Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with housing and chicago

To squat or not?

Anonymous — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:09:06 -0800

I am considering renting out an artist's studio space and squatting in it temporarily, does anyone have any experience in this? Good idea, bad idea? So, I have been staying at a friends place in Chicago for the past few months and am ready to move out. Only problem is finding a good roommate/apartment combination hasn't quite happened yet. Because of this I am considering getting artist's studio space to move all of my stuff into and sleep in while I keep looking for a proper apartment. This could really be an ideal situation for me, because having studio space is really more of a concern to me than having a swanky apartment and most of the time I would actually use the space for art making etc. I figure in the future, if I find a better apartment situation I can just share my studio space with someone else to help offset the cost.

I have an older friend who has managed to squat in her studio in NYC for years and years, even after getting married for a while, so it seems like something I could manage. What I am more curious about are peoples experiences trying to do this in Chicago, and what the worst legal ramifications would be if I was found out. How do landlords even check for this or prove it if they are suspicious?

Thanks in advance.

How can I find housing in a city I've barely visited?

moooshy — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 17:20:22 -0800

[Chicago Filter] Moving to Chicago in June. Start work 2 days later. No time to go to Chicago before the move. What's the best way to find an apt? (Everyone on CL wants to meet me first, which isn't possible.) I just found out that I have to move to Chicago for a full time job. The job starts approximately 2 days after I move there, and there's no way I can get to Chicago before June to scope the joint, so to speak.

I know nothing about Chicago, aside from what I've read online -- and I've posted/read Craigslist ads, but everyone wants to meet me first, understandably. I'd like to meet them first, too -- but I can't. This makes securing housing somewhat difficult, and I can't afford a hotel.

Ideally, I'd sublet for the summer before making an attempt to get a longterm lease in the fall -- but if I could find something longterm and decent now, I'd be a happy camper.

I have never moved across the country, nor have my parents -- so we're kind of in the dark about this. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for such a move, and what might be the best way to proceed (My employer is small, and all of the employees live in the suburbs, so they're not going to know...)

Help me find co-op housing in Chicago

sk381 — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 18:17:23 -0800

Looking for co-op housing in Chicago. Does any one have any suggestions? Even better if the co-op is run by graduate students but it is not a necessity. Searching online hasn't shown too many options, so I was hoping someone here could help me out.

Chicago's Natural Light & Ventilation Ordinance

evening — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 09:55:58 -0800

Anyone have any experience with Chicago's Natural Light & Ventilation Ordinance? My mother-in-law is buying a condo and some of her walls won't go to the ceiling so the second bedroom can get natural light. What does this mean practically speaking? She signed her contract for a 2 bedroom/2 bath new construction condo in downtown Chicago. Now she's finding out that because her second bedroom doesn't have a window, and in order to call it a bedroom it must have natural light, the walls to her bedrooms are going to be 8 feet high, even though the ceiling is at 10 feet.

We're all concerned about what this will mean once you're in the condo -- will you be able to hear noises from the bedroom in the living room, and vice versa? Will this affect resale, and more importantly, renting the place (she has to rent for a while before she retires and moves from out-of-state)? We're still trying to figure out exactly what walls will be lowered, which of course will have an impact on privacy.

But if anyone can give us some first-hand experience with this sort of situation, it would really help her decide what to do next (if she can't rent it, there's little point in keeping it). Thanks!

Hyde Park apartments for kids?

MattD — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 13:18:00 -0800

Does anyone know of Hyde Park (Chicago) apartment buildings with children's playrooms or an otherwise kid-friendly environment? My brother was just admitted to the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He'll be moving his wife and infant son to Hyde Park this fall. I went to the University of Chicago myself, and can just imagine his wife and son cooped up all winter.

Google and the University of Chicago website have each completely failed me in terms of finding buildings with nice children's playrooms, and all of the online Chicago real-estate resources are for northside living.

Summer intern housing in Chicago

ednopantz — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 06:11:54 -0800

My intern needs summer housing somewhere on the north side of Chicago. He is a single college junior and I am paying him peanuts, so it has to be cheap. Rogers Park/Andersonville/Edgewater would be ideal. Any suggestions?

Where to live this summer, and how to commute?

heresiarch — Sat, 02 Apr 2005 11:33:50 -0800

I'm going to be working in Schaumburg, IL this summer - should I take the company provided housing (at $750 a month)? I'd rather be near an L line for easy city access, but then I have to figure out how to reverse commute. Where should I live in the Chicago metro area, and how should I get to work each day? I just got a job offer for a summer internship at Motorola's Schaumburg, IL facility. The facility is here (google maps).

I need to figure out where I'm going to live. They're offering to provide housing in a 2 bedroom apartment "near the work facility" for 750$/month, filling the other bed in the apartment with another summer intern. The apartment would be fully furnished with TV, phone, kitchen, etc.

The problem is, I don't have a car, and I'm afraid spending the summer in Schaumburg would be mind-numbingly boring. It's far enough away from the city (31 miles to city center, along I90) that I'm afraid I would never make it into town, and just sit in my apartment all summer. There's some
stuff to do in Schaumburg, but it sounds like without a car, it wouldn't be very accessible. I don't need/want to be in the city center, but I'd love to be on the L.

So - where should I be looking for housing in the Chicago metro area? I'm happy to deal with house/roommates, and pay at least as much as I would be paying to live in Schaumburg (750/month).

How might I would get to work every day? I might be able to get a car - how bad is the reverse commute out I90? I'm also very happy on trains and buses. There's a metra station here (google maps) that seems do-able, but it's about a 50 minute train ride from city center. Are there any reasonable neighborhoods along that train line?

Finally - should I just grow up and accept that I might not be able to have easy access to a city this summer? How hard is it to get into town on a regular basis from Schaumburg? Is there anything to do in Schaumburg on nights/weekends? I've checked various stats about the area (note the huge valley around my age range) and it's not helping me get excited about being there, but the bottom line is it'll be a great situation no matter where I land.