Moving from Maryland to Illinois (Elgin, Schaumburg: affordable apartment, rental, how much)

[ApartmentSeeking]

Hi:

I was just offered a job that is located in Elgin, Illinois. I am in the process of searching for housing that is not too far from the location. Can anyone provide the surrounding areas near Elgin that are nice to live, affordable, and safe? Can anyone recommend any affordable apartment complexes? Additionally, I know nothing about the town of Elgin. Any information would be helpful.

Thanks!

[Drover]

Elgin itself is a mixed bag. It's big enough and self-contained enough to have some urban issues (moderate gang activity, some serious crime), yet on the periphery it's stereotypically suburban. The Elgin school district is generally regarded as one of the worst in the western suburbs, and not without some justification.

You didn't tell us what your idea of "affordable" is. If you're coming from western Maryland, you may find housing to be inordinately expensive; if you're coming from the DC area you might find it refreshingly reasonable. If you can swing it, I'd highly recommend looking in St. Charles. It's about 10 miles south of Elgin, has a very nice downtown core, and has one of the best school districts in the area. Another option would be Geneva, which is directly south of St. Charles. IMO it's a tiny step nicer than St. Charles and its schools are close enough in quality to the STC district as to not be significantly different. However, your commute could start getting a little long from Geneva, depending on which part of Geneva you lived in and which part of Elgin you'll work in.

[ApartmentSeeking]

Thanks for your info Drover. I am actually going to be working at Elgin Mental Health Center so I will check out the St. Charles area. I guess affordable for me would be around $850 per month (or less).

[Drover]

For how much space? Are you going to be by yourself? Wife/gf? Kids? $850 is kind of at the low end for a decent unit in a decent complex.

[ApartmentSeeking]

I will be living alone. no spouse, no kids, no pets. i am willing to live in a studio or one bedroom. i am a student, so i cant afford luxury just yet

[Avengerfire]

Perhaps try somewhere like Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows or Schaumburg.

[Drover]

Well if you have no kids to worry about (and therefore don't need to worry about the quality of the school district), you should be able to find a decent one-bedroom unit in a decent complex in Elgin, and probably even St. Charles too if you look hard enough. Unfortunately, I don't have specific recommendations for rental management companies. Maybe someone else can help out with that part.

[sgresident]

you might be able to find a townhome or something to rent in south elgin, especially since you are not in need of finding something with good schools.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by ApartmentSeeking

Thanks for your info Drover. I am actually going to be working at Elgin Mental Health Center so I will check out the St. Charles area. I guess affordable for me would be around $850 per month (or less).

Drover has offered some good advice. What is your maximum you can spend on rent? There are some very nice complexes in St. Charles and some not-so-nice older units. St. Charles is very safe and a wonderful city, but the older complexes are questionable. I dont know any complexes in the South Elgin area though, so St. Charles will probably be your best bet. I have many pictures of the area if you want any, give you an idea of what the area is like.

[ApartmentSeeking]

Steve-O: I would love to see the pictures of the area. Do you need my personal email address to forward them or can you post them on this site? Thanks!!