Where to live

[Carolfan]

Hi guys, I'm a new graduate student, and I'm trying to find a place now. I prefer to live off campus, but at somewhere not far from the school, better within a bicycle riding distance. I've searched rooms for rent in the neighborhood hyde park on craigslist, but I still want more options. Since I've never been to Chicago, I'm totally unfamiliar with its neighborhoods. Please tell me some alternative choices other than hyde park, I'm flexible as long as the neighbor is safe.

Thank you!

Carol

[TropicalCharlie]

You may want to start with this thread

[butterfingers2010]

Hi Carol- I'm moving to Chicago soon, too! I'll be living in a studio in Roger's Park. You don't mention what school you're going to, so I'm not sure what to suggest to you that would be within biking distance. My understanding of Chicago so far is that the vast majority commute to work/school via the El (elevated) train. while biking is also a great idea, you would have many more options if you were willing to take public transportation. The commute might be kind of long depending on where you are ( I have a 30 min commute to school and 45 min commute to my practicum site) but you could always use the time to read and catch up on your studies.

Overall, I would say stay away from the South side (too dangerous) as well as downtown/the loop (too expensive). When I was looking for apartments, I focused on Roger's Park and Edgewater. They are inexpensive but relatively safe neighborhoods. A few people I talked to who are familiar with Chicago did advise me to shy away from West Roger's Park, as its a litte more sketchy. Basically, the closer to the lake you are, the better, as far as safety goes in that area.

If you want to to more research on neighborhoods I would suggest picking up some Chicago guidebooks at the bookstore. They usually cover each neighborhood in a seperate section. If you get the chance to talk to people familiar with Chicago, ask them what they think of the specific neighborhood you're looking at. You could also look at crime maps (there's a few websites out there for this, you just have to type in the address of the location you're interested in). Lastly, before signing a lease, run the address through the search at bedbugregistry.com. If there are any listed reports of bed bugs, stay away from the place.

Another thing to consider as far as location goes is the distance your apartment is from the closest CTA line. As a woman I definitely feel safer at night having to walk only a short distance from the train to my doorstep. One of the reasons I chose the apartment I did is because it's on a very busy, well-lit street with a lot of restaurants, i.e. I will not feel as isolated when I do have to walk to my apartment at night.