Advice please!

[Drover]

Originally Posted by toesinthesand

I don't even know where I'm going to be working yet, so I can always adapt in that aspect, and I don't necessarily have to work right downtown (I'm going to look for a paralegal job, and anywhere you go there's law firms).

Whenever I see something like this I'm compelled to caution: Try to find out where you're working first and THEN find a place to live, unless maybe you've got enough savings to live off of that you can afford to be picky about your work location.

There's certainly no shortage of law firms in Chicago. Unfortunately, there's no shortage of paralegals either. So you may not necessarily get a job in a downtown office. If you end up working in, say, a small firm in Orland Park, you're going to seriously regret having moved to Lakeview first.

[toesinthesand]

Originally Posted by Drover

Whenever I see something like this I'm compelled to caution: Try to find out where you're working first and THEN find a place to live, unless maybe you've got enough savings to live off of that you can afford to be picky about your work location.

There's certainly no shortage of law firms in Chicago. Unfortunately, there's no shortage of paralegals either. So you may not necessarily get a job in a downtown office. If you end up working in, say, a small firm in Orland Park, you're going to seriously regret having moved to Lakeview first.

We have enough money saved up to where we could live for about two months without any jobs at all--but we'll probably get some basic serving jobs at first just to have some income coming in. At that time I can take my time finding a place to work that I like. I'm not really concerned about that. If you think about it, I'm coming from outside of Orlando, where I'd have to drive AT LEAST 45 minutes downtown to go to work. At least in Chicago I can take public transportation! Anywhere I don't have to drive will be a blessing, no matter how long it takes. Orlando drivers suck (60% tourists, 20% don't have drivers licenses, and the other 20% should never have gotten them in the first place....)

[j33]

Well, depending on where you live, taking public transportation will certainly take 45+ minutes (especially in its current sorry state).

[toesinthesand]

and like i said, i'd rather take public transportation for 45 minutes than to drive in orlando for 45 minutes. orlando traffic and roads are a nightmare; at least on public transportation i can read or do sudoku or something. anything to avoid having to pay attention to the sorry roads!!

[golden0721]

I am in my 30's and single. I visited your city and it was really nice. I have been thinking about moving out of South Florida. I just got laid off from my banking job. I really love New York City but can't afford to live there. What would be some good neighborhoods I can look into (safe, convenient to transpartation & shopping)

I am a little scared of the winter weather. I don't mind the change of seasons but your winters seem very harash compared to maybe New York. Do people go out in the winter?

Can you make a living on about $33,000 a year?

Sorry if these questions where ask already. Thanks for your help?

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by toesinthesand

I've been reading through a lot of these posts but haven't really found anything (yet) that really addresses my situation. I apologize if I overlooked anything.

Anyway, I'm getting married in June, and we're moving up to Chicago. We're both in our 20s and currently live in Orlando. We definitely want to live in the city for at least the first year or two that we're there. I was born in Broadview but moved to this hellhole when I was three. For so long I've wanted to go back to the city, and now that I'm going to be out of college and everything, I figure it's the perfect time.

ANYWAY, enough about that. Basically, the one thing I'm concerned about is safety. I don't necessarily need Pleasantville, but I'd like to be reasonably safe if I'm walking from, say, the el to my apartment when it's dark outside. Obviously there's always a chance of getting mugged or whatever no matter WHERE you are, but if there are any areas that could cut down on that risk, obviously they would be better. I apologize for the naivety but right now I live in the safest neighborhood in my county, so I've been a little spoiled. We leave our garage doors open, we walk outside late at night, we sleep with our front door unlocked. Obviously, I won't get that anywhere in the city, but like I said, reasonably safe/reduced risk is good enough for me.

We're looking to spend no more than 1000 a month on a one-bedroom. We've been looking at the Lincoln Park area, and another friend recently suggested Andersonville. We had initially looked at Wrigleyville or Lakeview, but a friend up there said to stay away from there. And then some people say certain areas are safe but then I talk to someone else and they're like, "no, stay away from there." So...basically I'm really confused. If anyone could suggest a decently "safe" neighborhood for like 800-1000 a month, it doesn't necessarily have to be trendy or twenty-somethings or anything like that. Diversity is fine as long as there aren't a lot of gangs or anything.

Also, I wanted to know if anyone had advice about renting an apartment in a complex through a management company (i.e. Planned Property, Group Fox, Water Tower Realty) vs. renting a three-flat or something similar. If anyone has any specific apartments to recommend, that'd be great as well.

Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure who told you that Lakeview could be sketchy, but that's way off. Everything is relative (i.e. compared to Naperville, where I live now, Lakeview might be considered to have a lot of crime), but for the city, Lakeview is about as safe as you can get. It's adjacent to north side of Lincoln Park, so the feeling of the two neighborhoods is pretty much the same (with Lakeview drawing a slightly younger crowd). I lived in Roscoe Village for awhile (a mile directly west of Wrigley Field) and thought it was fantastic - close enough where you could walk or take a quick cab or El ride to the nightlife yet far enough away where you aren't suffocated during baseball season.

[j33]

I loved Roscoe village when I lived there (early 90's), I would recommend it to anyone who could afford it (it seems to have gotten quite expensive though).

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by golden0721

I am in my 30's and single. I visited your city and it was really nice. I have been thinking about moving out of South Florida. I just got laid off from my banking job. I really love New York City but can't afford to live there. What would be some good neighborhoods I can look into (safe, convenient to transpartation & shopping)

I am a little scared of the winter weather. I don't mind the change of seasons but your winters seem very harash compared to maybe New York. Do people go out in the winter?

Can you make a living on about $33,000 a year?

Sorry if these questions where ask already. Thanks for your help?

For someone coming from South Florida, the difference of the winters between Chicago and New York is going to be miniscule. Chicago might get a little bit more snow statistically, but there really isn't a measurable difference. As for going out in the winter, there's so much to do in terms of restaurants, nightlife, and culture, that it's still pretty vibrant. The summer is certainly the high season for tourists, yet there's still plenty to do in the winter for locals.

$33,000 is possible, but it all depends on where you want to live. Getting a roommate would open up a lot more choices for you, but I'm not sure if that's what you were thinking. A close-in suburb like Evanston or Oak Park might give you a rental more in your price range while providing a city atmosphere and convenience to downtown.

[Drover]

Going out in winter.... I remember standing on the L platform at the North and Damen stop... Friday night, 3am... 3 degrees below zero... I'm looking down on the corner of North/Damen Milwaukee and it's an absolute MOB SCENE. People EVERYWHERE pouring out of the 2am bars, looking for a bite to eat, looking for a cab, waiting for a bus, et cetera. You sure won't see many people jogging, biking and picnicking in that sort of weather, but it also doesn't stop them from going out and taking advantage of indoor entertainment/dining/cultural events/nightlife.