Single White Female Looking for a Place to Live (Chicago: apartment, crime) - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

Michigan614 · 12-09-2006, 01:13 PM

Alright:

So i will be 18 when i move this summer, and i am planning on moving to chicago..obviously...but i've never been there so i don't know where i should move to. i need some advice on the best parts in town to move to are. i dont want to live around a bunch of gangster or anything, and i dont want to get killed or robbed so please post wisely what you think will be best for me?

Thank you thank you thaaankkk youuu

chigirl78 · 12-09-2006, 11:09 PM

Um, you sound like somebody who would love Lincoln Park. Check it out.

j33 · 12-10-2006, 09:03 AM

Wow. I've lived in Chicago for many many years and have never been 'robbed or killed', even when I lived around "gangsters"

What is your price range, why are you moving here? If it is for school, then you want to live by your school, if it is for work, then you probably would want to live by where you work (depending on where you work of course). How much are you willing to pay a month? What size apartment are you hoping for?

Michigan614 · 12-10-2006, 09:13 AM

i'm planning on going to the professional bartending school on wabash. so i want to live somewhere kinda by there, it's by like columbia college. depending on how much money i make bartending i don't know how much i am willing to pay per month maybe like 500-700.

what it is lincoln park? is it nice?

i worry way too much, because i read stats and i freak out but i know i want to live there no matter what.

chigirl78 · 12-10-2006, 10:49 AM

Don't worry about the stats. It's a great place to live, you just have to be street smart, depending on where you're from (not walking alone late at night if you take public transportation, not keeping your IPOD in view when walking alone, etc).

I worked at Columbia College at one point, so if you want to live down there, it's called the South Loop. Lincoln Park is a little further north from that area, but it's a doable route with public transportation. You might be able to find a studio apt for that price range, I'm not sure about a 1-bedroom unless you really go outside of downtown and the nearby neighborhoods.

Michigan614 · 12-10-2006, 01:43 PM

Are Lincoln Park and the South Loop both good neighborhoods? Will i beable to walk back and firth to a lot of places or do i need to drive? or ride a bus?

i don't even have a clue what i would be doing, this is a bit sad..

rgb123 · 12-10-2006, 01:50 PM

come on, chicago is not as safe as you guys are making it seem, especially for an 18 year old that has never visited.

some things you may want to think about. (or maybe you have) will you already have a job when you move? do you have enough saved up to live on while your looking for a job? I know that bartender school doesn't set you up with a job right away if at all.

Living in the city is expensive and yes dangerous at times. You do have to be street smart but yes, overall there is just more crime happening in the city than out of the city when it comes to mugging/random rapes/etc.

You say you have never been to the city, I strongly suggest you visit first, walk around the neighborhoods your considering at night, and take a realistic inventory of how much money you have and how much it is going to cost you to live in Chicago, all expenses included.

chicago is a lot safer if you always have enough money for a cab.

rgb123 · 12-10-2006, 01:54 PM

ps. you will have a very hard time finding a bartending job at the age of 18 in chicago. In most places you have to be 21 to even touch it, our cashiers can't even ring it up.

Michigan614 · 12-10-2006, 04:12 PM

hmm..

yes i will have quite a bit of money saved up for when i move, and i have put in applications to a few places just to get money and get to know some people while i'm there.

that's really weird that they like don't let a lot of 18 year old touch any of it because here in MI as long as you're 18 it's fair game.

what neighborhoods do you think i should consider? somewhere i will be safe, i have a few friends that live there so it won't be hard to have someone go with me but i want other prospectives.

Switch625 · 12-10-2006, 10:29 PM

In Illinois, the law is that nobody under 21 can touch, handle, ring up, or otherwise interact with alcohol. If you are under 21 and a cashier, you have to call a manager over to ring up alcohol purchases. It's rather insane. There is no way you will be able to get a bartending job in Illinois if you are under 21.