Moving to Chicago... HELP!!
 

My husband and I are moving to Chicago in September (I will be attending University of Chicago) and have no idea which neighborhoods to look at/avoid. We do not have much to spend. Any direction will be appreciated.

U of C is located in Hyde Park on the south side of Chicago. Hyde Park is nice and I like it. However it is surrounded by fairly run-down and not-so-nice areas. It really depends on how far you want to commute in determining which neighborhood to live in. If you want to have no commute, then just set up house in Hyde Park.

Are you looking to rent or buy? We used The Apartment People to find our first apartment in Chicago and found them really helpful. Their website is apartmentpeople.com.

Raynette: Congratulations on being accepted at the U of C! Hyde Park has some beautiful old apartment buildings, but like xxxxx stated, you DO have to be careful in the surrounding neighborhoods. If you want to walk to classes, I too recommend Hyde Park. If not, give us an idea of how far you are willing to drive.

I mean no disrespect to Alex, but I am not a big fan of the Apartment People. They will tell you NOTHING over the phone (no addresses). You have to go to their office for any sort of info. I have also found them to place ads in the Reader for incredible apartments in great locations for great prices...just to get to their office and they say that all 8 of them have already been rented (even though the ads were just printed that day!) They seem to place a lot of "blind ads"<BR><BR>I have found most of my apartments in the Trib...I found 1 good one in the Reader once. Check the Trib first and then the Reader. You can search ads at the Chicago Reader website. Used to be able to search apt. ads on the Trib on line, but I am not sure if you can any longer. <BR><BR>Happy apartment hunting!

I would definitely recommend that you check the Reader @ www.chireader.com. It's very specific as to neighborhods and price ranges. I'd avoid Wrigleyville, Bucktown, Wicker Park only because of their high prices, but those are great neighborhoods (North Side). Unfortunately, I don't know much about Hyde Park or the South Side. Good luck!

No disrespect taken - maybe we were just lucky with them. We only had one day to find a place so we just went straight to their office, they drove us around, showed us what was available in our price range and we chose something. <BR><BR>The immediate U of C area, like xxxx said, is nice, with some not so nice areas around it. Maybe contact U of C directly and see if they offer any housing assistance. After that, like Pat said, it becomes an issue of how far you are willing to commute, if you will have a car, and how much you are willing to spend. I live on the Northwest side of the city (Norwood Park area - very safe and residential) and the apartments by me are pretty reasonable (they are advertising a 3 bedroom just down the street for $1000/month including utilities) but it would be a haul to U of C.

$1000 for a 3 bedroom!! Wow! That's a great deal! I paid that for a little 1 bedroom with fuses that blew almost every time I used my hairdryer! But you are right, Norwood Park would be a haul from U of C. <BR>Anything close to the Drive would be ok, because then you can just zip down there. I always lived on the northside, but my boyfriend lived in Hyde Park. Not that bad of a drive once you get on LSD.

You need to get on LSD to get there?

xxx: No, but it helps!!!!

If you don't mind commuting, Oak Park is about 15, 20 minutes from downtown Chicago. It's a great community with lots to do and lots of apartments. It's an older community, but very popular with all ages. Very clean, reasonable in price in comparison to most other communities in and around Chicago and so close to the city. There are two L-train lines you can take into the city from Oak Park and I believe that there is also a metra train line, but you will have to check that one out. There is a service in Oak Park that will help you find an apartment at no charge to you. They are extremely helpful and they also provide lots of information on Oak Park and Chicago. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the service; but if you call the chamber of commerce for Oak Park, I am sure they will be able to assist you.