Apartment/Condo/House Thread

[gatnom]

Definitely. You really enjoy the Lake? Then Uptown-Lincoln Park, etc.

 

You like the "hipster" scene: Bucktown and Wicker Park.

 

Wanna be close to the Loop but not in the Loop? West Loop. South Loop.

 

I'm pretty flexible because my favorite two past times are getting drunk and striking out with women, and you can do that pretty much anywhere. I'm not much of a fan of the hipster scene personally. I do work in the loop, so those options might be pretty nice. Thanks for the replies, guys.

 

 

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

Munster. First of all, Indiana's government and taxes are far, far less f***ed up than Illinois. So having narrowed the choices down to NW Indiana, Munster has by far the best public school system.

I never considered NW IN to be honest. Munster seems like a great option if you work in the south or SW burbs but unfortunately is too far south for us since my wife works in Addison and Elk Grove Village. That commute would be an absolute bear. Too bad it's not an option because we could definitely afford a bigger/newer home in that area, though property taxes appear to be surprisingly comparable to where I'm at now in terms of % of home value

[LittleHurt05]

I'm pretty flexible because my favorite two past times are getting drunk and striking out with women, and you can do that pretty much anywhere. I'm not much of a fan of the hipster scene personally. I do work in the loop, so those options might be pretty nice. Thanks for the replies, guys.

 

At your age I'd say Wrigleyville or Lincoln Park would work well too party-wise, but they might be a bit pricier than the West/South Loop. Either location gives you easy CTA access to work.

[Y2HH]

At your age I'd say Wrigleyville or Lincoln Park would work well too party-wise, but they might be a bit pricier than the West/South Loop. Either location gives you easy CTA access to work.

 

Partying is an overrated waste of money because you can party anywhere else for far less and have just as much fun.

 

I never got the entire "wrigleyville" party thing...it's just a bunch of idiots doing what other idiots do in other neighborhoods, for 30x the cost.

[Rowand44]

Partying is an overrated waste of money because you can party anywhere else for far less and have just as much fun.

 

I never got the entire "wrigleyville" party thing...it's just a bunch of idiots doing what other idiots do in other neighborhoods, for 30x the cost.

Meh not really true.

[Y2HH]

Meh not really true.

 

Meh, totally true.

[Rowand44]

Meh, totally true.

No, it's not. Wrigley and Lincoln Park have more people, more girls, more bars, etc. Yes, you can get drunk anywhere but if you're actually looking for a party scene especially as a 23 year old, Wrigley is definitely one of the places to be.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Rowand44

[Y2HH]

No, it's not. Wrigley and Lincoln Park have more people, more girls, more bars, etc. Yes, you can get drunk anywhere but if you're actually looking for a party scene especially as a 23 year old, Wrigley is definitely one of the places to be.

 

I have some news for you, there are plenty of girls and bars ... EVERYWHERE.

[LittleHurt05]

I have some news for you, there are plenty of girls and bars ... EVERYWHERE.

 

Of course there are. And not all bars are the same nor do they all attract the same clientele.

[Y2HH]

Of course there are. And not all bars are the same nor do they all attract the same clientele.

 

For most guys, that doesn't matter.

 

So there are more bars and more girls that will ignore 99.9% of you in Wrigleyville, and whether you party there or elsewhere, you'll go home alone after spending money all night.

 

I'm just trying to save you guys money ... because of reasons.

 

I'm sure you're both Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt lookers, so this doesn't apply to you...but for the other 99% of those morons around there, it does.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Y2HH

[cabiness42]

I never considered NW IN to be honest. Munster seems like a great option if you work in the south or SW burbs but unfortunately is too far south for us since my wife works in Addison and Elk Grove Village. That commute would be an absolute bear. Too bad it's not an option because we could definitely afford a bigger/newer home in that area, though property taxes appear to be surprisingly comparable to where I'm at now in terms of % of home value

 

Property taxes may be similar, but income and sales taxes are a lot lower in NWI, plus like you said you can get more house for your money.

 

Yeah, Addison may be a bit far to commute from there. It's been a while since I've driven the tri-state in the morning so I don't know how long that would take.

[Jenksismyhero]

Y2HH - when was the last time you live there? I lived in Wrigleyville from about age 24 to 28 (so 2005-2009ish). I didn't notice it being any more expensive than any other neighborhood in the city. If you want to waste your money, you can do that. If you want to buy a couple of cheap beers and burgers, you can do that too. My only complaint about the area was the douchey frat boys, which seemed a little more concentrated there. But you'll learn pretty quickly where those morons hang out and you'll ignore those bars like the plague.

 

[Y2HH]

Y2HH - when was the last time you live there? I lived in Wrigleyville from about age 24 to 28 (so 2005-2009ish). I didn't notice it being any more expensive than any other neighborhood in the city. If you want to waste your money, you can do that. If you want to buy a couple of cheap beers and burgers, you can do that too. My only complaint about the area was the douchey frat boys, which seemed a little more concentrated there. But you'll learn pretty quickly where those morons hang out and you'll ignore those bars like the plague.

 

I never lived there, just visited when my Cubs fans friends insisted.

 

I went through an entire era of my life doing the club/bar scene on the north side/downtown -- and it was a huge waste of money, and nothing good came of it. 1997-2003 or so...

 

So advice I give the childrens these days is to save your money, that scene sucked then, and it sucks now.

 

And my complaint was the same -- but there was so many of them it was impossible to avoid.

[Jenksismyhero]

I never lived there, just visited when my Cubs fans friends insisted.

 

I went through an entire era of my life doing the club/bar scene on the north side/downtown -- and it was a huge waste of money, and nothing good came of it. 1997-2003 or so...

 

So advice I give the childrens these days is to save your money, that scene sucked then, and it sucks now.

 

And my complaint was the same -- but there was so many of them it was impossible to avoid.

 

Well sure, looking back it's a waste of money, but in the moment it was a great time. At least it was for me.

[Chisoxfn]

I never lived there, just visited when my Cubs fans friends insisted.

 

I went through an entire era of my life doing the club/bar scene on the north side/downtown -- and it was a huge waste of money, and nothing good came of it. 1997-2003 or so...

 

So advice I give the childrens these days is to save your money, that scene sucked then, and it sucks now.

 

And my complaint was the same -- but there was so many of them it was impossible to avoid.

I think one of the best financial pieces advice you could give someone is to take 15-20% out of whatever their first career paycheck is and then figure out what you can live on, etc. Put that money towards your retirement, etc, and never look back. Ideally you start to figure out new ways to continue to increase your saving percentages, but getting off to a fast start from a savings perspective is one of the most beneficial things you can do. To start by just spending everything, you are going to have such a harder time ever cutting back the 20% in the future.

 

Obviously this means you find a way to live within those means you are handed to, vs. just wracking up a credit card bill at 15% interest.

[Soxbadger]

I never lived there, just visited when my Cubs fans friends insisted.

 

I went through an entire era of my life doing the club/bar scene on the north side/downtown -- and it was a huge waste of money, and nothing good came of it. 1997-2003 or so...

 

So advice I give the childrens these days is to save your money, that scene sucked then, and it sucks now.

 

And my complaint was the same -- but there was so many of them it was impossible to avoid.

 

You can say that about anything fun.

 

Ive lived in the Uptown/Lakeview area for almost 10 years, good access to most areas. Only negative is that getting to Wicker Park is kind of annoying. But back when I first moved, Wicker Park wasnt anything.

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

Property taxes may be similar, but income and sales taxes are a lot lower in NWI, plus like you said you can get more house for your money.

 

Yeah, Addison may be a bit far to commute from there. It's been a while since I've driven the tri-state in the morning so I don't know how long that would take.

NB Tri-State is pretty bad in the morning but SB in the afternoon is even worse. Particularly north of 55, once you're south of 55 it's not bad (typically) in either direction AM or PM

[gatnom]

Thanks everybody for the input. I tend to side a bit more with Jenks in that as long as you're having a good time (and not spending yourself into massive amounts of debt), you're not really wasting your money. I'm currently living on about 25% of my income right now because my parents aren't charging me any rent, so I feel like I have a good enough head on my shoulders not to completely screw myself with spending.

 

 

[bigruss]

I'm moving to Southport (just west of Wrigleyville) this month, seems to be a solid area and rent really isn't much more for what you get. I currently live in Rogers Park and pay about $600 for my portion for a much smaller apartment, whereas I'll be paying $850 in Southport.

 

And yea, avoid the frat havens every time, but plenty of good places still out there. The biggest thing for me is just being closer to all my college friends so I can more easily hang out with them because right now it takes about 45-60 minutes to get to them (I live about 15-20 mins from the red line currently). So playing basketball, watching games, etc will be much easier.

[IlliniKrush]

Any suggestions for neighborhoods to live in Chicago as a 23 year old? I don't have a car, so living near public transportation is a must. I have a pretty general idea of where I think I'd like to be, but I was wondering if anybody here had any suggestions.

Definitely look into the west loop, especially if you're working in the loop. It's really a great area, without the wrigleyville douche-yness. Just depends what you are looking for.

[southsider2k5]

Munster. First of all, Indiana's government and taxes are far, far less f***ed up than Illinois. So having narrowed the choices down to NW Indiana, Munster has by far the best public school system.

 

This. And The Region is as close to downtown Chicago by train as most of the suburbs are. Closer in many cases. It is a fraction of what it costs to live in the City.

[southsider2k5]

I never considered NW IN to be honest. Munster seems like a great option if you work in the south or SW burbs but unfortunately is too far south for us since my wife works in Addison and Elk Grove Village. That commute would be an absolute bear. Too bad it's not an option because we could definitely afford a bigger/newer home in that area, though property taxes appear to be surprisingly comparable to where I'm at now in terms of % of home value

 

Indiana's tax caps prevent the taxes on your primary residence from going above 1% of your property value. If you have a $150k house, you can't pay above $1500 annually for property taxes.

[cabiness42]

Indiana's tax caps prevent the taxes on your primary residence from going above 1% of your property value. If you have a $150k house, you can't pay above $1500 annually for property taxes.

 

If you live down the street from a high ranking county official, your property taxes might even be $0.

[Rowand44]

I'm moving to Southport (just west of Wrigleyville) this month, seems to be a solid area and rent really isn't much more for what you get. I currently live in Rogers Park and pay about $600 for my portion for a much smaller apartment, whereas I'll be paying $850 in Southport.

 

And yea, avoid the frat havens every time, but plenty of good places still out there. The biggest thing for me is just being closer to all my college friends so I can more easily hang out with them because right now it takes about 45-60 minutes to get to them (I live about 15-20 mins from the red line currently). So playing basketball, watching games, etc will be much easier.

That's a great area.

 

As far as Wrigleyville, I'm not shocked that there's a debate on here about it. People love it or they don't. I personally love the area but to each their own.

[southsider2k5]

If you live down the street from a high ranking county official, your property taxes might even be $0.

 

Much better chances if you contribute to said officials re-election fund.