Anastasia Dee Dualla wrote:Holly Golightly wrote:The loop sucks. Check out neighborhoods on the north side and west side that are more affordable. Even the west loop has some decent places that aren't too pricey, and is actually a fun place to live instead of desolate as soon as working hours are over.
Thank you. I was meaning to email you as per DF's suggestion, but then I realized because we are TLS friends, I have no email addy.
Okay, so I'm going to disclose a little. When I moved to Chicago from the South (Arkansas) I was extremely worried. I sold my car because folks told me "you'd never need a car in Chicago." To stay competitive in my field for practica and externships, turns out I needed a car, and had to purchase one (a much crappier one I might add), but I digress.
Concerning the weather..you won't want to wait at a bus stop in the frigid air for 5 minutes, let alone 20, so I would live somewhere where you can either drive (which I understand not everyone can) or somewhere EXTREMELY close to a bus stop. I say bus stop because although trains are much quicker, you generally have to walk longer to get to a train stop, and have to stand up on the very cold and windy platforms for several minutes before a train arrives...and when it arrives, be prepared to kill an old lady to get onto the train, PARTICULARLY if you live close to downtown where people are headed.
I lived in the same place for the 3 years I was there, about 6 miles north of downtown. I lived in Ravenswood/Uptown Border, close to Andersonville (which is a very gay friendly place, something that I did not know when I moved there but really liked). My apartment building was originally built to serve as condos, but that didn't work out because of the economy. I had a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with washer and dryer, central air and heat, and laundry in the apartment. Those are things you are also going to want to consider. I was also fortunate to have a built in garage underground for my building, balconies on 2 of the rooms and the main room, fireplace, etc.
When I was trying to move, I was relying on someone who lived in the city to find me a good deal as I couldn't go look myself. When he found that apartment, we jumped on it. I would advise you NOT to use those shady house hunting groups, because they really tried to force us to buy immediately...and while there is a lot of competition, they really over-did it in my opinion.
The cost of my 3 bedroom apartment in a good location for transportation and fairly close to downtown was 2,025 a month, or 675 per person for rent, which I thought was fantastic, as I knew people downtown paying over 1300 a month for a shitty studio with none of the amenities I mentioned. I don't know about you, but I'd rather live comfortably if I'm masochistic enough to go to grad (or now in this case law school). I think having roommates saves you money, and you can screen them easy enough. My first year it was me, my friend whom I had met on Facebook but grew to know very well in the year before I left, and one of his friends. We got along well, but one of my roommates dropped out, and my friend moved, so I had to get 2 roommates the next year. That year was even better, and everyone stayed the next year.
Most places in Chicago will require a deposit of first month's rent, so don't be surprised. I was a little shocked when I had to cough up 2,025 dollars, plus 2,025 more dollar for first months rent, particularly because one of my roommates was on the fence, and everyone was broke except me because I worked full time in college. I ended up, foolishly, paying for everyone's (mainly in a panic because of those apartment hunter people and my irrational fears of not getting a good apartment and having to live somewhere unsafe or too far away). Luckily I signed promissory agreements with everyone and got all of my money back.
Anyways, I wish you the best. One more thing, a lot of Chicago is just a neighborhood after neighborhood, so that's something to consider as well. If you're gay, there are plenty of great neighborhoods for you. If you like sports, there's a great neighborhood. Each neighborhood has their own feel to them. There are some areas on the Northside close to where I lived or bordered (such as Uptown) that have became increasingly unsafe. 2 days ago 5 people were shot at the exact location where I would normally walk 10-15 minutes from my apartment to take the train. I was always lazy though and took the bus as it was right in front of my apartment door. Everything depends really on you. The train ride for where I lived was about 20 minutes (not including the 15 minutes to walk to the train) so it was quicker, but sucked in the winter because of the platforms. The bus took 45 minutes because of all the stops, but was right at my front door. During the summer I took the train so I could start my morning off with a walk, and at night I would take the bus, mainly for safety issues because that particular station was in a not great neighborhood...a 15 minute walk can make so much of a difference in Chicago.
Anyways, best of luck, and feel free to PM me. I moved to Arkansas to help out on some family issues and am getting a masters here, and decided to wait it out a cycle before I apply, so I will apply next Fall for the following fall. Took the LSAT in December but want to raise it since I took on considerable debt in my graduate endeavor (so stupid) but thankfully no undergrad debt. Best of luck!
