Chicago associates: Where do people live? How much do you pay in rent? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Starting to look into neighborhoods/apartments in Chicago, don't really know the city that well. I'm thinking River North or the Loop as my firm is in River North.

any and all advice is much appreciated!

[Anonymous User]

Anon because sharing info about my own housing

It really depends on what you’re willing to do for commute. I pay a lot more in rent than I need to for an affordable city like Chicago, but being able to walk to work is key.

I pay 2100 for a less updated 1 br in River North with lots of character, a dishwasher, W/D, and 24 hour doorman. It’s about a 15-20 minute walk to work.

A lot of first years without families live in River North, and especially so in the high rises. There’s also West Loop, which is a cooler area but a slightly more difficult commute. People also live in Wicker Park, Old Town, Lincoln Park, and Lakeview, which are all great neighborhoods. Look at what train line is closest to your office and decide your ideal commute from there, and then think about lifestyle. IMO, don’t rely on any commute that involves transferring trains unless it’s red to brown.

Depending on what lifestyle you want, I’d avoid living in the Loop unless it’s South Loop or West Loop. Nothing is open after 6pm or on weekends for the most part, so it’s a total ghost town and just feels off. South Loop has fun spots near Roosevelt, and West Loop has the whole Fulton Market area and arguably the best food scene in the city.

Happy to chat more about neighborhoods in depth.

[Anonymous User]

All of the advice in the previous list is good. Most neighborhoods on the North Side along the lake are really nice. I also know people who live in the South Side in Pilsen, a gentrifying/hip historically Mexican neighborhood with good transit links to downtown, and Hyde Park, where the University of Chicago is. Hyde Park is very leafy and family-friendly, and a lot of young professionals who are graduates or employees the university live there, but it has very little nightlife for a college area. Both neighborhoods are much more affordable than e.g. Wicker Park--my understanding is that it's perfectly feasible to rent for $1k/mo.

Imo River North, South Loop, and West Loop are kind of soulless, whatever actual neighborhoods existed there have long since been built over with a concrete jungle, but whether that's an issue depends on your preferences. The North Side neighborhoods farther from the Loop are more like traditional neighborhoods, with predominantly low-rise architecture, green space, etc. I would not live in the Loop proper for the reasons the previous poster gave.

[Anonymous User]

I live in a neighborhood or suburb that is a pain to commute (exact location doesn't matter, just want to share what it's like outside of the Metra/El system). I live here for personal/family reasons. My mortgage including tax and insurance is about 2150, for a SFH with yard and garage. Suburban dream lol.

I drive to work, there is about 45 min, home about 30. It's an OK commute for 2-3x a day but I'm afraid that as more ppl return to work the traffic will get worse. I park using apps, usually get for 10-15 bucks. My drive and parking costs are great by big city standards but it's annoying how sparse the train coverage is. I can drive to the Metra but then my commute would be more like 50 min each way.

You can choose to live in a suburb with Metra access and have a 30 min Metra ride to work (possibly a few min drive to the Metra). I realize that this isn't the typical "junior associate" lifestyle but sooner or later you'll get old too lol. Hope this helps.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

live in River North and don't have a car. The amount you will save living farther away is not that great -- 10K a year max. This isn't NYC where you could save 2 grand a month by moving to Queens.

[Sackboy]

live in River North and don't have a car. The amount you will save living farther away is not that great -- 10K a year max. This isn't NYC where you could save 2 grand a month by moving to Queens.

This is true. I think, beyond some okay savings, the best reason to live further away is to live in a nice neighborhood. Streeterville, River North, the Loop, West Loop, and South Loop are all pretty boring and awful neighborhoods, imo. South Loop and West Loop are supposedly getting more hip and cool, but I walk through them all the time and they seem to be benefiting more from a marketing campaign for new luxury condos than anything actually interesting happening there. I think some of the neighborhoods previously mentioned here can give you a little more space for a little cheaper and with much better entertainment and a 15-20 minute commute to work.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

I would agree that farther north, e.g. Lincoln Park, is a nicer neighborhood. Some parts of Lakeview, too. But then OP is either commuting by bus/train or driving. Maybe overall QoL would still be higher -- depends on OP.

[Elvis_Dumervil]

I would agree that farther north, e.g. Lincoln Park, is a nicer neighborhood. Some parts of Lakeview, too. But then OP is either commuting by bus/train or driving. Maybe overall QoL would still be higher -- depends on OP.

Depending on exactly where you are, the blue line may be your best bet. It's a quick commute, then you walk across the river. Gives you access to a lot of good spots.

Living on the brown line will give you basically LP, or you do the red line and get lakeview.

Personally, I'd consider starting in river north, then explore the neighborhoods and find what you like for the long term. By far the best thing about Chicago is the neighborhoods, and by living in river north or anything else loop-adjacent you're totally losing that.

[Anonymous User]

When I was in biglaw I lived near the Diversey brown line stop. Paid $2100 for a 1200 sq ft two bedroom. Commute was like 20-30 minutes door to door.

Best advice I could give is to live easy walking distance to the whatever El line is closest to your office. You’ll be very grateful in January.

[Anonymous User]

If you're in BL, you won't be spending much time outside of the office anyway. Live within 10 minutes walking distance to the office, or live within 5ish walking minutes of the train along the blue/red/brown lines, ideally with <30 minute commute all told. The neighborhood doesn't really matter as much as proximity to the El does, although I would avoid the proper loop (i.e., the real loop, not the west or south loops) because it closes down early and you may find yourself struggling to grab the essentials after work, or going to the gym, and so on.

You'll find that even if your actual neighborhood is garbage, if you're close to the El, you can be somewhere fun in five minutes. Not worth taking a worse apartment in a cooler neighborhood, all other things being equal, for a biglaw associate.

[Anonymous User]

If you're in BL, you won't be spending much time outside of the office anyway. Live within 10 minutes walking distance to the office, or live within 5ish walking minutes of the train along the blue/red/brown lines, ideally with <30 minute commute all told. The neighborhood doesn't really matter as much as proximity to the El does, although I would avoid the proper loop (i.e., the real loop, not the west or south loops) because it closes down early and you may find yourself struggling to grab the essentials after work, or going to the gym, and so on.

You'll find that even if your actual neighborhood is garbage, if you're close to the El, you can be somewhere fun in five minutes. Not worth taking a worse apartment in a cooler neighborhood, all other things being equal, for a biglaw associate.

That's a really depressing way to go through life, and not at all consistent with what most people at my large firm in Chicago do. A decent number of people live in river north initially, but almost everybody older is out of there. The ones who follow your strategy are the ones who left earliest -- you need to make the job sustainable in the long-run, not let it take over every single aspect of your life.

[Anonymous User]

If you're in BL, you won't be spending much time outside of the office anyway. Live within 10 minutes walking distance to the office, or live within 5ish walking minutes of the train along the blue/red/brown lines, ideally with <30 minute commute all told. The neighborhood doesn't really matter as much as proximity to the El does, although I would avoid the proper loop (i.e., the real loop, not the west or south loops) because it closes down early and you may find yourself struggling to grab the essentials after work, or going to the gym, and so on.

You'll find that even if your actual neighborhood is garbage, if you're close to the El, you can be somewhere fun in five minutes. Not worth taking a worse apartment in a cooler neighborhood, all other things being equal, for a biglaw associate.

That's a really depressing way to go through life, and not at all consistent with what most people at my large firm in Chicago do. A decent number of people live in river north initially, but almost everybody older is out of there. The ones who follow your strategy are the ones who left earliest -- you need to make the job sustainable in the long-run, not let it take over every single aspect of your life.

If you think it's depressing to spend most of your waking hours at work, I genuinely would love to know what BL firm you work at so I can lateral there immediately.

In seriousness, I stand by the advice that for a new Chicagoan and presumably first-year associate, it's best to live as close as humanly possible without getting stuck in the Loop itself. And then, as you said, you can relocate once you get a sense of what's possible for you.

[njdevils2626]

Just to provide a completely different perspective, after a few years in the city my wife and I decided it was time for something bigger for our dogs and future family and moved out to the West Suburbs. If you're close to Downers Grove, there's a 30 minute express line direct to Union Station that's pretty great and, at least for me, a 15 minute walk to the office from there. Love our house, tons of space and right on the golf course. Dogs love it too. Commute really isn't that bad either, great time to take calls on the train or on the walk in, as long as you have good noise cancelling headphones

[Anonymous User]

Chicago has excellent transit in and out of the Loop and e.g. Wicker Park isn’t just a *better* neighborhood than West Loop, it’s a *much better* neighborhood, and worth a slightly longer commute time for almost anyone imo.

I also wouldn’t be picky about which L line you’re close to, that’s a red herring, they basically all go to the Loop and what matters is commute time, not line. Also look at the Metra in addition to the L, it’s faster and better, and sometimes goes different places—like the Metra Electric makes Hyde Park an easy commute even though there’s no L stop.

[Anonymous User]

Chicago has excellent transit in and out of the Loop and e.g. Wicker Park isn’t just a *better* neighborhood than West Loop, it’s a *much better* neighborhood, and worth a slightly longer commute time for almost anyone imo.

I also wouldn’t be picky about which L line you’re close to, that’s a red herring, they basically all go to the Loop and what matters is commute time, not line. Also look at the Metra in addition to the L, it’s faster and better, and sometimes goes different places—like the Metra Electric makes Hyde Park an easy commute even though there’s no L stop.

Brown line is local and takes twice the time as the Blue line for similar distance. So the line does matter. But you're absolutely right about the Metra and the neighborhoods. I don't think the singles happily walking 8.5 minutes to their shared shoeboxes appreciate that in Chicago you can live a suburban lifestyle within a very manageable commute. It may not be relevant to you now but it probably will be eventually.

[Anonymous User]

Chicago has excellent transit in and out of the Loop and e.g. Wicker Park isn’t just a *better* neighborhood than West Loop, it’s a *much better* neighborhood, and worth a slightly longer commute time for almost anyone imo.

I also wouldn’t be picky about which L line you’re close to, that’s a red herring, they basically all go to the Loop and what matters is commute time, not line. Also look at the Metra in addition to the L, it’s faster and better, and sometimes goes different places—like the Metra Electric makes Hyde Park an easy commute even though there’s no L stop.

Hot take: Welcome to 2021, you're living 10 years in the past. Wicker Park was the "it" neighborhood of 2010 and it's become totally played out. Also lmfao at recommending that someone live in Hyde Park and commute into the Loop / River North every day on the Metra Electric Line that sounds miserable and Hyde Park is isolated from the city and nowhere someone in their 20s should want to live once they're done going to U of C (not even then).

My take: Lincoln Park is very nice especially near the park; the Lincoln Park is an amazing amenity; it's very family friendly. The West Loop / Fulton Market is awesome if you can afford it and is where all the younger money in Chicago has gravitated, which you may or may not like depending on your perspective. It's full of parks, cool indie shops, and arguably the best restaurant scene in Chicago. It also has an influx of tech workers from places like Google to the north and students from UIC to the west which helps keep it from becoming another River North. On which, River North, Loop, and Streeterville are soulless and also being afflicted with crime problems right now and you couldn't pay me to sit in a box at e.g., Amli while people are getting car jacked outside vacant clubs at 2am. South Loop is for people who secretly wished they lived in the suburbs but are going to hold out for another 5 years before moving next door to a Buffalo Wild Wings in Naperville.

[chiguy99]

Chicago has excellent transit in and out of the Loop and e.g. Wicker Park isn’t just a *better* neighborhood than West Loop, it’s a *much better* neighborhood, and worth a slightly longer commute time for almost anyone imo.

I also wouldn’t be picky about which L line you’re close to, that’s a red herring, they basically all go to the Loop and what matters is commute time, not line. Also look at the Metra in addition to the L, it’s faster and better, and sometimes goes different places—like the Metra Electric makes Hyde Park an easy commute even though there’s no L stop.

Hot take: Welcome to 2021, you're living 10 years in the past. Wicker Park was the "it" neighborhood of 2010 and it's become totally played out. Also lmfao at recommending that someone live in Hyde Park and commute into the Loop / River North every day on the Metra Electric Line that sounds miserable and Hyde Park is isolated from the city and nowhere someone in their 20s should want to live once they're done going to U of C (not even then).

My take: Lincoln Park is very nice especially near the park; the Lincoln Park is an amazing amenity; it's very family friendly. The West Loop / Fulton Market is awesome if you can afford it and is where all the younger money in Chicago has gravitated, which you may or may not like depending on your perspective. It's full of parks, cool indie shops, and arguably the best restaurant scene in Chicago. It also has an influx of tech workers from places like Google to the north and students from UIC to the west which helps keep it from becoming another River North. On which, River North, Loop, and Streeterville are soulless and also being afflicted with crime problems right now and you couldn't pay me to sit in a box at e.g., Amli while people are getting car jacked outside vacant clubs at 2am. South Loop is for people who secretly wished they lived in the suburbs but are going to hold out for another 5 years before moving next door to a Buffalo Wild Wings in Naperville.

LOL. This guy/gal gets it. LP and WL are the easy winners here if you're under 30 with no kids. If you are on the brink of a family, you can spill a bit north to Roscoe, Lakeview, North Center / Ravenswood or West to West Town (east of Western Ave) or Logan Sq. I'll sprinkle in Old Town if you're single, River West if you're living with a S/O. There is no right answer but there are a few wrong answers and those are Pilsen, Hyde Park or S Loop. Nothing wrong with living there, but very different vibes from the north / west side neighborhoods that you best be certain you want prior to committing. I'd personally throw Streeterville in the "wrong" column but some people love it. The Loop is a hard no, just don't even consider it.

[Anonymous User]

If you're making Cravath scale, you can afford an extremely nice apartment in any part of the city. It's not like NYC where associates are selling organs to live in Chelsea. The only reason you shouldn't be living in Lincoln Park is if you absolutely cannot find a decent apartment, or you really like the hipster Brooklyn or cool kid Meatpacking vibe, in which case Wicker Park and Fulton Market/West Loop respectively. Or if you're gay or obsessed with baseball, in which case Lakeview.

[freesplitting]

I live in LP and am very happy paying $2750/month for my 2bd/2ba walk-up condo. Love the location, love the neighborhood. I take a bus to work which can be a little unpredictable, but on the whole it’s worth it. Plus living so close to the park and lake makes working out in the mornings a lot more pretty.

[Anonymous User]

Also as someone not from the area, a great tip is that you can use a real estate broker for a rental—and they’re 100% free to you.

[Anonymous User]

I live in River West and pay $2,200/month for a 2 bed/2ba condo with parking included. Literally two minutes from the train and about 15 minutes walk to work. A little further out from all the action, but I like that, especially having a car. Also have family/friends from the suburbs visit and there's usually always paid street parking, which is nice.

[Anonymous User]

Unrelated to your apartment location, but if you can handle a few months of cold, you're going to f*cking love it there. No one loves their city like Chicagoans love Chicago.

[Anonymous User]

Unrelated to your apartment location, but if you can handle a few months of cold, you're going to f*cking love it there. No one loves their city like Chicagoans love Chicago.

"And by 'a few months of cold,' I mean 'November - April of every year.'" lol

(Written as it's 42 degrees outside at 11:30 am with a predicted high for the day of 44.)

[Anonymous User]

Unrelated to your apartment location, but if you can handle a few months of cold, you're going to f*cking love it there. No one loves their city like Chicagoans love Chicago.

"And by 'a few months of cold,' I mean 'November - April of every year.'" lol

(Written as it's 42 degrees outside at 11:30 am with a predicted high for the day of 44.)

42 is not cold for Chicago. So it's only a couple of months of true cold weather (sort of a no true Scotsman argument lol).

For those not familiar with rough weather: invest in a good thick ugly parka. I have an Eddie Bauer that's lasted me a few years. Also for a few months you will be wearing snow boots outside.

[Anonymous User]

As the person who posted about months of cold, let me clarify: you have to survive a few months of cold and twelve months of people debating whether it's cold or not.

But you will love it regardless!