Help! Moving to Chicago. Young Professionals (Oak Park, Lincoln: 2013, insurance, how much)

[samimi]

Hello, my boyfriend and I are moving to Chicago November 2013. Our budget is max of $1400/mo. We are looking for:
1. Dog-friendly - so a park nearby would be ideal
2. At least 1-bedroom, preferably 2
3. Close to grocery
4. Not too much nightlife (overflow of college students)
5. Work will be downtown, so need to be close to the train station. Hopefully less than 30min downtown to W Adams.
6. Safe enough to walk a dog at night

Here are the areas we were considering:
1. Lincoln Park
2. Lincoln Square
3. Wicker Park
4. Ravenswood
5. Lakeview

Based on forums, we have very limited knowledge about Chicago. Any do's and don't's would be highly appreciated. Also, any utility and other information on expected costs would be appreciated.

FYI - we were thinking about keeping one car. What do you think?

[matzoman]

Add Hyde Park to your list. It fits most of your criteria.

[marothisu]

Lakeview - or more importantly Lakeview East should be higher up on your list. It's right near the lake and Lincoln Park (the park), a few blocks from a red line, other buses (and express buses). Although the area is close to Boystown (gay section of town with a lot of nightlife) and Wrigleyville (where the Cubs play - lot of bars), Lakeview East is pretty laid back and a lot of restaurants and shops, and some bars. It's not loud or anything and the people there are either older or more mature on average. I like it a lot and it should be within 30 minutes commute.

As far as the car goes - what is your reason for keeping it?

[samimi]

We have two cars right now. We were thinking might be best to keep at least one car so that we are able to use it to run errands and grocery ... etc. I'm hoping to hear more on how important/not important it is to own a car in Chicago.

Thanks !!!!!

[child of jupiter]

Are you guys hipsters? Are you into bike culture? Logan Square is over by the Blue Line so that would be good for you.

If you are yuppies but want to pretend you're real street, then maybe Bucktown?

How far west on Adams? That's important because if it's in the West Loop, it would be a little out of the way of the El in terms of a straight shot.

I would just move to Oak Park and be done with it. You can get a great apt. there for under that amount and it's 20-25 minutes straight downtown.

[nearnorth]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Lakeview - or more importantly Lakeview East should be higher up on your list. It's right near the lake and Lincoln Park (the park), a few blocks from a red line, other buses (and express buses). Although the area is close to Boystown (gay section of town with a lot of nightlife) and Wrigleyville (where the Cubs play - lot of bars), Lakeview East is pretty laid back and a lot of restaurants and shops, and some bars. It's not loud or anything and the people there are either older or more mature on average. I like it a lot and it should be within 30 minutes commute.

As far as the car goes - what is your reason for keeping it?

Given that one of their criteria is avoiding lots of college student nightlife, I would stay far, far away from Wrigleyville if I were them. They can also get more for their money in some of the other places they listed. $1400 isn't going to go far in Lincoln Park or Lake View for people preferring a 2br apt., especially if they're keeping a car and planning to have a place to park it

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by child of jupiter

Are you guys hipsters? Are you into bike culture? Logan Square is over by the Blue Line so that would be good for you.

If you are yuppies but want to pretend you're real street, then maybe Bucktown?

How far west on Adams? That's important because if it's in the West Loop, it would be a little out of the way of the El in terms of a straight shot.

I would just move to Oak Park and be done with it. You can get a great apt. there for under that amount and it's 20-25 minutes straight downtown.

This is stupid, just so the OP knows.

[nearnorth]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

This is stupid, just so the OP knows.

His first and third points contained accurate and useful information, and his second point made me laugh. His fourth point was a pretty stupid conclusion if taken literally, though.

[samimi]

We are not hippies in terms of biking our job is down town west Adams and south canal. How much would 2 bedroom generally cost? We are not tied down to two bedroom. Also, if we keep a car down town what's the cost we should expect for keeping the car? Also, are street parking impossible to find ? If we do have street parking available where we live, is alternate parking expected during the winter for snow removal? Thank everyone for helping us out.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by samimi

We have two cars right now. We were thinking might be best to keep at least one car so that we are able to use it to run errands and grocery ... etc. I'm hoping to hear more on how important/not important it is to own a car in Chicago.

Many people don't own cars here but it entirely depends on where you live. I am one of the people who don't own a car - I live downtown. I have almost anything I need within walking distance of me including a grocery store across the street. There are also services (i.e. Peapod) which deliver groceries to your place. If you plan on living in an area like Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Gold Coast, etc etc and you don't plan on going to the burbs/out of the area a ton (like every single week, or every weekday for work) and stuff like that, you might not need a car. If you don't own the car already, it's going to be a waste of money. If you do own the car, then it's not as much a waste of money. I'll put it this way though - I have a lot of friends who live in these areas and many who did own cars who ended up selling them since they barely ever used them. Collecting dust on the street and you have to pay for insurance of something you can't drive. There are also services like zipCar when you do need a car, if you can't deal with public transit or the thousands of cabs in the city.

I won't sway you one way or another, but you do have a little leeway to choose where you live (at least with a 1 bedroom), so when you're looking for places, look to see if they're need a grocery store. You could pick something that's within a 2 minute walk of a grocery store and having a car would be pointless unless you plan on buying in bulk (even though you live 2 minutes away).