Speaking of moving, I got a job in Chicago and will be moving there (from Austin) in late July/early August. I'll be working in the city (downtown) and am looking for suggestions for places to live (neighborhoods, finding an apartment, etc.) By the way, I'm 22 and just finished undergrad. Thanks in advance...
Lincoln park & Lakeview = too yuppified and expensive 5 years ago. Bucktown/Wicker Park is/has rapidly become that way. Maybe some values still in East Wicker Park. Check Ukranian village (south of wicker) or hoods a little further north of Lakeview. Moved out of there a while ago but neihborhoods were changing & gentrifying so I assume what was sketchy is now trendy/funky and what was trendy/funky is now totally yuppie.
The cost of living on 99 percent of the planet is surprisingly low compared to Boston, NYC, and San Francisco... Cost increases relative to population density, and it don't get much worse than those three (not to mention Philly, DC, LA, etc...) I used to think Austin was high, then I moved to Houston's inner loop. They say Houston is cheap, but living in the Montross area, my costs went up from living in North Austin. My advice, shop for location over amenities on your first place out of school. Close to work, close to some nightlife, but affordable. You're never going to get the perfect first apartment the first shot moving across the country, so get something safe, affordable, and preferably with a short lease
East Ukranian Village. it's near wicker park, but not as expensive. also, there's killer, cheap mexican food aplenty, so you won't miss Texas too much (except in the winters). from downtown, head west on Chicago Ave. start looking for housing around Paulina. have fun.
Yea, but I was really talking about quality of life, as in, for me the money better be damn good to compensate for moving to a lousy city like that. I've spent time in Chicago and it sucks. Especially compared to Austin.
I concur. I lived there for 4 years and hated it. The two weeks of summer are nice but the rest of the time it is horribly cold. Also it is old and dirty. While the cost of living my be cheaper than NYC, etc. it is still not cheap at all to live there. I'd reconsider if I were you. Seriously, I'd not go. At all.
I was actually in Chicago for 10 weeks this past summer, and the weather was absolutely great the entire time. I've been there in the winter too and although it's really cold, it will be a nice change...
Wow these guys are really busting ur bubble when I'm sure you're very excited at this point in your life.. Anyway I've never been to Chicago but I heard it was very nice.. I have friends there who love it, but that might be because they were raised there. They did mention however that they wouldn't mind living somewhere else for a couple years and come back. From what I understand Chicago's "downtown" is much larger than Houstons. And more City-like. Also, My cousin went to UofI and frequented Chicago and said he wouldn't mind living there one day(He'd live there before he'd live in New York). So I guess it's for some people and not for others.
i don't have suggestions, but i've always loved chicago. one of my favorite cities to be around (downtown, that is...explored that a lot, but haven't explored the rest much). So I can't say what the nighlife and stuff is like, cause I haven't been in a while. Winter will be cold for sure, but still doable of course
you'll love it. i've been here for a while, so maybe that's why i like it so much, but to me, i think that if the winters weren't so harsh, chicago would be the best city in the world. you'll love it though, it's got an energy and it's got stuff to do all the time, so don't worry about it. you definatley won't be bored.
Chicago is one of the most beautiful cities... If I could have Houston's winters and Chicago's summers in Chicago, it'd be heaven on earth. Copyright me
Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but Chicago's a great town. Don't worry about what some people have to say. You should expect to get that on a Houston message board with the hometown pride and all. The neighborhood you live in VERY much depends on your lifestyle. Are you going to be living alone? Is your work going to require travel? (If yes to both those questions, think high rise so you can have someone to get your packages and you have easier access to dry cleaning, etc, esp if you are travelling) Are you going to be working crazy hours and want to be closer to work? Do you have a group of friends in the city already? Do you enjoy the post-college bar scene (read slightly grown up frat boys), the club scene or the chill bar scene? Do you want access to the lake for runs? Do you need to be near the highway for any reason? Do you need to be closer to a particular el line? Depending on what you're looking for, there's a neighborhood for you. Personally, I like Wicker Park, Old Town and a few of the places in the Armitage/Halsted area. You'll love the town. Yeah we have cold winters, but there's a certain amoutn of charm that goes along with it. And yes, the city is older than a lot of the places int he South, but it's really clean in most areas, and there is a lot of character in the old parts of town.
I spent two weeks in Chicago from mid May to early June a couple of summers ago and I absolutely loved every minute of the trip. I'm sure I won't really be able to help you out in your search for housing, but I am somewhat jealous of you. I'd love to live in Chicago, but I don't think I could handle the cold winters. We stayed in the dorms at some small university in a suburb directly west of Chicago. I think Oak Park or something? Good luck finding some affordable housing. It seemed like they were building condos on every corner or re-doing old buildings to make them into condos. Seems like the market would become oversaturated and make for cheap deals -- but I don't know anything about real estate.
Out of all the neighborhoods I checked out when I was living in Chicago this past summer, I really liked the feel of Wicker Park the best. The only problem is, I wish it was closer to the lake. The job is consulting, so I'll be traveling quite a bit, but it won't be Sunday through Thrursday-type traveling. I have a group of friends that will be starting work at around the same time in Chicago (all for different companies), and I'm thinking of getting a place with them. It would be four us, so we'd need a 4 bedroom, unless we split off and get two 2-bedroom places close to each other. From everyone I've talked to, they say most of the young people live in Lincoln Park and Lakeview (Wrigleyville). Lincoln Park seems like a pretty cool area, but I don't know if I would want to live in Wrigleyville. Any suggestions on that? I think I was a bit spoiled during the summer, because I lived in a highrise downtown 2 blocks from work and now I'll have to actually commute everyday -- so what are some other cool neighborhoods, close to the action, other than LP, Wrigleyville, and Wicker Park?
From everyone I've talked to so far, they say Craigslist is the way to go. Me and some friends are planning to go visit Chicago to look for places on May 21st, but we don't start working until late July/early August. To those of you that have found your current/past apartments on Craigslist, is trying to secure a place 2+ months in advance a good idea? Is it even possible?..because most places posted on Criagslist are available right away and we aren't looking to move in until the middle or end of July. Thoughts?
