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| *Travel Tips>>>Chicago Travel Tips |
What are some safe, relatively inexpensive neighborhoods in Chicago? |
Travel Info I'd like to know which neighborhoods have rents that are inexpensive, at least by Chicago standards. My only stipulations are: A) I'd prefer not to get shot, mugged, or have my apartment broken into. B) I have a car, so I would have to be able to park it somewhere. I don't have much cash to pay for parking, and I'd rather not park a mile away from where I live. Other than those two things, I'm not picky. I live in a small studio right now, and that's probably what I'll rent in Chicago too. If you could also give me a ballpark price range for how much I could expect to pay in the neighborhoods you suggest, that would be greatly appreciated too! Thanks! Travel Tips What you want is to be just outside the particularly nice areas, so that you're in a safe area, but developing - one where parking is still relatively available. So, where you might want to check is (in order of recommendation): Roscoe Village, on and near Roscoe Street around Damen; the South Loop, just south of the city (around Wabash and Roosevelt); the UIC area, around Taylor, Halsted and Roosevelt; Ukranian Village, around Ohio and Damen, just south of the popular Wicker Park; and Logan Square, on Logan Avenue, around California. Logan Square, I admit, does still have some crime problems, but it's improving rapidly. Rents in those areas will be less than the nearby Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and Bucktown - a one bedroom will run you $800-$1000 a month or so in nearly all those neighborhoods, Logan Square a bit cheaper than the others. Others If you don't want to live in Chicago, Evanston and Oak Park are close to the city and have safe and affordable living. Oak Park has a regional housing center that will work with you to find an affordable apartment with parking and all they ask is a donation of $25.00! The rents are between $600 and up depending on what you are looking for. Plus it is close to the city either by car or the CTA First off, no one prefers to get "shot, mugged or have (their) apartment broken into". If you're going to live in the city, you have to learn how to LIVE in the city. You can't walk around afraid and not paying attention to your surroundings. People get mugged in every neighborhood. In fact, a lot of muggings take place in the wealthy neighborhoods because, well, that's where the money is. Now, as far as neighborhoods, I recommend Edgewater on the north side (around Bryn Mawr and Broadway). It's relatively cheap. You can get a one-bedroom anywhere from $600 to $900. Most have one or more utilities included, which is helpful, and some even have free cable or internet access. Some have garage parking in the building (you pay extra), but if you park on the street you should be able to find something, although it can be tough at times (I drive, so I should know). It's a very diverse neighborhood with Americans (white and blacks), Eastern Europeans, Asians, Indians (both kinds), Africans, Latinos, gay, straight. It's really close to the lake, which is great in the summer time (you can head to the bike path for a ride or run, the beach to play volleyball or lie in the sand, picnic, etc.) It's close to a lot of stores (bookstores, Starbucks, grocery stores, etc.). New restaurants are opening all over the place. There's public transportation all over (buses, trains) I recently went to one of our weekly community meetings and the district commander said our neighborhood was one of the best kept secrets in Chicago. It's not overrun with Yuppies yet, but there are a lot of condos going up all over, so it's best to get in while you can. The community group is trying to prevent or at least slow down the boom of condos, so it remains to be seen what will happen. http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/progr... http://www.chicagohome.com/nhdetails.cfm... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/edgewater_(... Hyde Park. It svery pretty there, and not as crowded as other places, so you'll have no problems with free street parking. If you want to park in a lot, the fee is much less than on the north side. There is a university in Hyde Park. Not only do the Hyde Park cops patrol, but the university cops do too. It's pretty safe, so long as you're not dumb (for example, women should never walk alone late at night in alleys anywhere in any city). And the area is pretty affluent because of the university. I live at Clark and Diversey in the Lincoln Park/Lakeview neighborhood.. you'll love it!!! Close to everything. Very Safe!!! Chicago Police are everywhere. A studio is about 800/mo. Welcome to the city. The Jefferson Park neighborhood is filled with cops, firefighters, teachers, etc. It's safe, close to public trans, and parking is never an issue unlike the yuppie neighborhoods of wicker park, roscoe village...etc. good luck trying to park there. rent is cheaper too. i think you could rent around here for like 600-700 a month for a one bedroom. It's northwest of downtown, and filled with real Chicagoans, not suburban transplants. |
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