Where should I live

[b1soul22]

Ok thats a lot of help. I actually am very open to other locations so I will give River North a search. The walk from my PT to the school being only a 10 minute walk is a little tempting too. Thanks for all the help

[RingWalk]

If safety and being close to your school are your main criteria and your realtor suggested you move to Austin, I would not listen to him about anything, ever, under any circumstances. If he tells you it's raining outside, you can be sure it's sunny.

[b1soul22]

LOL ty for the advice. I will steer clear of this particular realtor. PT is only about a ten minute walk from my school?

[linicx]

Chicago is not SLC. It is a metropolitan area of 10 Million people.

A realtor who tells you to move in a potentially dangerous neighborhood is [1] not a friend and [2] should not call her/himself a realtor. Chicago has many neighborhoods that contain many streets and many things including bars, restaurants and 1000 ways to get into trouble. Not all neighborhoods are bad. Not all neighborhoods are the Garden of Eden, either. The people who lived in a 'hood for years may know zero about the 'hood a block away. It's Chicago - atown of at least 100 languages and many,*many more ancient histories. .

Any address that is numbered 5000 is a very looooong walk from the Loop or downtown.

If there is something special that you are looking for someone on this board can tell you where it is and how to get there. In the meantime there are a lot of things you can do and see in the downtown area including museums and a trolly tour of the city. .

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by b1soul22

What about safety? Is the area around PT very safe? Is there other much safer areas I should consider researching? The area of 5000 Masion is not a safe area at all I gather from the posts?

thanks again all

Yes it safe around PT.

[jahk]

Is it time for a review of Chicago address conventions?

Get a map of Chicago. Find the intersection of State and Madison. That is 0 on the N/S axis, 0 on the E/W axis. It is also right in the Loop.

In any direction, it is 8 blocks to the mile. So something at 800 N State will be 1 mile north of State and Madison. 555 W. Madison is 5/8 of a mile west of State and Madison. 451 N. LaSalle is 1/2 mile north of Presidential Towers and a little east. (Less than 5/8 mile, sorry, I don't know exactly how far apart State and LaSalle are.)

5000 W. Madison is 6 1/4 miles west of State and Madison. That's too far to walk, and if you drive, you'll pay a lot of money for parking, so it would probably mean taking public transit.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by sydbarrett

I already gave you a little bit of help. And here is a jem for you: Just because a neighborhood is close to the suburbs does not mean the neighborhood is good. On the converse, not all suburbs are good.

Nonsense. The far south and west sides are filled with great neighborhoods that everybody is eager to move into. Why else would someome live around a bunch of dollars stores so far away from downtown? The further away you are from the Loop, the more desirable the neighborhood. That's how it is in Chicago. And Harvey and Maywood are suburbs therefore they're great low-crime areas too. The reason for all the sirens you hear is simply because of Ingalls Hospital and Loyola Medical Center.

hehe

[ufoxiao]

Hi there, I guess you're going to IIT downtown campus? Actually I'm going there for graduate study this August and I've already found an apartment in Gold Coast Area, its transportation is quite convenient, only 5-10 minutes walk to Clark/division CTA station (red line) and then takes about 5-10 minutes to downtown. So almost 20 minutes in total. My school also recommended Presidential towers to me but it's a little bit expensive and there're all IIT business school students there, I just want to find something quiet and nice. My background is: I'm a female from China, and I rent the apartment with 2 other guys from China too. They're my friends and will study in IIT and Loyola for graduate level. We're looking for the last roomate. We decide 4 people sharing the apartment together. If you're interested, please contact me by email.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by ufoxiao

Hi there, I guess you're going to IIT downtown campus?

No. The OP said they're going to the Erikson Institute which, as far as I know, isn't affiliated with IIT.

To the OP: PT and Erikson are not a "6-10 minute walk" from each other. It's a solid 20 minute walk. Not more, but not less, either. They're a mile apart, so to make that in 10 minutes you'd have to be running, and there aren't many people who could make it in 6 minutes even running. I live near Erikson and I work near PT, so I know what I'm talking about.

If you can really afford $900, without borrowing the money, then you might be able to find a studio or roommate situation in River North within walking distance. You could certainly find one in Old Town or Lincoln Park within a short commute.

If you'd rather save more money (and if you're borrowing money to pay that $900, then you would rather save more money whether you know that or not), you can find cheaper studios the further north you go. Even if you went as far as Edgewater (a neighborhood along the Lakefront from about 5200 North to 6400 North, you'd be about 6 to 8 miles from school, but it would be a pretty straight shot on the Red Line subway/"L", and I know people who've gotten studios for as little as $600 in that area. It's not, for the most part, a rich area, so it looks a bit run down but it's not particularly dangerous. And it's an easy walk to the Lake, which is nice. And it's also easy to get to both downtown Evanston (Chicago's neighboring suburb to the North and home of Northwestern University with a lot of nice shops and a great movie theatre) and easy access to central Chicago via the Red Line for your school or the central Loop, or via the express 147 bus for events and shopping on Michigan Avenue. Edgewater is also by Andersonville, which is a nice, popular neighborhood (the name stems from when it was originally a Swedish neighborhood - and it still has the Swedish-American museum).

If you live in Edgewater, you'll probably get to know more of Chicago than if you live within walking distance of your school, simply because you'll see more of it and you'll be out in it to begin with. I live in River North near your school now, but I've lived all over the North Side of Chicago, and I've traveled all over the city - North, South and West sides. It's a big city, with a lot to offer.

If you want to focus on your studies exclusively, perhaps you should try to be walking distance to school. But Erikson isn't a residential school, so you'll want to get out and do more on your own because the school won't build in a lot of social activities for you. Living somewhere like Lincoln Park or Lakeview or even Edgewater will help you keep costs down and give you the chance to see more of what Chicago has to offer.