Chicago, IL

[Guest GoIllini]

Yvette, I have to ask - why Pilsen? It seems like a very odd choice for someone new to the city. Though it is gentrifying, there is still a fair amount of gang activity in the area and a pretty high violent crime rate. As a single girl, I would be pretty cautious about waiting at bus stops/the el after dark. I'm not trying to scare you, and hope you don't take offense - I think it's a really neat area - just a little rough around the edges, if you will.

[basille]

That's actually a pretty good point, GoIllini. I like Pilsen, but anyone choosing to move there should do it with the caveat that there are still crime issues there. Some streets are better than others. Best to check the crime stats in the 1/4 mile radius of your new apartment before signing a lease.

http://12.17.79.6/ctznicam/ctznicam.asp

This is also info from the Chicago Police Department. Gives a general idea of crime stats in certain areas... particularly page 20.

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal ... L/04AR.pdf

[yvette]

Yvette, I have to ask - why Pilsen? It seems like a very odd choice for someone new to the city. Though it is gentrifying, there is still a fair amount of gang activity in the area and a pretty high violent crime rate. As a single girl, I would be pretty cautious about waiting at bus stops/the el after dark. I'm not trying to scare you, and hope you don't take offense - I think it's a really neat area - just a little rough around the edges, if you will.

I'm not offended I'm just a cheapskate. While I don't want to get stabbed in the forehead and/or jacked for my laptop, I've gotten used to the Cleveland cost of living where $800 a month is an upper crust one bedroom and $1200 is a suite on the lake. I would really prefer to live close by, but it seems like the surrounding areas have sky high rents. My main goal is to live as close to the campus for as cheaply as possible.

[Somedfjd]

If I have been admitted to IIT then in which areas in Chicago I should look for apartment?

[basille]

If I have been admitted to IIT then in which areas in Chicago I should look for apartment?

How short would you like your commute to be and what rental ranges do you think you would be able to afford? If you don't mind me asking.

[Somedfjd]

How short would you like your commute to be and what rental ranges do you think you would be able to afford? If you don't mind me asking.

I do not know, I am international student so I do not know too much about Chicago, I'm trying to save as much as I can, what do you sugest?

all I know is that I do not want to live in a bad area. I do not care to live a little bit far from the campus and use the public transportation. :?

[basille]

I do not know, I am international student so I do not know too much about Chicago, I'm trying to save as much as I can, what do you sugest?

all I know is that I do not want to live in a bad area. I do not care to live a little bit far from the campus and use the public transportation. :?

For instance, you can live anywhere on the Red Line. Let's see... just as an example: The red line from Belmont (Lakeview neighborhood) to the RED LINE Roosevelt stop is 17 minutes. You could then grab the green line at the GREEN LINE Roosevelt stop (about a half block walk away from the RED LINE stop) and that would be a 8 minute ride. So, even if you lived in Lakeview, via trains it would be about a 25-30 min commute. If you moved further north up the red line, you would tack on more time. It sounds confusing, but it is actually very easy once you actually see it.

As far as neighborhoods, I think it depends on what you are looking for in a nieghborhood and how much space you want to be living in. There are the different rental ranges for some of the more popular neighborhoods. If you are concerned about the issue of safety, I would feel comfortable saying that the neighborhoods on this list are the ones most newcomers to the city will move to. http://www.apartmentpeople.com/ranges.asp As people become more familiar with Chicago, they tend to venture into some of the other neighborhoods. But you would probably be satisfied with one of the neighborhoods on the list.

Do you care about being close to bars and restaurants, or do you want something quieter? Do you want to be closer to a gay and lesbian neighborhood, or would you prefer to be farther away? Do you want an area with a larger amount of racial/ehtnic diversity, or are you looking for people very much like you? Do you want to be around families or college people?

In fact, since you are an international student, you could consider giving Apartment People a call. Tell them that you would like to find a space for $xxx and that you will be attending IIT and so you would like it to be easily accessible to the train.

Feel free to post more questions if you have them. I'm happy to help.

[Somedfjd]

For instance, you can live anywhere on the Red Line. Let's see... just as an example: The red line from Belmont (Lakeview neighborhood) to the RED LINE Roosevelt stop is 17 minutes. You could then grab the green line at the GREEN LINE Roosevelt stop (about a half block walk away from the RED LINE stop) and that would be a 8 minute ride. So, even if you lived in Lakeview, via trains it would be about a 25-30 min commute. If you moved further north up the red line, you would tack on more time. It sounds confusing, but it is actually very easy once you actually see it.

As far as neighborhoods, I think it depends on what you are looking for in a nieghborhood and how much space you want to be living in. There are the different rental ranges for some of the more popular neighborhoods. If you are concerned about the issue of safety, I would feel comfortable saying that the neighborhoods on this list are the ones most newcomers to the city will move to. http://www.apartmentpeople.com/ranges.asp As people become more familiar with Chicago, they tend to venture into some of the other neighborhoods. But you would probably be satisfied with one of the neighborhoods on the list.

Do you care about being close to bars and restaurants, or do you want something quieter? Do you want to be closer to a gay and lesbian neighborhood, or would you prefer to be farther away? Do you want an area with a larger amount of racial/ehtnic diversity, or are you looking for people very much like you? Do you want to be around families or college people?

In fact, since you are an international student, you could consider giving Apartment People a call. Tell them that you would like to find a space for $xxx and that you will be attending IIT and so you would like it to be easily accessible to the train.

Feel free to post more questions if you have them. I'm happy to help.

Thank you for your help.

My main problem is that I do not know the rental ranges, if I will say 450-650$ will it sound crazy?

It's looks like it will cost me more to live in the university's housing that rent a apartment with someone, could it be?

[Guest GoIllini]

$450-650 for a studio or 1-bdrm would be pretty crazy, especially most places on the North Side accessible to the Red Line...If you had a roomate, though, $900-1300 for a 2-bdrm would not be unreasonable in many neighborhoods. So with a roommate or two, you shouldn't have any problem staying within your budget.

[basille]

You shoud check with the IIT's housing office. I bet they maintain a list of students looking for roommates. They probably also have a list of cheaper apartments that their students generally prefer to rent.

Housing Office

Illinois Institute of Technology

3303 South State

Chicago, IL 60616

E-mail: housing1@iit.edu

Phone: (312) 567-5075

Fax: (312) 567-5926

And you can track down roommates here: http://chicago.craigslist.org/roo/

[Guest Peter]

Does anyone have some recommendations regarding housing that is easily accessible to UI-Chicago? I'm looking at places on the blue CTA line, and is affordable. I have heard some nice things about Oak Park, which is a suburb just outside of Chicago. Any thoughts? I'll appreicate any advice.

Thanks,

Peter

[basille]

Does anyone have some recommendations regarding housing that is easily accessible to UI-Chicago? I'm looking at places on the blue CTA line, and is affordable. I have heard some nice things about Oak Park, which is a suburb just outside of Chicago. Any thoughts? I'll appreicate any advice.

Thanks,

Peter

Hey! I'll be at UIC.

Anyways, Oak Park is very nice. I am not as familiar with Oak Park as I am the city, but it is a very easy commute on the Blue Line. And rents are cheaper than in Chicago, so that is always good. There are a few really good companies in Oak Park that will help you find apartments free of charge to you..

http://www.liveinoakpark.org/

http://oakparkapartments.com/

If you are interested in Chicago, many of the neighborhoods along the Blue Line are, for the most part, a bit more affordable than the neighborhoods along other lines. And the commute is quite easy and quick by train. I am in Logan Square, and UIC via train is about 20-25 minutes. Some nice blue line neighborhoods to consider: Logan Square, Bucktown, Wicker Park, UK Village/East Village (bus/train). Of course, there are also neighborhoods to the south and west on the blue line as well, such as Pilsen.

[Guest Peter]

I am glad that somone else is going to UIC. I must say that the campus architecture leaves much to be desired, although the location is great.

How does Metra work with UIC? my wife might be getting a job in a suburb south of Chicago (Old Forest) so we might be living out there. It looks like the housing is a bit cheaper there, but I'd rather live in a real urban setting than suburbia.

[esotera]

Can anyone recommend neighborhoods to look for with easy commutes to DePaul and Loyola? I know absolutely nothing about Chicago and it feels overwhelming. I can tell it will be easier to live near the red line. I'm not really interested in living in lincoln park, gay and lesbian friendly places are good, and I'm concerned about safety because I will be coming home fairly late quite a bit. Thanks so much!

[Guest bighark_nli]

Can anyone recommend neighborhoods to look for with easy commutes to DePaul and Loyola? I know absolutely nothing about Chicago and it feels overwhelming. I can tell it will be easier to live near the red line. I'm not really interested in living in lincoln park, gay and lesbian friendly places are good, and I'm concerned about safety because I will be coming home fairly late quite a bit. Thanks so much!

----

Look at Wrigleyville. Wrigleyville is closer to Depaul. It's a young neighborhood, and very gay friendly (Halsted from Belmont to Sheridan is where the majority of gay bars, nightclubs, and boutiques reside). Lakeview is very safe.

Look at Andersonville. Andersonville is closer to Loyola. Andersonville is not as young as Lakeview (lots of families and older residents), but it's very gay friendly (most of the lesbian community resides in Andersonville). Andersonville is safe, but it's bordered by less-safe neighborhoods to the east.

Which university will you be spending most of your time at? Depaul is pretty much bullet-proof in terms of safety. Loyola is not as safe after dark.

[Guest bighark_nli]

I am glad that somone else is going to UIC. I must say that the campus architecture leaves much to be desired, although the location is great.

How does Metra work with UIC? my wife might be getting a job in a suburb south of Chicago (Old Forest) so we might be living out there. It looks like the housing is a bit cheaper there, but I'd rather live in a real urban setting than suburbia.

There are two Metra Stations in Chicago: Ogilvy and Union Stations. They're within about a block of eachother. Union Station is about a mile away from the UIC campus.

I've never heard of Old Forest. Do you mean Oak Forest? Oak Forest is a south suburb that's serviced by the Chicago to Joliet Metra Line. I used to commute from Chicago to a suburb near Oak Forest. The drive was a bitch--especially coming back to the city at night. Think about that if you plan on doing any driving.

[Guest basille as a guest]

Can anyone recommend neighborhoods to look for with easy commutes to DePaul and Loyola? I know absolutely nothing about Chicago and it feels overwhelming. I can tell it will be easier to live near the red line. I'm not really interested in living in lincoln park, gay and lesbian friendly places are good, and I'm concerned about safety because I will be coming home fairly late quite a bit. Thanks so much!

Adding to bighark's advice, I'd also include Edgewater as a whole as possible place. It has become increasingly gay friendly - at the very least, I have a number of GLBT friends that have chosen to relocate there. Apartments closer to Broadway Ave would be your best best. Also, the historic Bryn Mawr area of Edgewater is really delightful, I think.

[basille]

I am glad that somone else is going to UIC. I must say that the campus architecture leaves much to be desired, although the location is great.

How does Metra work with UIC? my wife might be getting a job in a suburb south of Chicago (Old Forest) so we might be living out there. It looks like the housing is a bit cheaper there, but I'd rather live in a real urban setting than suburbia.

tsk... UIC isn't the loveliest of campuses. Kind of utilitarian, actually. But I, too, love the location.

From Union Station, the commute is very easy. Metra now lets you take bikes on their trains, so on nice days, that is an option if you like to bike. Otherwise, there are tons of buses heading over that way - the ride would be less than 10 minutes. You can do a trip planner online from the train station to your UIC building: http://tripsweb.rtachicago.com/

And you're prolly eligible for a U-Pass, so the bus pass would be $95 for the whole semester.

[duckrabbit]

And you're prolly eligible for a U-Pass, so the bus pass would be $95 for the whole semester.

Question: The $900 or so that we have to pay in University fees each semester includes a U-Pass, right?

[duckrabbit]

Oh, oops, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm starting at UIC in the fall. *waves*

[basille]

Question: The $900 or so that we have to pay in University fees each semester includes a U-Pass, right?

I'm pretty positive it is included in the fees/tuition. It's not something that you will pay separately from other expenses. I have to check on this myself. Did you acceptance come through the Graduate College?

[duckrabbit]

I'm pretty positive it is included in the fees/tuition. It's not something that you will pay separately from other expenses. I have to check on this myself. Did you acceptance come through the Graduate College?

I haven't gotten the official stuff with details like this from the graduate school yet -- just the acceptance letter and the stuff about my fellowship. All the other information (including the bit about the U-Pass) came from the department/current students.

[basille]

yeah - I'm waiting on my stuff, too. Though I've already been in contact with the professor I'll be working with. Seems like a good match.

[inf]

I don't know if this has been discussed before, but what is the cost of living like, from a grad student perspective? I'll be living in one of the UofC apartments, and my monthly stipend will be around $1600 or so after tax -- will that be enough to get by?

[duckrabbit]

I don't know if this has been discussed before, but what is the cost of living like, from a grad student perspective? I'll be living in one of the UofC apartments, and my monthly stipend will be around $1600 or so after tax -- will that be enough to get by?

Basille's the expert here, but from the estimates I've seen, $12,500 to 14,000/year gets you the bare essentials (not including car insurance, gas, and whatnot) -- you should be in fine shape! I'm planning to make do with $1500/month before taxes, and so far it doesn't seem impossible.

Look earlier in the current thread, and see this threadfor more detailed discussions and itemized cost-of-living estimates. Good luck!