hey flist... windy city people?

[timepiececlock]

I'm looking for places in Chicago that I can rent on a monhtly basis, through November. Any advice? I want to move there by the beginning of the month, hopefully.

The office where I'll be working is by the giant pier, in what my mom tells me is a huge downtown business/shopping district. On Wabash St. I'm hoping to find housing that isn't too far away. Craigs list is a little overwhelming, and most people seem to want 6 month leases, not month-to-month.

Anyone lives in Chicago or has advice about living there cheaply, I'd love to hear it.

Also, how soon does the whether turn? I assume it'll be cold by October, but does it start snowing in November?

Comments

[tapas-girl.livejournal.com]

i live out in the suburbs so i'm not as much help moving wise. the weather can be a bit odd, we do sometimes get snow as early as halloween but sometimes it takes a while for us to get a big storm. hope i helped ^_^.

[vrya.livejournal.com]

Last year we got snow for the first time on Thanskgiving, but it was really light, and I think it was a while before we got a real downfall. But here's the average temps, if that helps.

I don't recall seeing anything that was month-to-month when we were looking last year, but then again we weren't looking downtown. If you want cheap, you may have to compromise and go out a bit. That's what happened to us, anyway! As long as you're near a train line (http://rtachicago.com) it shouldn't be too bad. There are a whole lot of free apartment search services, try contacting a slew of them and asking about month-to-month, see if they have any listings. I found the services easier to work with than going straight to Craig's List, though many search services also post their listings there to get exposure.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Do you recommend any particular services? Cost is more of a consideration for me than proximity, right now.

[vrya.livejournal.com]

We used homestead, and while I was sure that their agent was going to kill us driving on the freeway, they did find us a very nice place at a reasonable-for-the-size-and-the-city price. And their river west office is conveniently located right next to a blue line stop (same line as goes to O'Hare.) When we went to renew the lease a few weeks ago, they were looking a little ragged round the edges and understaffed; I think the real-estate market is hurting them. Still, I can recommend them as adequate if not amazing.

[clodia-risa.livejournal.com]

I know nothing about Chicago, but copperbadge has lived there for several years, is about to move for the third time and thus has done a lot of apartment shopping lately, and I know lives somewhere in the heart of Chicago. Close to an El line, that I know. He's very nice - you might want to try him.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the rec!

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Hi-ya! I got sent over here from clodia_risa, as someone who's lived in Chicago for two years and works actually quite near where you'll be working.

It's highly unlikely you'll find cheap housing in that area; it's called Gold Coast for a reason, alas. Wisest to do, probably, is look on the north side, in Buena Park or Edgewater, near the red line, as that's what will take you nearest to where you work. Google maps shows the route of the red line if you zoom in, so you can check how close any addresses are to the stations. I lived reasonably cheaply off the Bryn Mawr stop, but in a pretty run-down area.

I've always either sublet from friends or done a year-long lease. You're not likely to find 6-month leases whatever you do; most of the leases are ten or twelve months at minimum.

http://chicago.sublet.com/ seemed a pretty reputable place to find month-to-month sublets, when I was looking.

As for living cheaply in Chicago -- there's tons of free events put on by parks and recreation. If you do end up living on the red line, a $75 monthly pass will save you El fare. For cheap food, find an Aldi and shop there, it's all generic brands but I've never left Aldi having spent more than $20 for quite a lot of food. There's one off the Addison stop on the red line. Lots of thrift stores in Chicago for cheap clothes and furnishings; the Belmont-stop area has a few clothing shops, as well as a really cool asian imports store (east of the station).

If you do decide you can do a 12-month lease, I recommend chicagoapartmentfinders.com; they found me my first place for $600/mo and just last night they found me my new flat for $1000/mo (same general setup, but a much better location).

The winters in Chicago have been bizarre lately. It started to turn cold in October but didn't snow until very late last winter. As a safe bet I'd plan to be prepared for snow by the end of October. This past winter was incredibly cold but there were no incapacitating snowstorms; in the past two years the worst weather has actually been mid-spring windstorms, without snow. It does get colder the closer you get to Navy Pier, though, because you're getting the wind off the lake.

If you want to talk Chicago or have specific questions I'd be happy to lend a hand -- drop me an email at copperbadge at gmail.com or drop a comment in my journal. Happy hunting!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Right now 6 months or 12 months is not an option, because my employment is only guaranteed into November. Thanks for the recommendations on the websites; I'll definitely browse them.

I've been told that Logan Square ar Linkin Park are relatively inexpensive and on a Line to where I'll be working.

Do you know what areas are considered "bad" or dangerous parts of the city?

Thanks for the comments on the whether.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

If you're moving in September and only guaranteed through November, a sublet is definitely what you want. I haven't encountered a single apartment in a regular complex that rents month-to-month, and I know all the apartment-finder agencies only do year-long leases.

Logan Square and Lincoln Park are generally on the brown line. I don't know what the stop nearest to your work is, but even if it's off the red line, the brown line transfers to the red line at Belmont and at Fullerton, with a negligible delay.

It's hard to identify whole areas as "bad", though I wouldn't walk round the south-side 55th-street area at night. There's a great website, http://chicago.everyblock.com/crime/ , where you can look up crime by zipcode, so if you have a prospective address you can enter it there and see how high-crime the area is, and what sorts of crimes there are -- I lived in an area where there were a lot of shoplifting crimes, but no muggings or break-and-enters.

In a pinch, if you need a place to stay for a few days in downtown, the hostel on Van Buren near the library (I can dig up the website if you want) is excellent -- clean, quiet, secure, about $35 a night I think, with a locker (bring your own lock) and a bathroom in the room. You share the room with 3-5 other people, but they sort of...screen for sketchy characters. I've made use of it while apartment-hunting before.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link, and I'll take the hostel link too, if you can get it.

By sublet, I take it you mean renting out a room? That would be ideal for me, actually, because it would cut down on costs considerably, and the fact that I won't be brining much furniture with me, if any.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

http://www.hichicago.org/ is the hostel. You can book online and stuff. :)

Sublet, room rent, definitely the way to go. The sublet website should have stuff, but make sure you check and see that you can go month to month. Good luck! And welcome to Chicago!

[vrya.livejournal.com]

We live in Logan Square; I wouldn't call it super easy to get to Navy Pier from there, though it's doable if you don't mind a few transfers and/or mixing bus/train. Logan Square is primarily served by the Blue Line, though if you live on the north/east part of it, you can get to the Brown Line via bus without too much trouble. You might want to order the detailed system map from RTA; should help you figure out just how much of a commute will be involved from a prospective address.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

The snow starts in October, usually, just light flurries that then go away for a while, but yes, it's generally cold (we're talking 40s) by mid-October, and after that...I dunno. For me, at least, once you hit 40, EVERYTHING is cold, and the only difference ten degrees makes is whether or not I should put on a fourth layer. My experience has been that the real winter hits starting in January--before that it's cold and there're flurries, but it's not as serious. Granted, I live on the OTHER side of the lake, but my understanding is that being right next to the lake has about the same effect.

As for living cheaply...yeah, you're not going to be getting somewhere that's cheap close to the Pier. That's the Nice Part of Chicago. Good luck with this! :-D

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I agree with you... cold is cold, after a certain point.

[irfikos.livejournal.com]

I have friends who are moving to Chicago probably Labor Day weekend. They may appreciate a third person temporarily to help defray moving costs...

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Do you know what area they're moving to?

[irfikos.livejournal.com]

I'll let you guys talk to each other about possibilities. Talk to tarnneth. She's the one with internet right now. She and her wife are very cool and two of my best friends. To me, from the outside, it looks like it would be a beneficial situation for you all as long as you can share the space.

I'm willing to bet that they won't be able to afford the Gold Coast by any means. Tarn is going to school there but I don't know which one. Her wife is in Chicago now, I guess, looking for apartments/jobs right now. OOH, hey, any openings on the campaign? They're both smart and progressive. Hm...

Good luck to you all, regardless.