SLPFA2010

I'm starting in the fall, too. I live on the NW side of the city already, and don't plan on moving, but I also don't mind an hour commute on the train. As long as you live on the purple/red line, though, you'll have a pretty short commute. There's a number of great neighborhoods along those train lines. You can pretty much start your apartment search as early or late as you'd like--apartments are always popping up in different neighborhoods, all with different timelines for leases to start. Craigslist is a great way to find apartments and get an idea of price ranges, and can be great for finding roommates as well. (I've found totally normal roommates in Chicago this way, I swear.) There are also a number of free apartment search services. My last few apartments, though, I've just found by walking around the neighborhood I want to move to and looking for "For Rent" signs. Here are a few guides to the city you might want to check out: http://www.windycitizen.com/ clearinghouse of Chicago blog posts http://www.chicagoreader.com/ the weekly independent newspaper http://www1.chicagor...ies/chicago101/ the Reader's intro to the city from 2006--most is still relevant http://www.yelp.com/chicago if you look around a bit, people post on almost everything

I'll be starting the SLP program this fall. I actually already live in Chicago (NW side), and I don't plan on moving closer to campus. Edgewater and Rogers Park are definitely great options of places to live, but if you don't mind being another 10 or 20 minutes away by train, there are a lot of great neighborhoods throughout the city. (I'm specifically referring to places on the Red and Purple CTA train lines, since then you wouldn't have to deal with transferring.) There is an express train that runs from Lakeview/Belmont (just south of Wrigley Field) to Evanston during morning and evening rush hours, so Evanston is really easy to get to. Also, you definitely do NOT have to find a place to live right now. There are almost always decent apartments available in Chicago. You can pretty much look at any time. Craigslist and just walking around the neighborhood you like are both good ways to find a place, and there are a number of free apartment finding services. If you want to live in Evanston, it may be a little more difficult (since people often rent student housing far ahead of time), but Chicago should be doable, even at the last minute.

I actually feel better after reading this--I thought we were supposed to hear from Northwestern about funding at the beginning of the month, so I was worried when I didn't hear anything.