Help my student worker move to Chicago.

December 7, 2010 12:00 PM

I need help finding a place to live in Chicago (asking for a friend).

The student worker in our office is graduating and has a job offer (yeah!!) in Chicago. But she has never been to Chicago and is having trouble figuring out how to find a place to live. She will be working here.

I have been to Chicago several times for conferences, so my knowledge is limited to the downtown hotel districts. I'm hoping that our wonderful Chicago Mefites can help her out!

Specifically, we are looking for suggestions on neighborhoods/areas to try that are:
-accessible to her job via public transportation
-will have decent schools (she has a 3 year-old)
-safe (obviously)

Also, if you can give us an idea of generally what she should expect to pay for a 2BR apartment, and what the best websites are for apartment hunting in Chicago, I will be totally grateful.

posted by DiscourseMarker to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

Roscoe Village. Just a couple train stops south on the same line. Nice neighborhood. Safe. Lots of families. My friend has a 3BR there and I believe pays $1600-1700. Can't say anything about the schools in the area but see a lot of parents with kids around 3 walking around.
posted by AceRock at 12:09 PM on December 7, 2010

The Chicago Reader has good apartment classifieds, and of course Craigslist is also popular.
posted by enn at 12:12 PM on December 7, 2010

Roscoe Village comes to mind. Lakeview has become something of a craphole since I've lived there, especially in the neighborhood around Wrigley, although East Lakeview is lovely.

Chicago Public Schools are just that, and that won't vary by neighborhood much.

I think that both neighborhoods are the same in terms of safety, and both have easy access to the Brown line and the buses that'd get you to that part of the city.
posted by scblackman at 12:14 PM on December 7, 2010

The City-Data forums have some great information as well. There are lots of "where should I live" type questions, and I've found people to be friendly and well informed.
posted by pipco at 12:15 PM on December 7, 2010

Roscoe Village would be good. That location looks a little closer to Lincoln Square which is also a decent area.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:30 PM on December 7, 2010

I would actually look right there around where she's living, though I don't know much about the schools. I spent a month this summer staying just a few blocks from that location at Paulina and Montrose and really enjoyed it. I'm young-ish female and felt safe walking around at night. Montrose Ave. was well-lit, and the Brown Line is right there if she'd like to go downtown or elsewhere in the city. Will she be visiting Chicago soon? If so, she may want to stop in at the Lillstreet Art Center at Montrose and Ravenswood. She should buy a piece of pie, but she should also check out the bulletin board there and see what's been posted for housing. Or she could ask someone to post an ad for her if she can get ahold of someone by phone or email. If she's at all interested in art or having her child take art classes, that center would be great to live by.

If she's not allergic to cats, will be visiting the city and would like to check out that neighborhood, it's likely she could stay with these folks from airbnb. I'll personally vouch for them as they were really helpful with city-stuff when I visited. They rent one level of a house and may know of other places for rent in the area. It's an older neighborhood, though, so I'd recommend seeing any place in person before renting it as some houses and apartment buildings looked a bit run down while others seemed to be well-tended and in great condition. It would be difficult to tell from pictures, though.
posted by BlooPen at 12:49 PM on December 7, 2010

Lincoln Square, for sure. Stay away from Lakeview, Wrigleyville and Lincoln Park. They are overpriced and seedier than they appear at a casual glance. They're neighborhoods that a lot of transplants come to when first moving to Chicago. But stay away.

Lincoln Square for sure. I'll say it again. Lincoln Square.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 1:50 PM on December 7, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks you guys! She is very excited by both Roscoe Village and Lincoln Square, and will try to look for apartments in both places. She will be visiting Chicago over Christmas.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 2:31 PM on December 7, 2010

Ooh, Ravenswood! My brother lived there for several years. (In fact, I bet he and his lady friend might be open to hanging out with her when she comes to town, if they're available. They're late-20s.) He lived around Damen and Lawrence for quite a while. I can ask him how he found the places he lived, but I'm thinking it was just Craigslist.
posted by Madamina at 3:36 PM on December 7, 2010

Lincoln Square and Roscoe Village are definitely excellent options...I'd also tell her to look at Andersonville, which is pretty close to where she's working and has a very nice community feel to it, also very safe and has good restaurants/shops.
posted by andruwjones26 at 9:16 PM on December 7, 2010

I live about two blocks from here. We pay $815/month for our really large one bedroom (it could be a two bedroom and is used as that by others who don't want a dining room.) I can't tell you about the schools, but that area is very nice west of Ashland. Two bedrooms in the area will run you around $900-1400, depending.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:04 AM on December 8, 2010

Tell her to keep in mind that the neighborhood she lives in has only partial bearing on which school her child will attend. Chicago Public Schools send kids all over the place, especially in the case of specialized "magnet" schools. My neighbor's daughter is in an accelerated program and goes to a school halfway across the city -- fortunately, it's near one of her parents' work.
posted by me3dia at 10:49 AM on December 8, 2010