Living at Chicago Forum

[Scales of Justice]

Well I live in the Windermere, which is a standalone building owned by Mac. So all of our managers, rental agents, etc, work only at the Windermere. It's a big ten-story converted hotel. So I might be a bit biased. I love my building and it's extremely well-kept, but that might have to do with the fact that there is an on-site staff. Anytime I need something fixed its done within the hour, and my friends who live in brownstone-type places definitely haven't had that same experience.

[neimanmarxist]

I knew some people that lived in the Windermere, it's definitely got some old-school charm.

it's interesting to read good things about MAC on here because i heard only negative things about mac management when i visited last year.

Oh, I'm not saying *good* things about mac. But the apartment I had (now managed by mac) was not managed by mac when I lived in it. And that management was pretty crappy too. Crappy management is par for the course when renting in Hyde Park. When I lived up North, the landlord was an individual proprietor and the management was nonexistent.

wherever you rent, make sure heat is included. I lived up North one year in a gorgeous roomy apartment with high ceilings and poor insulation. My roommate and I kept the place at 55* during the day and no higher than 65* when we were home and we got a heat bill of $400 in February.

[Fancy Pants]

wherever you rent, make sure heat is included. I lived up North one year in a gorgeous roomy apartment with high ceilings and poor insulation. My roommate and I kept the place at 55* during the day and no higher than 65* when we were home and we got a heat bill of $400 in February.

[echoi]

Any opinion on the International House?

don't do it. just don't. I speak from experience.

Could you explain a bit why you feel this way? Another user here had nothing but good things to say about the I-House so I kinda want to hear to other POV.

[Scales of Justice]

I-House is just like a huge dorm. Very, very bare-bones. Sharing a kitchen with hundreds of people isn't great... especially shared refrigerators. I also hear that the social scene is very strange there. Like, there isn't one. It's not warm, if you're into that. I'm not - alas, I live alone by the lake.

[neimanmarxist]

Any opinion on the International House?

don't do it. just don't. I speak from experience.

Could you explain a bit why you feel this way? Another user here had nothing but good things to say about the I-House so I kinda want to hear to other POV.

well, for starters the i-house is not cheap for what you get, which is basically < 100 sq. foot dorm room with a single bed, a desk, and a closet. I believe that if you pay a sum that amounts to the price of a two bedroom apartment, you can have an upgraded room of some sort, which is roughly twice the size of the basic room. I think those have a bath. You share one of those big, dorm-style bathrooms with half of the people on your floor ( I believe that there are 4 bathrooms of this shared type per floor- they are not co-ed, so 2 for men and 2 for women). It's not exactly crowded, so you don't like, have to wait for showers or anything.

There's a common kitchen on the first floor where you can cook your meals. There are stoves and a huge refrigerated area where you get a locker to store your refrigerated items. then you get a big drawer to keep your pans and things. No one takes your food or anything, but the kitchen suffers from a problem shared by many common kitchen arrangements: filth. Someone comes in to clean up every morning, but they don't do dishes (as if they asked the staff to do the dishes, no one would do their dishes) so there's always some kind of a filthy pile of dishes in the sink, even though there are umpteen rules against it. There's a little café in the i-house. Or there was eons ago, when I was there.

There *is* a nice community of people there. I've known many people that were happy living there. But for almost the price you would pay to live in a modest apartment on your own, I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone would make that choice. I guess my truck with it is that I really don't think it's worth what it costs.

[lilybbloom]

why anyone would want to live in a dorm past the age of 20 is beyond me.

[Scales of Justice]

why anyone would want to live in a dorm past the age of 20 is beyond me.

Amen to that!

[Dany]

Scales of Justice - Do any law students live in the Windermere? How far is it from the law school? And does it actually look like this? --LinkRemoved-- - because that looks great for ~$800 a month. Thanks so much!

[Scales of Justice]

Yes! That's my building. It's very nice. I pay $825 for a 700ish square foot studio. It's pretty unbeatable. It's not one room, either, separate kitchen and little dinette - a closet big enough that I could have made it into a very tiny bedroom. I'm sure there are some law students there, but honestly I'm not sure how many. It's a very quiet building with a lot of "grown-up" residents, and that's part of the reason that I LOVE it! It's also by literally every mode of public transit available. We have a parking lot - one underground and one above. You have to rent space, but if you have a car it's a big convenience. You can do parking month-to-month, to, so no commitment.

[AngryAvocado]

Yes! That's my building. It's very nice. I pay $825 for a 700ish square foot studio. It's pretty unbeatable. It's not one room, either, separate kitchen and little dinette - a closet big enough that I could have made it into a very tiny bedroom. I'm sure there are some law students there, but honestly I'm not sure how many. It's a very quiet building with a lot of "grown-up" residents, and that's part of the reason that I LOVE it! It's also by literally every mode of public transit available. We have a parking lot - one underground and one above. You have to rent space, but if you have a car it's a big convenience. You can do parking month-to-month, to, so no commitment.

Do you typically drive to class or ride the bus? If you drive, where do you usually park by the campus and how often do you have to taze someone while walking to/from your car?

[cranberry]

scales, what utilities are included in your rent?

[oxford_don]

[]

[tintin]

scales, sounds like you are getting a good deal with that building. i will have to check it out if i decide on chicago. thanks for all the info!

[scat_cat]

I'm a 2L living in grad student housing for my second year and it's perfectly nice, if you get some rugs to cover up the linoleum. Seriously, that's the only problem with my place. Decent view, walk-in closet, radiator heat, gas range, fully furnished, bike room, below market rate rent, and I don't pay for heat or electricity. I can ditch my lease at the end of any school year. People are usually impressed when they come to visit. Plus I have a nice on-site manager, can pay rent online, and have a card rather than quarters for laundry. I recommend the older buildings along 51st--the Picadilly is probably the prettiest; it's a converted hotel.

Ratner is pretty nice. If you do live in Regents (as lemmings do, year after year), please don't pay for that pathetic gym.

[tintin]

I'm a 2L living in grad student housing for my second year and it's perfectly nice, if you get some rugs to cover up the linoleum. Seriously, that's the only problem with my place. Decent view, walk-in closet, radiator heat, gas range, fully furnished, bike room, below market rate rent, and I don't pay for heat or electricity. I can ditch my lease at the end of any school year. People are usually impressed when they come to visit. Plus I have a nice on-site manager, can pay rent online, and have a card rather than quarters for laundry. I recommend the older buildings along 51st--the Picadilly is probably the prettiest; it's a converted hotel.

Ratner is pretty nice. If you do live in Regents (as lemmings do, year after year), please don't pay for that pathetic gym.

the more i hear the more i think i will be doing this. cheap parking, free heat / gas etc, and no pet rent, plus not having to sign a long lease. also the deposit is really small and this will save me the trouble of going back to chicago in the summer to look for housing if i decide to go there.

plus the units all seems pretty spacious!

do you know if people sneak pets into the non-pet friendly buildings ever? would it be hard?

[TXDeac]

that sounds pretty great. in my UG town too most of the good places were gone by early summer. if i go here sounds like it'll be a nice / cheap change!!

on a totally unrelated note, is anyone else afraid that they will be surrounded by people way way smarter, or is it just me??

On that unrelated note, yes, I absolutely feel that way. I'm confident that I'm intelligent enough with a pretty great UG education, but I also realize that my numbers (169/3.5) make me one of the more fortunate admits.

I felt this way when I showed up to UG though as well. I quickly realized that people blend in and assimilate well, and you end up with your gunners and your slackers, and numbers soon go out the window.

Regardless, I'll sympathize with you!

[tintin]

On that unrelated note, yes, I absolutely feel that way. I'm confident that I'm intelligent enough with a pretty great UG education, but I also realize that my numbers (169/3.5) make me one of the more fortunate admits.

I felt this way when I showed up to UG though as well. I quickly realized that people blend in and assimilate well, and you end up with your gunners and your slackers, and numbers soon go out the window.

Regardless, I'll sympathize with you!

i didn't feel that way about UG- i went from a very rigorous private high school to a verrrry low key, slackerish UG. I didn't have to work very hard in UG to be at the top of my class. I think I'm pretty intelligent, but I suspect I will be surrounded by geniuses or something if I go to Chicago. I'm also really lucky to have gotten into Chicago, numbers wise, 168/3/9....

anyhow, here's to hoping we do okay!

[stopscreaming]

Hello everyone, I have a question about student housing. I will likely be attending the law school in September and am considering living in student housing. My one concern is that I plan on living with my girlfriend who will not be a U of C student. How does that work? Is it allowed? Does anyone have any information about this? Thanks!

[Older Chest]

Hello everyone, I have a question about student housing. I will likely be attending the law school in September and am considering living in student housing. My one concern is that I plan on living with my girlfriend who will not be a U of C student. How does that work? Is it allowed? Does anyone have any information about this? Thanks!

Bump

[Squishy]

Nobody said much about the main library. I only went as an undergrad, so I don't know anything about the law library, but....

The Reg is really depressing. And lots of students loved it, including me. I would take walks in the stacks. Ppl had birthday parties in the stacks. They vehemently defended their study areas. The bathroom "grout humor" is fervent. One guy shot himself in one of the bathrooms. The Reg is intense, but you'll get your studying done. Harper's is much better looking, but it's too warm and too small, I think.

Also, I lived in a number of areas of Hyde Park, including in one place near cottage grove (the eastern border beyond which students try not to roam), and I never felt unsafe walking to and from campus, ever. I am no tuff guy, mind you. In fact, the walks were, weather aside, quite nice. The times I did feel unsafe were when I took public transportation to "the city," via the bus+red/green line. Waiting for that transfer to the bus can be really sketchy (not to mention really, really cold). But that is well east of hyde park. As is Washington Park. Don't walk around there at night. Trust me!

I also used to hear that it was very awkward socially at the i-house, but it was a while ago.