MOVING TO CHICAGO! HELP!

rival.

asking for a little help from our chicago friends...

i work in the hotel industry and recently applied for a promotion at a hotel in chicago, flew out for the interviews, got the job (woot!). my trip out there for the interviews was my first time ever in chicago. incredible city, can't wait to call it home.

just need some advice on where/what neighborhoods i should concentrate on when looking for apartments. the hotel is on whacker drive on the waterway, and i do plan on selling my car here in NY and would love to walk to work or rely on the subway system.

i have been on craigslist and looking at apartments in the west loop neighborhood and the rent looks reasonable (compared to NYC). good/bad idea? any advice is appreciated. again, would LOVE to walk to work!

thanks in advance. i should be out there the 2nd week in november. i will be able to live in the hotel for about 2 weeks, giving me time to find a place. so ultimately, i need tofind something by dec. 1st.

chicago rocks. looks like the city was built last week. so clean!

81

Even tho i am i hated suburban person, if i was goingto move into the city, i would live off the red or brown line on the nothern side. But thats me. Find a realtor to take you around. check out a number of places in different hoods. personally, i couldnt live without a car even in the city.

Just remeremrd they are remodeling congress area as well to make it more liveable. Suppose to be nice

A Strange Spot in the Sky

West loop is up and coming and generally a good neighborhood to live in, plus as you mentioned you may be able to walk to work. Keep in mind walking to work in the winter here is a whole different story so you will want to make sure you have a public transportation option. from West Loop i think that option would be buses... buses are slower, more packed, and come less frequently than trains so this is a less than ideal option.

I live in Bucktown and highly recommend it - the neighborhood sits right on the blue line, which runs between OHare and the Loop - i work in the loop and my total commute with walking to/from the train is about 23 minutes. Bucktown (or Wicker Park or Ukrainian Village, all three in the same area) is a trendy neighborhood, tons of restuarants/bars and a few really good small performance venues where local acts play.

Wrigleyville is also very popular - very young out there and probably the best nightlife in the city. a little bit further from downtwon but the red/brown lines run directly into the loop.

Let me know if i can help with anything else - made the move to Chicago 5 years ago so I'm getting to know my way around pretty well.

rival.

A Strange Spot in the Sky wrote:

Wrigleyville is also very popular - very young out there and probably the best nightlife in the city. a little bit further from downtwon but the red/brown lines run directly into the loop.

Let me know if i can help with anything else - made the move to Chicago 5 years ago so I'm getting to know my way around pretty well.

heard great things about wrigleyville & lincoln park. but i think i'd like to be a little more downtown. good point with the winter weather, walking to work.

the immediate area of wacker drive, what neighborhood is that exactly?

81

wacker is a goofy street. it runs N/S and E/W it's pretty much is the outter boundry of the west and north side of the loop.

you will want to read this site for mass transit

http://www.transitchicago.com


google maps is also a good spot to see where things are in relation to a train station.

as long as your are not in the hood, you really can't go wrong.

some of the apartmetn finding websights are good as well, as they let you drill down the features that you need in your new pad.

elvistheking44

I've lived in the city for 13 years now. North side, West side, South side...currently back on the North Side (Lincoln Park) I love Lincoln Park now, I also have two kids. 10 years ago I would never have lived in Lincoln Park. Its great for families and IF you can afford it. Slumming in Chicago is absolutely NO fun. Make sure that you can afford to live in the neighborhood you want. There is nothing worse than seeing all kinds of people having fun at all the restaurants and bars in your neighborhood and not being able to have the money to partake.

Also, depending on where you are moving from you may find out Chicago is not that great of a place. The Police department is about as crooked as a lightning bolt. Do a youtube search for Chicago police brutality and you will understand. The political figures and all the unions here might as well be legalized mob. The parking situation and fees is a joke and if you ever plan on raising kids in the city you better save for private school because the Chicago Public School system is the biggest joke ever!!!!

That said, Chicago is the BEST city for summertime fun!

81

ofthegirl99 wrote:

Also, depending on where you are moving from you may find out Chicago is not that great of a place. The Police department is about as crooked as a lightning bolt. Do a youtube search for Chicago police brutality and you will understand. The political figures and all the unions here might as well be legalized mob. The parking situation and fees is a joke and if you ever plan on raising kids in the city you better save for private school because the Chicago Public School system is the biggest joke ever!!!!

i didn't want to be too negative, but this all true. don't trust the cops or anybody in a goverment office (city, county, state, township or any other level). seems like every other week there is a big scandal.

rival.

thanks all for the advice.

i am moving out of the bronx. have seen my fair share of corruption, scandels, and just shit in general go down. that stuff won't effect me.

you guys are getting hit right now with your worst storm in 7 decades? just dodged that bullet!

81

rival. wrote:

thanks all for the advice.

i am moving out of the bronx. have seen my fair share of corruption, scandels, and just shit in general go down. that stuff won't effect me.

you guys are getting hit right now with your worst storm in 7 decades? just dodged that bullet!

some chick was impaled by a tree branch in her smart car.

she is alive

they say it's a crazy storm, but it really wasn't that bad. i didn't wake up once last night.

81

hopefully, you will make us smarter

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/10/26/ ... st-cities/

dcfaithful

81 wrote:

some chick was impaled by a tree branch in her smart car.

I was watching Final Destination the other day on TV...this sounds like a scene straight form that corny ass movie.

rival.

81 wrote:

hopefully, you will make us smarter

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/10/26/ ... st-cities/

soooo... i got this job because i am smarter than the rest? or because they are dumb enough to hire me? hmmm.....

81

rival. wrote:

81 wrote:

hopefully, you will make us smarter

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/10/26/ ... st-cities/

soooo... i got this job because i am smarter than the rest? or because they are dumb enough to hire me? hmmm.....

i'm guessing a little bit of both.

LikeAnOcean

I would recommend using the Apartment People.

http://www.apartmentpeople.com/

It's a free service and they don't take you to any "bad" neighborhoods.

Kevinman

I would recommend something in a neighborhood, not downtown for living. The reason for this is becuase there is more to do in the neighborhoods as far as nightlife goes. Downtown is kind of dead at night, depending on where you're at. I live on the edge of Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Humboldt Park. It is a nice area as long as you are closer to the first two and not too close to Humboldt Park. Logan Square is also nice and upcoming. Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Logan are all along the Blue line train which runs O'Hare to downtown.
Previously to living where I currently reside, I lived in River West, which is just west of downtown. I thought it was a great neighborhood to live in. Depending on where you live in this area, you can take either the blue or green line train into downtown. Other areas just west of downtown to live in are Greek Town, Ukranian Village, and the UIC area. If you have any other questions feel free to pm me and I'll do my best to get you an answer. This may help: http://searchchicago.suntimes.com/homes/index.html

Just put in some of these neighborhoods in the rent section.

Kevinman

Oh yeah, Welcome to Chicago! Have fun while you're here. There's a lot to do, and it's not as bad as you may hear.

unlost dogs

You're going to be working on Wacker Drive? Sounds dangerous.

Watch out for the smoking babies. I hear they're everywhere out there.

81

unlost dogs wrote:

You're going to be working on Wacker Drive? Sounds dangerous.

Watch out for the smoking babies. I hear they're everywhere out there.

smoking is expensive in the city. Than again, so is everything else

covered in bliss

You should definitely move somewhere really close to work for the first year. You will be moving here in early winter and by the time you get settled in and give yourself time to explore the city and surrounding areas, your lease will be up and you will have a better idea of what you really want and what the different areas are really like. (If you will be working nights and/or weekends, a neighborhood with small music venues isn't going to mean much.)

I used to work at 321 n clark (clark and the river) and 180 n wacker (where it changes from NS to EW) and lived in Printers Row, Greektown and Goldcoast. The last was the worst.. the close proximity to the beach was great but I didn't care for the neighborhood. Loved the other 2 areas. Greektown has totally changed for the better (a huge grocery store with edible produce!). The area south of the loop is really turning around as well. You couldn't even walk there at night 12 years ago.

We walked to and from work almost every day. Great exercise. Dress properly and give yourself a little extra time and it's actually kinda fun to walk in the snow or sleet/rain. Make sure you have GOOD gear (waterproof and warm without being too hot and bulky) and a truly waterproof pair of boots and you will be fine. Public trans is great but there are a lot of people, buses and the el break down and people cough all over the place. Traffic can get crazy and many times, you can walk faster than the bus can drive you.

I'm a little envious! Brings back great memories-you're going to love it here!

Good luck!

Indifference71

LikeAnOcean wrote:

I would recommend using the Apartment People.

http://www.apartmentpeople.com/

It's a free service and they don't take you to any "bad" neighborhoods.

If you have trouble finding a place, definitely try one of these services. I was having some trouble finding a place and chicago apartment finders helped me find my current place which is awesome. I'm in the West Lakeview/Roscoe Village area on the north side of the city. Unfortunately, I work in the suburbs so I dont get to take advantage of the brown line L stop that is about a 1/2 block from my place. But, I do love living in the city...always a lot goin on with all the restaurants, bars, street fests, etc...

It's too bad you'll be moving here just in time for our awful winter. Wait til the summer to judge Chicago....it doesnt get any better than summer around here.

81

i forgot the most important thing....

the city is filled with this vile creature that rears it's ugly head every april. thankfully, most years by july it has gone back into hiding, although some years, it does persist a bit longer. damn cub fans.

Indifference71

81 wrote:

i forgot the most important thing....

the city is filled with this vile creature that rears it's ugly head every april. thankfully, most years by july it has gone back into hiding, although some years, it does persist a bit longer. damn cub fans.

SarahLou

A Strange Spot in the Sky wrote:

I live in Bucktown and highly recommend it - the neighborhood sits right on the blue line, which runs between OHare and the Loop - i work in the loop and my total commute with walking to/from the train is about 23 minutes. Bucktown (or Wicker Park or Ukrainian Village, all three in the same area) is a trendy neighborhood, tons of restuarants/bars and a few really good small performance venues where local acts play.

I also live in Bucktown, i work in Logan square, and my husband works in the west loop and its the best location we have found, right next to the Blue line, which can take you to the loop quick.

Also alot of good bars and resturants, social place, i like it.

Come into the "Bolier room" and have a beer on me to welcome you to Chicago!

rival.

good info all round. again, appreciate everyone's input.

and sarah... i'll thank you for the free beer in time!

Kevinman

SarahLou wrote:

A Strange Spot in the Sky wrote:

I live in Bucktown and highly recommend it - the neighborhood sits right on the blue line, which runs between OHare and the Loop - i work in the loop and my total commute with walking to/from the train is about 23 minutes. Bucktown (or Wicker Park or Ukrainian Village, all three in the same area) is a trendy neighborhood, tons of restuarants/bars and a few really good small performance venues where local acts play.

I also live in Bucktown, i work in Logan square, and my husband works in the west loop and its the best location we have found, right next to the Blue line, which can take you to the loop quick.

Also alot of good bars and resturants, social place, i like it.

Come into the "Bolier room" and have a beer on me to welcome you to Chicago!

Been to the Boiler Room a couple of times now. Nice new bar close to home.