Finally decided to move to Chicago (Naperville, Lincoln: apartments, rent, home)

[Manimarco]

Well I finally made my decision. I have been thinking about where to move a lot over the last few months (started a lot of pointless threads on city-data too), and I have finally decided to move to where deep down I really wanted to go for years. Very quick background; I am a finance major at a BIG 10 school who will graduate in May. Unless I get a very nice job offer outside of Chicago, I will be packing my bags and be on my way to the windy city this Summer. I was initially going to visit Chicago along with Houston & Phoenix to see which I liked best (saved up enough to see three cities), but I was actually able to see Chicago over the past two days, and good lord, I was completely blown away. I have never seen so many skyscrapers and fascinating landmarks to explore in one location in my life. The pictures and videos I have seen online do not do the city justice, it is absolutely breathtaking. But I don't want to get off topic.....

I will be going into overdrive w/ my job search this upcoming semester, and will obviously now be mostly focused on this area. But....*here it comes*.....I will be coming here with or without a job, and idc if that is a big risk. I have some funds saved up and I am perfectly fine working any job/jobs to hold me over until I find something that pays better. The MOST I am willing to pay for an apartment/studio is 1,000 a month, and that is only because I will not have a car, have few other expenses, and I can get a little temporary family support if it is 100% absolutely necessary. I am looking forward to starting small, testing myself, and discovering what I am able to accomplish in a world class city like Chicago. I could smell opportunity when I was walking those streets.

Anyhow, this thread was supposed to have a point believe it or not, but this post is already way too long lol. So I will save my questions for anyone who is interested in helping me out. I just have a few questions about apartments, weather, day-to-day living, etc, that were partially answered by other threads I could find on city-data, but not completely. But yea, I will wait to ask them b/c this post is already way too long.

[jdiddy]

Uh, congrats?

[ofcjim40]

Make sure you get your Adderall refilled before you move.

[ToriaT]

Why not get a roommate? It would cut your expenses. Be sure to research the safe neighborhoods that have good bus and "L" (subway) transportation. Most likely you will be working "downtown" or in Chicagos Loop or there abouts and living in a neighborhood a short commute away. Please don't come here and ask how to get from Wicker Park to your job in Naperville in another few months. If you love Chicago, get a job in the city and live there too.

[marothisu]

Congrats lol. If you do move here even without a job, my suggestion is to minimize your rent to as much as you're comfortable with in regards to living space. You could find a studio for $600 or $700/month in decent areas, or as ToriaT says, you could even get roommates and pay less.

I hope your grades have been good and you've even had an internship (or something like it). If you aren't already active in extra circulars, get involved so you say you did. These are all very attractive to employers looking at college hires.

[Manimarco]

Originally Posted by ofcjim40

Make sure you get your Adderall refilled before you move.

Lol. Nah just had a high from sleep deprivation. My OP was posted at like 4 AM when I was on my way home from visiting my bud in Chicago for two days w/ zero sleep.

Originally Posted by marothisu

Congrats lol. If you do move here even without a job, my suggestion is to minimize your rent to as much as you're comfortable with in regards to living space. You could find a studio for $600 or $700/month in decent areas, or as ToriaT says, you could even get roommates and pay less.

I hope your grades have been good and you've even had an internship (or something like it). If you aren't already active in extra circulars, get involved so you say you did. These are all very attractive to employers looking at college hires.

My GPA is not bad at all. Not deans list but it is respectable. My biggest problem was I would get interested in a subject covered in one of my classes and order a bunch of books off Amazon so I could learn it well, often times at the expense of other classwork that I found useless or not worth exploring. I had an internship and I am involved in extra circulars as well, but finding more to do couldn't hurt. I would prefer a studio, but I would be fine living with roommates for a year until I get myself sorted out. If I can't find work in the entire city of Chicago then I really goofed up somewhere in my life.

Anyways, the questions I wanted to ask but decided to wait on b/c of my rambling:

1. Is Edgewater east of Broadway safe or not?

2. More generally, I am mainly looking for apartments in Edgewater, Lakeview, and Lincoln Park (although this neighborhood seems too expensive). But I have no idea where the areas are within these neighborhoods are located, if there are any. I would hate to live in the one terrible area in Edgewater for example. Or perhaps living too close to Wrigley field is a bad idea.

3. Just how many of the desirable corporate jobs are located in the loop? Is it closer to 80% or 20%? The latter wouldn't surprise me just b/c Chicago is so big.

4. I mentioned I am looking at the 3 neighborhoods above. I am aware of the other desirable neighborhoods such as Wicker Park, Bucktown, Old Town, etc. But all of these other neighborhoods seem too expensive. Are there any areas I am missing?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Manimarco

1. Is Edgewater east of Broadway safe or not?

I seem to think it's pretty safe but it depends on who you're asking and what you're used to.

2. More generally, I am mainly looking for apartments in Edgewater, Lakeview, and Lincoln Park (although this neighborhood seems too expensive). But I have no idea where the bad areas are within these neighborhoods are, if there are any. I would hate to live in the one terrible area in Edgewater for example. Or perhaps living too close to Wrigley field is a bad idea.

None of those areas are bad. Lincoln Park is safest, then probably Lakeview, and then Edgewater. I don't know enough about Edgewater to know where the "eh" areas are. Everywhere I've gone I've been fine in but everyone is different.

Lakeview, the only thing you have to worry about majorly is people taking advantage of you if you've been drinking too much late at night in certain areas (mainly around Boystown/Wrigleyville).

All three areas are safe though, especially Lincoln Park and Lakeview.

3. Just how many of the desirable corporate jobs are located in the loop? Is it closer to 80% or 20%? The latter wouldn't surprise me just b/c Chicago is so big.

In the city itself? I don't know the exact percentage, but it's definitely closer to 80%. The Loop is the Central Business District. There are some other companies that do exist in River North and West Loop but that is right outside of the Loop. West Loop could be viewed as it and there's just a river between the Loop and River North. Of course, there's other desk job type of jobs elsewhere too but it's not as much as the Loop if you're talking about working for a financial firm or something.

4. I mentioned I am looking in the 3 neighborhoods above. I am aware of the other desirable neighborhoods such as Wicker Park, Bucktown, Old Town, etc. But all of these other neighborhoods seem too expensive. Are there any areas I am missing?

As far as coming here without a job, living, and being kind of safe? Yeah of course. Logan Square, Avondale, North Center (maybe), Lincoln Square/Ravenswood, Chinatown (aka Armour Square), Bridgeport, Pilsen, University Village (near Illinois-Chicago Univ), Hyde Park (U of Chicago, though public transit isn't as good to the Loop as other areas, but it exists), Irving Park, Ukrainian Village, East Village, Noble Square, etc. Then there's other less dense parts of town that are still safe like ones closer to the two airports and some others that are probably too far south.

[Manimarco]

^^^Thanks a lot. I see there are some nice inexpensive studios in Logan Square & Avondale right near the Blue Line, which I believe goes to the Loop.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Manimarco

^^^Thanks a lot. I see there are some nice inexpensive studios in Logan Square & Avondale right near the Blue Line, which I believe goes to the Loop.

Its called the loop because all of the elevated train lines meet and loop around downtown (plus 2 subway lines). Chicago is a hub and spoke system, so if you live near a train station in the Chicago area (either CTA or Metra), it will lead downtown.