Working in Niles IL, 23 yrs old, looking for cheap but trendy neighborhoods/suburbs. (Chicago: transplants, apartments)

[cl-delaporte]

I am a 23 year old small town girl moving to Chicago. I need to know what suburbs or neighborhoods to look for apartments in. I love the city-feel but will have a tight budget for the first year or so. Since I'm from a small town, I'm looking for a safe but trendy neighborhood. I like the nightlife and feel of Wrigleyville, but can't afford the rent prices. I don't necessarily have to live in the city, but want that city nightlife close by. Any suggestions?

[Flatlander]

If you'll be working in Niles, check into renting in Evanston. Evanston has a cute downtown, is just a couple of miles from Niles, and you can drive or take the train to the city. There are a lot of rental options in Evanston and lots of young people.

[reppin_the_847]

From your criteria I'd say that your best bet would be either the western edge of the Lakeview neighborhood, the Bucktown/Wicker Park neighborhood, or Logan Square (a bit cheaper, but higher crime and closer to Humboldt Park, notorious for crime, but changing). Just to give you a bit of an idea, if you were in the far western edge of Lakeview, let's take the intersection of Belmont & Western as an example (I'm not even sure if this is still considered Lakeview), you'd only be facing about a 10.8 mile (15 minutes with no traffic) commute by the 90/94 highway by car to your job in Niles. The rent is probably more affordable than Wrigleyville proper, and certainly cheaper than the heart of Lakeview or Lincoln Park. Bucktown/Wicker Park and also Logan Square are also situated quite close to the 90/94 expressway and would probably offer you a quick commute by expressway to Niles. And when the traffic is real bad, there are local arterial roads that you can use, after all, 10-12 miles is really not that far of a distance. Bucktown/Wicker Park itself has some pretty decent nightlife actually although some may criticize the neighborhood as stereotypically attracting too many transplant "hipsters" (think Brooklyn, but in Chicago). At the same token, some people like to criticize Lincoln Park & Lakeview as being a launch point for rowdy frat boys (Chads) and sorority sisters (Trixies) who are Big 10 transplants from all around the Midwest. Niles is basically a very near northwest suburb that is a stone's throw from the Chicago city limits. And the even funnier thing is it's probably even more ethnically diverse than some Chicago neighborhoods. But make no mistake, it is still a suburb and you're not going to find nightlife in Niles like you'll find near downtown Chicago and in trendy north side neighborhoods.

Originally Posted by cl-delaporte

I am a 23 year old small town girl moving to Chicago. I need to know what suburbs or neighborhoods to look for apartments in. I love the city-feel but will have a tight budget for the first year or so. Since I'm from a small town, I'm looking for a safe but trendy neighborhood. I like the nightlife and feel of Wrigleyville, but can't afford the rent prices. I don't necessarily have to live in the city, but want that city nightlife close by. Any suggestions?

[reppin_the_847]

Oh yeah I forgot to add Ravenswood (Lincoln Square area) and Andersonville. Andersonville has a large lesbian population. Ravenswood's demographics I'm not sure, I think it's pretty mixed and does have a decent amount of young professionals. The commute from these areas to Wrigleyville/Lakeview/Lincoln Park is not too bad when you want to experience the nightlife. And the commute to Niles should not be too bad either. You might even be able to commute entirely by local roads and it wouldn't be that bad because the distance is definitely do-able (about 8.1 miles). Again this is all assuming that you have access to a car. If you do not have a car, the entire story changes.

[Drover]

Problem is Andersonville is about as expensive as Wrigleyville any more. When I left there in 2003, my rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $1,100/mo. Andersonville has only gotten trendier since (a bit lamentably so IMO, but what can you do.) Lincoln Square is also catching up.

Something to consider is the Albany Park/Irving Park/Avondale area. Not very trendy... BUT, their lack of trendiness makes them cheaper places to live. (Even so, it's not COMPLETELY devoid of culture -- Irving Park is home to Abbey Pub, one of the best local indie-rock venues in the city.) The area is also pretty safe, and there are some nice low-density pockets where you'll never have to do hand-to-hand combat for a parking space.

And here's the bonus: you're only a short bus/train ride away from the trendy areas like Bucktown/Wicker along the Blue Line, Lincoln Square via the Brown Line or Lawrence Avenue/Montrose Avenue/Irving Park Road bus lines, Wrigleyville and Lincoln Park via the Brown Line, et cetera.

I live in the Irving Park neighborhood. Right now I pay less for a very spacious 2-bedroom apartment than I did for a one-bedroom shoebox in Andersonville 3 years ago. The place I have now is easily twice the size. Given how much space I have and how relatively little I'm paying for it, I'm willing to wait 15 minutes for the bus to Trendyville.

[AngelikaV]

Originally Posted by cl-delaporte

I am a 23 year old small town girl moving to Chicago. I need to know what suburbs or neighborhoods to look for apartments in. I love the city-feel but will have a tight budget for the first year or so. Since I'm from a small town, I'm looking for a safe but trendy neighborhood. I like the nightlife and feel of Wrigleyville, but can't afford the rent prices. I don't necessarily have to live in the city, but want that city nightlife close by. Any suggestions?

cl-delaporte,

I lived in Chicago for 25 years. I lived in Logan Square, Ravenswood, north Belmont Harbor, Albany Park, North Park, Peterson Park and Budlong Woods. I love city life! But if I worked in Niles I'd live in Evanston. Unless you live close to I94, it's an easier commute to Niles from Evanston than from the trendy parts of Chicago. Actually, few of the trendy parts of Chicago are close to I94, and commuting over miles of surface streets is a real b@#ch! Evanston is an attractive community with cultural amenities and a decent nightlife. It's on the lakefront, and it's easy to get from there to Chicago's nightlife scene.

Evanston, however, is not cheap. The further east you go, the more expensive it gets, and you'll definitely want to live as far east as you can afford. If you find it's just not in your budget, look in the North Park/Peterson Park areas near North Park College and Northeastern Illinois University. It's just a little north of Ravenswood and a tiny bit northwest of Andersonville. It isn't trendy but the area is fairly close to I94, not too horrible a commute over surface streets, relatively safe, and relatively inexpensive. Its also very near the end of the Ravenswood el line, so it's an easy commute downtown.

You're never ever going to find a decent, habitable apartment at a cheap price in a trendy neighborhood. You're going to have to compromise on either square footage, location, or price. Having been in your shoes at your age I found the smartest compromise for me was location. By living northwest I could still get to all the places I wanted with relative ease and didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for an attractive, spacious apartment in a safe neighborhood where I didn't feel I had to worry about walking from my car to my front door at 1:00 AM. But if you absolutely have to be in a happening area, pick one as close to I94 as possible or your commute is going to be hell, and resign yourself to living in a tiny studio.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by AngelikaV

cl-delaporte,

I lived in Chicago for 25 years. I lived in Logan Square, Ravenswood, north Belmont Harbor, Albany Park, North Park, Peterson Park and Budlong Woods. I love city life! But if I worked in Niles I'd live in Evanston. Unless you live close to I94, it's an easier commute to Niles from Evanston than from the trendy parts of Chicago. Actually, few of the trendy parts of Chicago are close to I94, and commuting over miles of surface streets is a real b@#ch! Evanston is an attractive community with cultural amenities and a decent nightlife. It's on the lakefront, and it's easy to get from there to Chicago's nightlife scene.

Oh yeah, that's another advantage I forgot to mention about my suggestion (Albany Park/Irving Park/Avondale) -- I-94 runs right through all three of those places, and Niles is maybe 5 miles away.

[AngelikaV]

When I mentioned nightlife in Evanston up-thread, I was thinking about coffee houses and restaurants. There are no bars. Evanston is "dry," i.e., no alcohol sales. It's the home of the Women's Christian Temperance Union which, believe it or not, still exists. If you live in Evanston and want to go out for a beer, you'll need to head south to Chicago or north to Wilmette.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by AngelikaV

When I mentioned nightlife in Evanston up-thread, I was thinking about coffee houses and restaurants. There are no bars. Evanston is "dry," i.e., no alcohol sales. It's the home of the Women's Christian Temperance Union which, believe it or not, still exists. If you live in Evanston and want to go out for a beer, you'll need to head south to Chicago or north to Wilmette.

Evanston is dry?? Wow. That must come as a huge shock to the liquor license holders up there. Not to mention to those of us who occasionally wet our whistles up there.

[AngelikaV]

Originally Posted by Drover

Evanston is dry?? Wow. That must come as a huge shock to the liquor license holders up there. Not to mention to those of us who occasionally wet our whistles up there.

Drover,

Sorry. I've been gone for 9 years now -- which is way, way too long -- and when I do get back to Chicago, I rarely get to Evanston. They say when one's memory starts to go it starts with the most recent and works it way back. I remember Evanston being dry for years and years and years. We used to go to coffee houses rather than bars or clubs to listen to music. Forgot that liquor licenses started being issued before I left. Now vaguely remember there being a huge fight over it. Anyway, that should make living in Evanston even nicer now. Thanks for correcting me.