Looking for an apartment in Chicago...

Soon2baW

Hello all!

I'm a knottie and I usually spend all my time there... but I'm hoping to get some help over here.

My fiance and I are looking for an apartment that is in a good neighborhood, close to transportation and less than $1,000/ month. We are okay with 1 bedroom, but not okay with a studio. 

A little info- I'm an accountant in Beverly and he works in the Ravenswood/Rogers Park area. He would need to be close to transportation to get to work- as he does not have parking at his work. I'm willing to drive a bit to work but no more than 45 minutes one way.

Can anyone point me towards some neighborhoods? Hopefully if I can get an area in mind I can narrow down my craiglist search.

TIA!  

scubagirl81

There's a thread below this one about apartments, I think the subject is something about neighborhood recs. You'll see I posted over there that we live in Ravenswood (kind of near Fountainhead, that's our home bar!) and love it. For that price, you may be able to get a 1br in that area. I don't know much about the area where you work, so I have no ideas there  ;-)

 

GL!

Jen 

lamar0607

There are free apartment "realtors" that will help you find the perfect place to rent. We used that to find our current place- they know the city well and can find you places that meet your budget and will be able to give you suggestions on areas etc...

 

We used Homescout Realty! Highly recommend

Shell24

Try going to the Apartment People.  It's a free service (they earn their money by charging the housing owners equivalent to the first month's rent).  They'll even drive you around to all the places.  

 You can give them all your requirements and they'll take care of the legwork. 

katiecavallo

I agree with all the above - don't waste your time with Craigslist. My husband and i found a great apartment by using hotpads.com but redfin.com is even better. You can search by map, price, etc. and get try and get close to the el for your husband. I'm pretty sure ravenswood and rogers park are not very close to each other, but I could be wrong. Rogers Park is nice and diverse, but definitely less safe, especially for a woman. If he's working in Rogers Park,  he'll probably need the red line, so being close to it wouldn't hurt. Andersonville is nice, affordable, and fairly safe. It is a very gay friendly neighborhood, primarily for women. We used apartment people in Lakeview but ended up feeling kind of pressured that we were taking someone else's time, so we just found things on our own via hotpads. Lakeview is a great neighborhood and if you're okay with a one bedroom, you could find something that might work. It is a little more pricey of an area but it's worth it - close to the beach, safe neighborhood, fun bars and restaurants, etc. I don't know about where you work and commuting to suburbs so no help there. I live in Wrigleyville/Lakeview right now and love it so much that we're bought a condo but I have also lived in Albany Park for many years, less safe but much cheaper. If you decide on Lakeview, feel free to e-mail me - katierholl@gmail.com and I can give you more specific details on what roads are good, what areas to stay away from, what areas are safe, fun, quiet, etc. The same goes with Albany Park.

 If he works in Ravenswood, I would move to Lincoln Square. It's a nice area too, lots of cute restaurants, and lots of families. It would have more affordable housing than wrigleyville/lakeview - right around Welles Park is very nice, and close to the brown line. Ravenwood is nice as well. Let me know if you need any help!

Bimbi284

I disagree about Craigslist. While the apartment search companies are convenient, a lot of the agents are brand new to the city and don't know a whole lot about specific neighborhoods (as has been my experience the 3 times I have used such a service, and has been the experience of several of my friends). They also often try to get you into something that is over your budget no matter how much you tell them you only want to pay _____ per month. I've tried being very specific, but they still focus on places that you may not like or may not have what you are looking for. Craigslist is a good way to sort of "survey" the area you are looking to move into and get an idea of what you can get within your budget. That way, if you DO decide to use a search company, you will have a better idea of what to expect, and will know when they are trying to pull one over on you. I'll caution that many agents DO post on craigslist, and you'll see a million posts for the same apartment, but with some patience and time, you can get a good idea of what is available in your range, and maybe even find a great place!! 2 out of the 3 apartments I have lived in in Chicago have been found through Craigslist, despite my using search agents each time. 

I will ditto PPs about looking into Lincoln Square. Ravenswood and Ravenswood Manor are great as well. My DH teaches piano just off of the Francisco stop, and its a great area. We currently live in Lincoln Park as I work downtown, so its more central for both of us. Lakeview, Andersonville and parts of Edgewater are nice too.

My first apartment was a small 1 br in Lakeview near the Belmont stop. I paid $840/month.