Further, I hope you do not like warm weather... It only hit 80 in the last week or so... Although in fairness the summers are nice in Chicago, it is the other 9 months that suck.
Horrible lyrics by Kanye, everything else is right but Kanye is horrible.. Here let me put some real Chicago anthem song. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/S7B2VgRShew" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
A few clarifying points. I'm married to a Special Education Teacher (teaches at Thomas Middle School) in Houston - notoriously bad school! I guess you could say I've had her in training for the past year, lol. I'm pretty sure we'll be looking in the burbs (around Downers Grove or a tad north of that). The company will be making me an offer tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for the advice! I'll post my offer tomorrow...
If you work in downtown I'd recommend south loop. Prices are a bit cheaper and you only need to walk 20 min to get anywhere around downtown plus the redline is great. Good luck. I know suburb driving to the city sucks and metra isn't the most pleasant transportation so do take that into consideration. I miss htown traffic.
Oak Park would be another great area to look at. Close enough to the city to take the Green line in, but far enough away to be in the suburbs. It's a really lovely place, and apartments are reasonable. Houses are expensive there though, so if that's what you're looking for, further out is probably more reasonable. I used to live in Lincoln Park (after living in Oak Park), and it's fantastic. I loved it, but beware parking. If you plan on keeping a car in the city, make sure you find a place that has a parking spot for you. Street parking can be quite a tough battle.
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I lived in Chicago Ridge and went to HL Richards High School in Oak Lawn (with Dwade) and I would recommend not living in that area. Stay on the Northern side or Western side of the city if possible. The south side is a lot worse with Blue Island (ghettooo) and the close proximity to Indiana. They bus kids in from those areas to the schools on the south side which is why gang violence and etc is a lot high on the south side of Chicago. It's not the only reason its high but it doesn't help the situation either.
I actually moved to Chicago last September after living in Houston the majority of my life. $85K won't take you as far in Chicago but you can still afford to have a nice quality of life. If you are single, don't live in the 'burbs. Sure it's cheaper but at $85K, you should be able to afford something in the city. I just moved to the West Loop. Love it out there. 30 minute walk to downtown, public transit everywhere. Highly recommended.
Over Fathers Day weekend there were 7 people shot and killed and 30 others shot but still alive. Enjoy!
