more hassle to find parking.

If you can, go without the car.

 

Unless you can find a Building with indoor Parking. But, thats another Cost right there. But, depending how much, it would be worth it.

Definitely check out the Chicago Tribune Classifieds. Then maybe the Chicago Sun-Times. Then the Reader.

Yeah, Marina City is a tad older. But, where it is location wise is great. And, if the Rent is decent, may not be too bad....at least for the first year. And, after getting more acquainted with the City, could always look for something else later.

 

I wouldn't recommend living in the Loop. After 5:00, its dead. The nearest nightlife past that (River North) is very touristy and pricey. The life of Chicago is in the neighborhoods, along with more reasonably priced apartments.

I live on the bleeding edge of gentrification (Humboldt Park/Logan Square), and pay $1000/mo for a 2-story coachhouse with a basement. It takes 30 minutes from my front door to my desk in the Loop via the Blue Line. Plus, you can find parking on the street in the neighborhoods. Just don't expect your car to be dent and scratch free for long.

Just in case you hadn't googled the sources mentioned, the Chicago Reader's site is www.chireader.com. The best apartments in the City are listed in the Reader, but you have to act fast. The online ads are updated on Tuesday nights, so have your deposit ready by Wednesday morning.

 

One of my friends recently bought a 3-BR condo in that building and it has already gone up over $200K! Insane! I almost purchased the same condo he bought but one floor higher, but got caught up in some other deals so couldn't sign on right away. When I went back to seal the deal, it had gone up by $200K. The view is gonna be amazing though and unobstructed for life (or until a big developer gets the city to change some of the zoning)

-Awais

 

If you're looking for someplace in Chicago where you can get by without a car or without using your car much, the Loop is not that place. There are lots of things that are just not available there (or not available at reasonable prices), so you would end up driving to a bunch of things anyway. Most significantly, groceries and entertainment.

If you go a few miles north, you will still be within an easy el ride of school but in much more livable neighborhoods. In those neighborhoods you really can live without a car, and there is lots to do, and more businesses are open in the evenings. That's where almost everybody in your demographic who comes to Chicago lives, and there are good reasons.

Here's a good strategy for looking for a place to live: Mark the following Chicago Transit Authority el stations on a Chicago street map. Draw a five- or six-block-radius circle around each, and look for apartments within those areas.

RED LINE: (neighborhoods: Lincoln Park, Lakeview (incl. Wrigleyville))
Fullerton
Belmont
Addison
Sheridan

BROWN LINE: (neighborhoods: Lincoln Park, Lakeview, North Center, Lincoln Square/Ravenswood)
Armitage
Fullerton
Diversey
Wellington
Belmont
Southport
Paulina
Addison
Irving Park
Montrose
Damen
Western
Rockwell
Francisco

BLUE LINE: (neighborhoods: Wicker Park, Bucktown)
Ashland
Damen

I strongly suspect that you would be much happier in any of those neighborhoods than in the Loop. There may be others too; these are just the ones I'm familiar with.

Good luck!

 

A bit off topic, but good luck with getting into school. I hope to be at Kent at the end of this year. As for appartments, you can get much cheaper places if you go to the UIC area. It's about 15 or 20 minutes from Kent but the prices should be a lot lower.

Yuri

 

Its hard to shop for places when your far from them, but take your time and look around.....Some friends and I got a 3 bedroom in Lincoln park, a block from Depaul for ~$1300!

Off topic: Live in the ghetto of Humboldt Park for a year all is well...Live in Lincoln Park for a year, someone walks into our place and steals my watch and camera and my friends laptop, bike etc....
Of course he did take a beating in Humboldt by some Thugs, but thats not as bad as loosing your bike! hahaha!

 

Loyola , DePaul and Kent are all good schools.