kateow Posted February 14, 2011 Posted February 14, 2011 Thought I'd get this thread started, since the announcements seem to be out today. Congrats!
DrPepper-olic Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Hi! I'm about 95% sure I'm going to U of Chicago.
Behavioral Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Hi! I'm about 95% sure I'm going to U of Chicago. Congrats, man. Chicago for Econ is extremely impressive. I'll most likely be going to Northwestern, but living somewhere near Streeterville/River North in Chicago next year.
DrPepper-olic Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Congrats, man. Chicago for Econ is extremely impressive. I'll most likely be going to Northwestern, but living somewhere near Streeterville/River North in Chicago next year. Awesome. I don't know much about Chicago geography, but I'll post my neighborhood as soon as I know where I'll be living. I'm going up on April 1 to scout things out.
Orzai Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Almost certainly going to Chicago in the Fall. Definitely going for my department's visitation day in April.
Behavioral Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Awesome. I don't know much about Chicago geography, but I'll post my neighborhood as soon as I know where I'll be living. I'm going up on April 1 to scout things out. I mean you'll probably be somewhere in South Chicago by campus (Hyde Park and the like). I just don't think I'd be happy living in Evanston, so I've been doing more research on the city than most.
chubb Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Just got accepted to the AM program at the Divinity School, so I'll see you all in Chicago this fall! Any other Div School-ers out there?
chintan Posted March 19, 2011 Posted March 19, 2011 Accepted U Chicago @ Fall 2011 Org. Chem. Any idea how do you go about finding graduate student room mates?
gilberto Posted March 19, 2011 Posted March 19, 2011 Hyde Park apartments are not the best, though they're pretty cheap. You can easily get an apartment in the $400-600 range for a 2-4 bedroom, studios about $900-1200. A lot of the apartments are not new, however, and you're better off spending more money. Most grad students live in Regents (http://www.regentsparkchicago.com/). Others may choose grad housing, but I think that's much less common. Also, apartments across the Midway (closest to the graduate buildings) can be super sketch, so I wouldn't recommend renting an apartment sight unseen if it's south of 59th Street. Many, many people commute to Hyde Park. The 6 bus takes you straight from Michigan Ave/State St area to the south side, though it's slow. There's also the Red Line that will get you from pretty much anywhere in Chicago to Hyde Park, though it gets extremely sketchy and very unsafe in the evening hours. Also, if you're interested in having a life outside of Hyde Park, live downtown and commute. It's a pain to catch cabs and get downtown for a night out. But Hyde Park is a neat neighborhood with a lot of good restaurants, so there are some decent options to keep you in the neighborhood on a weekend. spagett and wreckofthehope 1 1
sbowman Posted March 19, 2011 Posted March 19, 2011 I'm a current BA/MA student. I'm not eligible for the University owned apartments, but from what I've seen of it, it tends to be on par in both price and quality with most of Hyde Park, if not a bit better. For housemate hunting, marketplace.uchicago.edu is a great resource if you want to live in Hyde Park, though it's worth pointing out that that's likely to be most active in the next six weeks or so—a lot of apartments around here turn over leases in June, and are showing now. The housing stock around here is pretty great if you can put up with peeling paint and rusty fixtures here and there. The buildings haven't all been maintained, but most of what's available was built as luxury housing in the teens and twenties, so expect big rooms, high ceilings and nice details. MAC owns at least a third of the apartment buildings in Hyde Park, and their maintenance and billing record is pretty abysmal. It's not terrible in the high rises where they have on-site staff, but I'd recommend avoiding them if possible and sticking to smaller scale landlords. If you want to live outside of Hyde Park and South Kenwood (47th to 61st, Cottage Grove to the lake), I'd recommend living north of Roosevelt unless you are absolutely sure of what you are getting into. The South Side is not all bad, and there can be nice places to live, but if you're not familiar with the geography going in, a lot of the neighborhoods you'd be commuting through or even living in can be legitimately dangerous. Englewood and Woodlawn especially see murders and arsons all the time. Also for what it's worth, racial politics on the South Side are also surprisingly bad for a northern city—Hyde Park is one of the only neighborhoods nearby that isn't either over 95% black or under 5%, and there is still some tension about what the University is doing to the area. spagett 1
Orzai Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Hyde Park apartments are not the best, though they're pretty cheap. You can easily get an apartment in the $400-600 range for a 2-4 bedroom, studios about $900-1200. A lot of the apartments are not new, however, and you're better off spending more money. Most grad students live in Regents (http://www.regentsparkchicago.com/). Others may choose grad housing, but I think that's much less common. Also, apartments across the Midway (closest to the graduate buildings) can be super sketch, so I wouldn't recommend renting an apartment sight unseen if it's south of 59th Street. I'm going to check out Regent's Park on the 30th when I fly up to visit. It looks rather nice and I think it is worth paying a bit more for comfortable place if you are in it for the long haul and got a stipend.
borderlands Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I think I'll probably be heading out to Chicago in mid-August before school starts. From what I have gathered from the university visit earlier this month the graduate student housing option is quite good and for a competitive price. Initial deposit of $300 which is deducted from the first months rent. Also one can move in a quarter before school starts. I need to be doing research in archives outside of Chicago during the first summer so this is a good option for me; not having to bind to a contract for the summer or worry about sub-leasing an apt. Is any one else considering the university's graduate housing? any comments or thoughts?
chintan Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 Is any one else considering the university's graduate housing? any comments or thoughts? University graduate housing looks good!! I am not willing to pay for anything more than $500 and so I need to find a room for myself in a 2BR or a 3 BR... I guess marketplace.uchicago.edu would be more helpful for finding people who have already rented out a 2BR or a 3BR... But I guess, with university housing, we'll have to find roommates for ourselves, or do they manage that?
borderlands Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 But I guess, with university housing, we'll have to find roommates for ourselves, or do they manage that? That's an interesting question. I also saw two bedroom apts have much larger rooms and kitchens plus a living room. I'm willing to share the space but the question is do we have to find another university student to move in with us? Or is it just a two person lease each paying their own share??
warpspeed Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 (edited) Hey all! I had emailed someone about my dog being allowed (he's registered as an american bulldog mix, but people often confuse him as a pitbull so i wanted to make sure he would be okay--they said as long as he's registered under his breed i'm fine! he's such a mush) and I just followed up with them asking about how we go about finding a housemate (random selection by them or we have to have one in advance). I'll let you know what they say! I'm also looking to share a 2-3 BR in the graduate housing, obviously the pet friendly buildings. edit:: if i don't live in university housing, i'l probably end up with an hour commute to campus because I really can't afford to pay the prices of Hyde Park! $500 is really the most I can do. Edited March 25, 2011 by warpspeed
sbowman Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 edit:: if i don't live in university housing, i'l probably end up with an hour commute to campus because I really can't afford to pay the prices of Hyde Park! $500 is really the most I can do. $500 in Hyde Park is certainly possible, and becomes downright easy if you look near the somewhat dicier south end of campus (near 61st/62nd and Woodlawn).
warpspeed Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 $500 in Hyde Park is certainly possible, and becomes downright easy if you look near the somewhat dicier south end of campus (near 61st/62nd and Woodlawn). i've been looking online and i've had a really hard time finding anything with only 2-3 bedrooms. i currently live with 5 other girls and have absolutely no intention of EVER living with more than 2 other unrelated people again, let alone female. nightmare! i live in the hood right now too and pay 3x what my current place is worth because its close to campus and they love ot price gouge us. I'd love to find a place that's actually a nice quality of living and doesn't have that permanent "college house" feel.
soramimicake Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 I was reading about the University graduate housing and what I gathered from it was that there were only certain apartment complexes that you could live in if you wanted to room with another graduate student (see FAQ "Can I share an apartment with someone?"). I looked up these apartment complexes and it seemed like all were just furnished two bedrooms. Is this the idea that everyone else got? I was kind of sad, since I wanted to bring my own furniture, but I'd also like a roommate and would want to stay in University housing my first year. I might just go for a 1-BR....
soramimicake Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 whoops here's the link: http://rs.uchicago.edu/graduate_housing/faq.shtml#8
caezar86 Posted March 29, 2011 Posted March 29, 2011 Yeah, that sounds about right. I think 5 of the apartment buildings have 2-bedroom furnished units for 2 single students to share. I'm not thrilled about it since I want to furnish my own place too, but I think it could be worth the social networking the first year to bear with it, and get a non-university place after that.
chintan Posted March 29, 2011 Posted March 29, 2011 I mailed them, their reply: "Unfurnished 2-bedroom apartments are reserved for families with children." Only those with the "shared" tag are meant to be shared (and they are furnished)... If you are applying for a 2-bedroom shared apartment, you can either request a specific roommate or you would be assigned a roommate that is looking for similar accommodations. If you prefer to live in university housing, a room would cost you at least $ 700... Regents park and such places would cost you $ 700 - 1100. <br class="Apple-interchange-newline">On the other hand, if you go for the non-university housing, a 3 BR may cost $ 1200 - 1500, and that would be $ 400 - $ 500 per room. But, you just need to be cautious with this one and avoid things like MAC apartments. Anybody here is looking to share an apartment in a non-university housing place (My budget is max. $ 550 including utilities)? We can talk!
caezar86 Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 I mailed them, their reply: "Unfurnished 2-bedroom apartments are reserved for families with children." Only those with the "shared" tag are meant to be shared (and they are furnished)... If you are applying for a 2-bedroom shared apartment, you can either request a specific roommate or you would be assigned a roommate that is looking for similar accommodations. If you prefer to live in university housing, a room would cost you at least $ 700... Regents park and such places would cost you $ 700 - 1100. <br class="Apple-interchange-newline">On the other hand, if you go for the non-university housing, a 3 BR may cost $ 1200 - 1500, and that would be $ 400 - $ 500 per room. But, you just need to be cautious with this one and avoid things like MAC apartments. Anybody here is looking to share an apartment in a non-university housing place (My budget is max. $ 550 including utilities)? We can talk! Can anyone give insight as to why MAC managed property is to be avoided? Are they all bad? They do own a great deal of the apartments, if not them, where?
chintan Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 Can anyone give insight as to why MAC managed property is to be avoided? Are they all bad? They do own a great deal of the apartments, if not them, where? You can look at the reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/mac-property-management-chicago-4 (People claim that the '5-star reviews' have been added by MAC!) OR I have heard it from many people who have been living there... All apartments can't be so bad (statistically not possible! ).. But, its just my opinion from what I have gathered from people and net-reviews
caezar86 Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 You can look at the reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/mac-property-management-chicago-4 (People claim that the '5-star reviews' have been added by MAC!) OR I have heard it from many people who have been living there... All apartments can't be so bad (statistically not possible! ).. But, its just my opinion from what I have gathered from people and net-reviews So, I'm having trouble finding some reliable management with a good selection of apartments in Hyde park. Any suggestions?
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