Another Moving to Chicago Thread... (Lincoln: sublet, apartment complexes, rentals)

[cardsfan88]

I have accepted a job offer at a CPA firm in Chicago and my wife has arranged a transfer to Chicago so we will be moving up for a start date of July 16. We currently live within the city of St. Louis and are looking at Lincoln Park (specifically around the DePaul area). Little background info: our gross income (before all deductions like insurance, taxes, etc.) will be roughly $90K/year, we are 24 years old with no kids, just a small 15 pound dog. We aren't "party people" as in we don't want to go to nightclubs but we want to make friends who may go catch a game at a sports bar or whatever. Plan on selling one car while using the other if we need a quick escape or to visit family who are a short drive away and using the train.

Our biggest concern is our time frame right now. We've unfortunately booked a trip to NYC this weekend and is non-refundable so we can't look for an apartment this weekend (I just got the job offer this week) but plan on coming up the night of the 3rd and looking all day the 4th plus can come up the next weekend if needed. We have a couple of questions...

First - is this time frame unreasonable? Should we be able to find something we like in such a short time frame?

What is the best way to find a rental? It seems that Lincoln Park is in such high demand that smaller greystone buildings don't need to put a listing on Craigslist. Is it best to just walk the neighborhood and call when we see a sign?

Is it hard to find a dog friendly apartment (especially a walk up)?

Are security systems in rentals common? I notice there is a fair amount of break-ins per CPD's map and that would make us feel a little better.

Is our rent range of $1,600 or less a month unreasonable? Our only debt is student loans coming to about $750/month for the two of us. Could we be looking at a higher rent?

Finally (and this is the vaguest question of them all), is LP right for us? We felt safe walking there at night and that is a big thing for me as I'll be working crazy hours around tax filing deadlines and want my wife to be okay walking home and letting the dog out. Should we look at other areas?

Thanks for the help everyone!

[chet everett]

Security systems are generally NOT real common in rental units in Chicago but you can get professionally installed systems with monitoring for a pretty reasonable fee -- certainly less than the cost of a new big screen TV and bicycles...

One little dog is easier to get landlords to accept than a big dog or a pair of dogs (or more) BUT you will have to be prepared to buy a hefty "deposit" for the privledge with most any landlord...


Now the tricky parts. Timing. And Price. There is currently a VERY tight rental market in Lincoln Park and most other desirable spots in Chicago. $1600 is generally a fair sum for a decent one bedroom BUT you might have a hard time finding one on the timeframe you are facing. If some landlords ONLY have two or more bedroom units you might have to ratchet up your price as it is not like you have months to wait for folks with summer ending leases coming up...

Lincoln Park is mostly safe and pretty vibrant at all but the most wee of hours (4AM bars are increasingly rare...) so I think you are on target. There will be a nice mix of folks your age as well as those a bit older ...

[marothisu]

Just currious, but what made you choose LP? It certainly is a fine neighborhood, but IMO parts of Lakeview might be better for you guys. $1600/month for those areas if you're talking about a 1 bedroom is very doable. Average 1 bedroom in LP is probably closer to $1100-$1200 and Lakeview is maybe a little less. If you plan on moving in two weeks, it's doable, but you better act fast and I'd look at a hell of a lot more neighborhoods than Lincoln Park. You might have to find some sort of temp housing while you find a place.

Security systems on rentals, well I don't have one, but I have a 24-hour doorstaff, so I'm not sure what that's what you were looking for? Most high rises have a 24 hour doorstaff, and some mid rises do too. I don't think individual unit security systems are common though if you're talking about something like ADT.

Finding a place that allows dogs isn't that bad. If you're looking "downtown" then it'll be harder although they do exist, but as you go to smaller or older apartment complexes, it's easier.

- As far as the car thing goes, I would say even if you want to get away for a weekend, you don't need a car. I rent a car. Imagine you wasting insurance money + parking in Chicago on a car you barely use, only to get away for a weekend every 4 months. That's a lot of wasted money if you think about it.


Your budget though is fine. You COULD move it up, but you don't need to especially if you're looking for a 1 bedroom. You could get a 1 bedroom in any neighborhood of Chicago for that amount of money per month.

[Vlajos]

I think the biggest problem is the short time frame for getting a place. You shouldn't need to go over $1600 for a 1BD.

[knitgirl]

I think it's going to be tough to see any apartments on the 4th! The rental agencies will be closed, private landlords may have plans.

[cardsfan88]

Thanks for the quick responses guys! Basically we decided on LP because we would prefer a 3 or 4 family grey stone building opposed to a mid or high rise, especially because our little dog (only 1 year) like to bark and run around a lot when he wants to play and I would prefer to make as few people mad at me about it as possible We are considering Lakeview as well since we want to be close to the lakefront, the "scene" and public transit since we both will be working downtown. Our biggest hesitation is comfort at night. We stayed in the Gold Cost last time and weren't too comfortable with some of the crown on North Ave. and around the Chicago red line stop but obviously understand that isn't the norm.

Short term housing is something we're considering but would prefer not to, unless we found a nice sublet with possibility to extend lease because we don't want to move once, then do it all over again in a month or so since we don't have any family to help and currently don't know anyone in Chicago.

We did just make arrangements to be up to look at apartments on the 4th and will be coming back up again the next weekend if needed but hopefully could get it taken care of in one day.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

I think it's going to be tough to see any apartments on the 4th! The rental agencies will be closed, private landlords may have plans.

No kidding. It might be a Wednesday, but people will be off. Unless you're about to spend $$$$$$$$$, most will be off.

[cardsfan88]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

I think it's going to be tough to see any apartments on the 4th! The rental agencies will be closed, private landlords may have plans.

Yeah, we expect it will be tough, unfortunately this is the first time we will be able to come up to look as to come up this weekend we would need to eat about $800 of cancellation fees from prior reservations. Worst case scenario, we hope to get a bunch of numbers and try and come up the following weekend.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by cardsfan88

Basically we decided on LP because we would prefer a 3 or 4 family grey stone building opposed to a mid or high rise, especially because our little dog (only 1 year) like to bark and run around a lot when he wants to play and I would prefer to make as few people mad at me about it as possible We are considering Lakeview as well since we want to be close to the lakefront, the "scene" and public transit since we both will be working downtown. Our biggest hesitation is comfort at night. We stayed in the Gold Cost last time and weren't too comfortable with some of the crown on North Ave. and around the Chicago red line stop but obviously understand that isn't the norm.

Most of Chicago is actually like Lincoln Park, Lakeview, etc. A lot of single family homes, 3-4 unit places, and duplexes. Go to Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, North Center, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village etc etc etc. Outside of Gold Coast, River North, Loop, South Loop, etc, high rises aren't the norm unless it's along the lake in Lincoln Park and Lakeview.

I live in the Gold Coast, a block from the Chicago stop. That stop is the ONLY part that's like that. Walk up 1/2 block in either direction north or south and it's completely different. You may have meant Division more than North though, but Gold Coast is one of the safest parts of Chicago by far. I walk alone at night at all hours of the day and feel safe for the most part.

EDIT: didn't read something before sorry


Also, as far as a dog goes, it's Chicago. There's noise going on somewhat in most places (obviously downtown more than somewhere like Ravenswood), so people are used to it. Unless your dog yaps 24/7, nobody is going to care.

[knitgirl]

Sorry, Marothisu, I totally disagree about the dog. Most neighbors are going to be really annoyed if the dog is constantly yapping. If it just barks for a minute when somebody passes the door, that's one thing, if it really does bark a lot, I would be complaining big time.

The rest of your post is spot on!