Help needed! Advice on place to live in Chicago.

I heard the southside of chicago is scary.

I heard the northside is better.


And that Lake Michigan is in the eastern part of town.

 

Hyde Park sucks ass. I lived there for a year (off 60th st) It's not really dangerous, it's just no fun at all and FAR from downtown (the Metra is quicker than the bus, btw; when I lived there and worked downtown I took that; once you get on the train you're there in under 10 min)

Available sublets would be around DePaul University (lincoln park, etc)

Otherwise, try Wicker Park/East Wicker Park/Ukrainian village. Marginally sketchy (and thus affordable)but rapidly gentrifying, (and I'm sure in the last few years since I've been its gotten much cleaner, they had the "Real World" Chicago there not long after I left town.

Try the chicago "Reader" (free weekly paper) for apts.

 

I need a name, picture, and a phone number

I've got a place but it only has one bed (king size though) and no couch. She can live their with me, nothing wrong with sleeping same bed right? Hope you don't mind

seriously, i dont know anything about chicago but have you tried the "internet" to find some info or pics about the area?

 

hyde park on the southside isn't as bad as other parts of south side chicago...it's basically where all the UChicago people live...going on the L in chicago at night, by yourself is never a good idea, no matter what part of the city you're in...

 

i'd recommend living at the Windermere House in Hyde Park...my cousin lived there while going to UofC and it seemed nice whenever i visited (it used to be a hotel) and studios start at $700/month....here's a link: Windermere House

 

yea, the metra is the subway, except the trains in chicago don't go underground...they're commonly known as the "L" (elevated trains)

 

No, the Metra is not the same as tthe subway/L train. The subway/L train closest to Hyde Park is the Green line stop on 63rd street, and that is probably a line that somebody who is not relatively street smart should not take by themselves as it goes through some bad hoods. I took it a few times and had no problems but I could see where it might be intimidating.

The Metra is the commuter train. It runs above ground on the overpasses/ street (whose name I forgot, Lake Park avenue or something) that borders the University from Jackson Park, Lakeshore Drive, etc. It is perfectly safe, it carries commuters from the south burbs to the Loop every day and is by no means dangerous. it's like 3 or 5 dollars a ride which is a little steep but it is safer & quicker than the subway. You can pick it up at three spots in Hyde Park, at 59th, 55th/57th, or 53rd Sts.

DePaul is on the northside, nicer hood but you'll pay for it.

 

I lived in Hyde Park for 7 years and worked downtown for three of them. I really think it was not bad advice to suggest that neighborhood. Finding a place to live in Chicago that is not expensive and not limited to one ethnic subcategory is tough (Mexicans and Peurto Ricans and Cubans live near each other but not in the same neighborhood, for example). As far as neighborhoods and apartments go, Hyde Park has a ton of options in a wide range of prices. Typically, the less you pay, the safer your street is likely to be. Seriously. U of C publishes crime maps often (in the Maroon) and true to criminal socialogical studies, people tend to commit crimes as far away from where they live as possible. This is not to say that wealthy people don't commit crimes, just that the wealthy people in Hyde Park are often old and can't get around very easily to get away with crimes - not to mention they are way past the violent crime curve.
Also, the neighborhood is cute, convenient (a wide variety of shops, restaurants, museums, libraries, parks, the lake - all in walking distance) and full of young, intelligent, over-educated people. There is a large international presense in the neighborhood, she should visit the International House - they do movie screenings and such and she can meet a lot of people.

Yipengzhao, I would disagree strongly with the idea that Hyde Park sucks ass. It depends a great deal on what you are trying to accomplish. If you like to do a lot of clubbing or you like to bar hop, yes, you are in the wrong neighborhood. But I can't remember ever having the urge to go clubbing. And a young woman who is new to the city with her boyfriend far away doesn't really need to be going to clubs. Unless you and Angela are ready to call it quits...

Safety: There isn't any part of Chicago that is safe to walk around in alone at 3AM no matter who you are. That said, I used to have to take the train home (Metra stopped running) at 1AM after work and wait for a while in the Southside ghetto for my connecting bus. Nothing bad ever happened to me but I wouldn't suggest it. Hyde Park has white call boxes every few blocks that connect to the University of Chicago police department. They have an excellent response time (under a minute or two) and go out of their way to be caring and considerate.

Transportation: From anywhere in Hyde Park a healthy, relatively in shape person can get to the Metra station within 15 minutes. The ride on the Metra to the South loop is less than 15 minutes. In the summer, it's nice weather and good excercize and the Metra is almost never late. The only exceptions to their promptness were in extreme blizzards and when someone threw herself on the tracks. When JV and I were working for a firm on Michigan Avenue, we could leave the apartment around 8:40 and be at work before 9.

For a summer sublet, have her call the University of Chicago. Ask for student affairs or the International House. If she explains what she's looking for, someone will probably be able to help her. The I House does have cheap summer housing as well but they can probably walk over to a bulletin board for her and give her a number to call.

One last suggestion, if she really wants to live downtown, the cheapest housing I know of is a studio apartment in "The Jetson Towers". It's those two circular towers on the river with parking on the bottom floors and rounded balconies above. Unfortunately, I don't remember the official name of the building but maybe someone else does. The interior maxes out on space in a hip, 70's way. But it would be difficult to find a summer sublet.

 

I believe that's Marina City. Listen to Mrs. V, she's right on.

One last thing - the Metra IS NOT the subway, and the certain lines of the L do go underground downtown. And for god's sake, it is safe on the trains - that kind of BS your girl went through is very rare. On the lines that run late at night they do have cops on trains, with nice 100 lb German Shepherds that have a pretty mellowing effect.

 

no problem, and good luck. I know it didn't come across - but I'm really sorry your girlfriend had to go through that.

I've lived here forever so you can feel free to email me any other questions

 

Live near the United Center, you could make the team.

 

First, everything my wife said.

Second, if you're looking for a sublet, the University has bulletins boards all over campus for that stuff, so it shouldn't be too hard. I'd reiterate she should visit International House (which incidentally has summer rooms itself, but I wouldn't want to live there) because it has a large concentration of Asian students there. She is bound to find some sympathetic help there. If she has the luxury, she should try to avoid properties managed by K&G. They're the dominant landlord there and basically do nothing for their tenants -- but they are also the cheapest and have the most lax credit requirements so it houses a lot of students. Windermere is a very nice place (I lived there for a year (or was it 2?)), close to the Metra, secure, nice part of neighborhood close to the lake, etc.

But, what the Mrs. said was right about crime patterns: the highest concentration of street crime is in the southeastern quadrant because that's the commercial area and the ritzier area. The most run down side, the southwest, has the lowest crime because it's nothing but apartments there. Finally, since security is a concern, she should educate herself on the border of the U of C police department and live within them: Lakeshore Drive on the east (they don't patrol the shoreline), 51st (?) on the south, Cottage Grove on the west (though she should avoid Cottage Grove itself), and the Midway to the north (actually, I think the police go up to 63rd, but I wouldn't suggest living north of the Midway for a variety of reasons). Within those boundaries, the place is safe because the University takes that very seriously.

If she's living in Hyde Park, the train is more inconvenient than unsafe. It can be intimidating at that stop. But Metra is much closer, cleaner, etc. They keep their schedule, so she should pick up one of their little books and buy a monthly pass.

I'm not surprised a Northwestern student would be in hysterics. They live in suburban utopia up there. They'd be in hysterics if a dog crapped on the lawn. If your girlfriend is associated with the U of C, she will eventually develop some street savvy because its the city. She'll have to contend with beggars and the like. I can understand how Chicago can give you a rough welcome. I was propositioned by an old bag-lady on one of my first days there and it had me wondering what kind of place I had moved to.

I'd advise she stay in Hyde Park. It may have gotten more expensive with the expansion of the college, but when I was there it was one of the cheaper nice/safe neighborhoods to live in. And, the metra really will make transit easier (if her work isn't near the metra, they do have metra/cta transfers you can buy so you can switch to a bus for the last leg downtown).

 

LOL, one of my old roomates had a K&G apartment -- damn that place was a dump!

 

Sorry, I switched that up. I meant Midway on the south and 51st on the north. So, basically stay between 51st and 59th St. I had my north and south all flipped around. If you look at a map (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.ad...cago&state=IL&zipcode=60615&search=++Search++), the neighborhood is in 4 quadrants, split by Woodlawn and 55th St. Southwest is mostly campus. Southeast is nice but mostly houses -- a good place to rent if you can find something affordable. Northwest is commercial, parts are very nice, but street crime is higher. Northeast is the most run down and mostly apartments. Has more homeless, probably, but the least amount of crime.