Moving to Chicago!

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Yup, I got a job in the Avondale/Roscoe Village area (smack-dab between the two, actually), and will be moving out there shortly.

Any suggestions on where to live? What's reasonable for a two bedroom place? Are there a lot of houses (or duplexes or not-in-an-apartment-building-type places) to rent around there? I'd prefer keeping it within those two neighborhoods or Lincoln Park area, although we will have a car. I'd rather commute by bike, though, when possible. Even in snow. People say that's crazy, but then, they aren't cyclists.

Speaking of, how is biking there? Where's the nearest mountain that I might make it my (road) cycling b*tch?

Thanks and see you Chicago Goodjers soon!

Good luck! Tons of awesome Goodjers in Chicago!

People bike along the park area by the lake although I'm not sure if that is legal. I live in Ravenswood which is a little north and has more single family homes, some for rent. I think it's a bit cheaper there too. Your best bet is the L train system. You can find places near a brown line (giggle :)) or the blue line, depending on where your job is train and take that near that area. You'll also be right of the 90 / 94 highway, so living anywhere in the more northern area won't be too difficult to commute to by car. The more north or west you go, the more homes and fewer apartments.

When you get here, let's do board game meet up again. I want to play more, but don't go to the DND group.

You're working at Midway aren't you?

Thanks guys!

I'm not at Midway, but my company got a... similar start, I guess you could say. The founder apparently invented the Tilt mechanism in pinball machines.

I'll be happy to play board games, too. Although Rabbit can tell you, I suck at that Space Truckers game. Not a D&D guy, either. But I do like a good Catan every now and again.

Thanks again! And keep those suggestions coming!

Hell yeah! I'm there! Just moved here myself, be happy to hang out.

No good tips yet for you, sadly. Still hoping to grab a few myself. Might ask you for some cycling tips, actually.

Hmmmm.... nearest mountain...
IMAGE(http://www.theodora.com/maps/new9/usa_elevation_map.gif)

We don't have what you'd call changes in elevation here in the Midwest. You can blame the glaciers.

Congrats WipEout!

WipEout wrote:

What's reasonable for a two bedroom place?

I too would like to see this answer; scouting options for later.

Tigerbill wrote:
WipEout wrote:

What's reasonable for a two bedroom place?

I too would like to see this answer; scouting options for later.

My roommate and I live in a 6-flat in Ravenswood (Damen and Lawrence) and our rent is $1000/month. We were trying to stay under $1000 and were shown a lot of sh*t-holes. Our apartment includes heat (which can run $200-300 in the winter months (so I hear, I've never paid gas heat in the city)), is fairly large, good natural light, but has no dishwasher or laundry in the unit or building. We also have street parking, no garage or assigned parking.

In terms of trying to find a place, we looked online a ton (apartments.com, apartmentguide.com, craigslist) and even used an apartment finder service. What ended up finding our place was walking around the neighborhood we wanted looking for "For Rent" signs and calling the building.

We were shown the apartment by the son of the building's maintenance guy 5 minutes after calling the landlord from the sidewalk in front of the building.

Welcome to the neighborhood! I work just a bit east of Roscoe Village, on Ashland.

I'm a big fan of living in a neighborhood outside of where you work (but with an easy commute). It's just so easy to get into a rut if you aren't forced out of your little self-contained world.

I second the Ravenswood recommendation. It's really a straight shot north from where you'll be working (are you working west of Western?) and you can grab a bus. Lincoln Square in the middle of Ravenswood is a super-nice area. I have lots of friends who live there. I'm up in Edgewater myself, which I also love, right on the lake. But traveling southwest from that hood is really a bit of a task--no efficient routes.

I'm also a bicyclist (biking in the snow is no-freaking-joke and real dangerous if you're traveling the streets). There are a good number of bike lanes, but it's not the most bike-friendly city. People can be a-holes. There is an incredible dedicated bike path along the lakefront--no cars. It's beautiful. That's about 70% of my commute.

It's a great city! No mountains, though. There's a great forest preserve on the edge of the city and path you can ride more or less up to Wisconsin.

If you want some inclines, you can drive 2-3 hours west to areas like Galina on the Mississippi. They've got some serious inclines out there--but no mountains. If that's your bike, you might wanna invest in some lighter tires. You might run over a Smart Car with that thing.

And I second kaostheory's the "find a neighborhood you want and walk around looking for For Rent signs." That's how I found my first apartment in the city and the place I own now. Trying to coordinate things via listings is just too stressful and time consuming. And there's lots and lots of rental property on the market these days.

WipEout wrote:

Yup, I got a job in the Avondale/Roscoe Village area (smack-dab between the two, actually), and will be moving out there shortly.

Any suggestions on where to live?

I'd say to pick something along one of the arterial roads that passes by your work, and that has good L access. There are a lot of good neighborhoods up that direction these days. Assuming you're hired at Belmont and Western, I'd encourage looking north along Western (Lincoln Square--very hip and popular for groovier yuppies, older hipsters and assorted foodies) or SW in Logan Square (fantastic, up-and-coming neighborhood, great new brewpub just opened over there recently).

I actually know a guy who's just moving out of a place near California and Fullerton. It's an amazing place and location, except that the whole building is about 5 degrees off kilter. I should ask if he knows who's taking over.

What's reasonable for a two bedroom place? Are there a lot of houses (or duplexes or not-in-an-apartment-building-type places) to rent around there?

I'd guess somewhere at or just over $1000/mo. Most places aren't apartment high-rises, but 2-3 story walkups, sometimes with basement/"garden" apartments as well.

I'd prefer keeping it within those two neighborhoods or Lincoln Park area, although we will have a car.

You don't want to have a car in Lincoln Park. It's easy to go without there, and hard to find parking.

Speaking of, how is biking there? Where's the nearest mountain that I might make it my (road) cycling b*tch?

It's still city biking, with all the excitement that entails, but Chicago's frequently rated as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the US.

PandaEskimo wrote:

People bike along the park area by the lake although I'm not sure if that is legal.

There's a bike/jogging path that can pretty much take you along the lakefront for the length of the city. Part of that's infrastructure stuff like bike racks on the front of every bus and bike lanes, but we're pretty active with Critical Mass stuff and the mayor prefers riding his own bike to work--which in turn means the Big Cheese has bike safety and access on his mind regularly.

City Hall's got a page for more info on bikes in Chicago.

I should ask: What kind of neighborhood are you looking for? Are you looking for quiet? Young and active? Refined? Drug-ridden?

WipEout wrote:

Speaking of, how is biking there? Where's the nearest mountain that I might make it my (road) cycling b*tch?

The closest "mountain" biking is probably in Wisconsin. (We don't call Illinoisians flatlanders for nothing) While not technically a mountain, the Kettle Moraine does have alot of steep rolling hills that can be pretty fun. I haven't done it for a few years but I do recall alot of out of state plates in the parking lot every time I was there.

What's the average rent for a 1 bedroom with washer/dryer hookups? I'm too lazy to take my laundry anywhere but to another room inside my apartment. Looking to (maybe) move soon and liked Chicago when I was there; definitely want out of Ohio.

Sorry to partially hijack the thread WipEout.

Is it really hijacking the thread if it is entitled "Moving to Chicago" and not "I'm moving to Chicago?"

kaostheory wrote:

My roommate and I live in a 6-flat in Ravenswood (Damen and Lawrence) and our rent is $1000/month.

I didn't know we lived next to each other. Maybe we should start a Ravenswood exclusive group :). We have a CVS, 2 Thai restaurants next to each other, a hot dog place that's been in a movie, and a recently renovated L stop! NathanialG is invited too.

Tigerbill wrote:

What's the average rent for a 1 bedroom with washer/dryer hookups? I'm too lazy to take my laundry anywhere but to another room inside my apartment. Looking to (maybe) move soon and liked Chicago when I was there; definitely want out of Ohio.

Sorry to partially hijack the thread WipEout.

Our 1 bedroom is just under $1000 / month with heating included. There is a set of washer / dryers in the basement and a laundromat about 2 blocks away. I think that's a normal price. You can do about $800 if you want a less nice place. If you want downtown I think it's about $1500 at least. We have a decent sized living room, bedroom, and dining room. It's a medium old building with sort of crappy painting, etc, but otherwise pretty nice.

Prices vary wildly by neighborhood and size. You could live in a GIANT three bedroom, with beautiful old molding, for 900/month if you were willing to live in Rogers Park. Or you can pay 1500 for a studio downtown. My old apartment was a 2.5 bedroom for about 1000 a month, electricity included (we used a lot of space heaters in the winter) in Logan Square right on the border of Humbolt park.

Panda thanks for including me in your group!

WipEout I am often available to help Goodjers move in as long as I am provided with food and vast quantities of drink

PS: Northside is jerks.

Who are bigger jerks though? Northsiders, or Yuppie downtowners?

In my utterly unbiased opinion I would say yuppie downtowners.

wordsmythe wrote:
WipEout wrote:

Speaking of, how is biking there? Where's the nearest mountain that I might make it my (road) cycling b*tch?

It's still city biking, with all the excitement that entails, but Chicago's frequently rated as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the US.

The lake path is about 18 miles from top to bottom, so you can get a decent ride in as long as you watch out for the damned rollerbladers and clueless people walking their dogs with 30ft leashes.

You can also take the lake path all the way north and continue on Sheridan Road all the way into Wisconsin (it's a great ride past a couple of Frank Lloyd Wright homes) if you want to get a longer ride in.

If you want hills, you'll need to drive to them. You can either go north to upper Wisconsin, east to Michigan, or south to the rest of Illinois or Indiana. I'd recommend either Wisconsin or Michigan.

First, it's Pilson, not Plison. Second, Pilson is south of where you're looking at and may have less houses (being closer to the city). The area near me, Ravenswood, has tons of Hispanics living there. Many of the sings are Spanish only, there are about 3 burrito / taco places in a row a block away and there are other decent Mexican places. There is also Korea Town on Lawrence west of Western which is also about half Korean, half Mexican. There is also a bunch of Polish restaurants around there. A few blocks North is Devon (a street), which is the Indian neighborhood and has great food there. Close to that and also north of Lawrence is a Jewish neighborhood. You'll find lots of similar in many areas of Chicago, but I find it very diverse around here.

My only experience of Pilson was when I ended up getting my windshield replaced. I asked if there was any place to get a sandwich or something around there and the desk attendants tried to think of some place for about 5 minutes after saying, "I don't think there are any sandwiches around here, it's all Mexican food." I told them that was fine, but they still offered to drive me to a Subway or similar place. Very nice people.

WipEout wrote:

I do dislike yuppies, as well. I'm beginning to sound like an old curmudgeon.

I hate to break it to the denizens of this thread, but y'all probably all fit the definition of "yuppie".

Do you live in an urban area? Do you have a job that requires a college degree? There you go!

EDIT: For clarity, I also fit those criteria.

wordsmythe wrote:

I should ask: What kind of neighborhood are you looking for? Are you looking for quiet? Young and active? Refined? Drug-ridden?

Well right now we live in the Mission of San Francisco, which is the hub of the Mexican community and hipsters as well. While I don't care for the skinny little hipster DBs, my wife and I do find that this area cultivates a broad spectrum of art and culture that's just damned cool to be around. Will we find the same over there? I have no idea yet, but it sounds, at first glance, like Pilson might be a good alternative for the two of us to test the waters, as it were.

PandaEskimo wrote:

Who are bigger jerks though? Northsiders, or Yuppie downtowners? ;)

I do dislike yuppies, as well. I'm beginning to sound like an old curmudgeon. Get off my lawn ya little punks!

OG_slinger wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
WipEout wrote:
Speaking of, how is biking there? Where's the nearest mountain that I might make it my (road) cycling b*tch?

It's still city biking, with all the excitement that entails, but Chicago's frequently rated as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the US.

The lake path is about 18 miles from top to bottom, so you can get a decent ride in as long as you watch out for the damned rollerbladers and clueless people walking their dogs with 30ft leashes.

You can also take the lake path all the way north and continue on Sheridan Road all the way into Wisconsin (it's a great ride past a couple of Frank Lloyd Wright homes) if you want to get a longer ride in.

If you want hills, you'll need to drive to them. You can either go north to upper Wisconsin, east to Michigan, or south to the rest of Illinois or Indiana. I'd recommend either Wisconsin or Michigan.

I'm so used to combining climbing with endurance rides that I feel like (recreational) riding in Chicago is going to be really weird for me. Where I would normally do a 40-60 mile loop, with a climb over the Marin Headlands or partway up Mt. Tamalpais as a major part of those rides, I feel like I could ride loops around the entire state of Illinois, as flat as it is I'm sure my first ride will humble me, though It does make me wonder if I'll finally be able to pull off a century, though...

Again, thanks all for the advice-- I've written down some of the neighborhoods that sound interesting to us, and when I get there in a few weeks I'm going to start hoofing it through and looking for places.

EDIT: fixed typo per PandaEskimo's admonishment

I can't believe you leaving SF for Chicago. I like this city but I've always wanted to live in SF.

I would say for most places you should be looking between $800-$1200. I don't now how much time you have to shop around before you move but I really suggest going around the different neighborhoods.

I'll try to list out some neighborhoods characters, location and price. Just my opinion, feel free for anybody to weigh in or call me an idiot

Neighborhoods descriptions wrote:

Bridgeport: $$ 35th and Halsted- Pretty nice east of Halsted. Walking distance to Sox stadium. low density, lots of duplex car friendly.

Pilsen:$ 18th and Ashland- Mostly Mexican and Hipster kids. Up and coming developing place. med-low density, great Mexican food, car friendly.

Ukrainian village: $$ Chicago and Western- More space, lots of duplex car friendly. Has some nice bars. med-low density, car friendly.

Bucktown: $$$ Armitage & Damen Yuppie area. Some nice restaurants. med-high density.

Lakeview: $$$ Belmont & Racine Yuppie area. Lots of activity, shops, restaurants, music venues/bars. high density. A walking neighborhood.

River North: $$$$ Downtown. This is kinda the touristy area. Nice condos. High density but many building have garage spaces.

Wrigleyville: $$$ Cubs neighborhood. lots of bars. Feels like frat row to me. High density

Chicago neighborhood map.

If you're looking for Hispanic and near hip stuff, look into Humbolt Park. If you want a good depiction of the neighborhood, there's a sorta nice holiday movie called "Nothing Like The Holidays" that's set there. It avoids the hip side of things, though to focus on the neighborhoodier stuff.

Logan Sqaure seemed nice while I was living in Chicago a couple of years ago.

I wonder if the local press still treats it like murdertownusa?

Whats the word on you joining us here in the Middle West?

So far, we've been packing/cleaning, trying to clear out any old furniture that was acquired off the street or through Craigslist, and basically just waiting until next Saturday when I fly down to LA to pick up the car in which my Dad and I will take a roadtrip to Chicago. I don't start the new job until the 26th, so I'll be getting out there a week early to start house-hunting. We've been looking into Ukrainian Village & Humboldt Park mostly (through Craigslist, at least), but really I plan on taking the advice posted here and just going straight to the neighborhoods we are interested in and looking for rent signs. I've also found quite a few rent postings on Craigslist that are repeats from different agents (same images, different addresses or descriptions, etc). I figured I'd avoid all the fraud going on there and just try to meet the landlords face-to-face, especially since they don't seem to want to respond when they find out that I'm not even in Chicago yet.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
WipEout wrote:

I do dislike yuppies, as well. I'm beginning to sound like an old curmudgeon.

I hate to break it to the denizens of this thread, but y'all probably all fit the definition of "yuppie".

Do you live in an urban area? Do you have a job that requires a college degree? There you go!

EDIT: For clarity, I also fit those criteria. ;)

To be perfectly honest, 3D Game Artist does not actually require a college degree

[size=8]Although I do have one.[/size]

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