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Moving to Chicago?
Your best bet is to contact one of the many apartment finding agencies in the city. They offer a free service to anyone looking to find an apartment, wherever in the city that may be. Most will even drive you from one location to the other as you try and find your perfect match. Some of the more popular agencies are listed here:
Rent Here Realty
Chicago Apartment Finders
Apartment People
Apartment Savvy
Apartment and Condo Center
Chicago Greystone
Another convenient way to find an apartment is to check out craigslist.com. There you can find plenty of listings from both landlords and apartment agencies like those listed above.
Even walking around your favorite neighborhood can be a success. Many landlords don't feel like going through the trouble of posting on craigslist or listing through an agency - they rely simply on a "For Rent" sign in the window. It's not a for sure thing, especially if you're not familiar with the area, but sometimes you'll find exactly what you're looking for.
Street corners are filled with rental magazines, most of which are nothing more than a waste of paper. Apartments in Chicago go quickly, so having them published makes little to no sense. They aren't even worth your time.
If you have any other questions, please
don’t hesitate to call the school office for help.
Here’s a guide
to some of Chicago's popoular neighborhoods. Another great resource is Chicago Apartment Finder's own neighborhood review.
North Side
Lakeview
Lakeview is all encompassing name for anything
North of Diversey and West of the Park. Includes tall Sheridan Road
"bubbe" buildings as well as small brownstones. Belmont Harbor home
to some of the few dog buildings in Chicago but not a good neighborhood
for man’s other best friend, the car.
Lincoln Park
Great places in nice buildings mean a lot of
ads promise Lincoln Park; few deliver. Because Lincoln Park is only
a sliver of neighborhood alongside the Park, "near Lincoln Park"
usually means "nowhere near Lincoln Park." Extraordinarily upscale.
Uptown
Uptown's major artery is a long, wide street running from Irving Park to Foster, dotted along the way with dive bars, casual restaurants and a wide range of storefronts. A working class neighborhood these days, the area still contains glimpses of the glitz and glamour of years gone by.
Wrigleyville
Cheap eats and nice places in sporty neighborhood.
Male to female ratio 3:1 and even higher in the neighborhood’s many
bars. Saturday night keg parties abound on back porches during warm
weather. Southport Street corridor, north of Addison, nicest part.
Downtown
Gold Coast
As the name would indicate, expensive. Not necessarily
the most desirable, however, unless you want to live in a high priced shoebox
admist Prada clad condo owners and bar hopping surburban kids.
River North
Nearly as swank as the Gold Coast but not quite so stodgy, River North is where well-heeled Chicagoans go to get their art on. River North's blend of newer town homes and modern mid-rises attracts a healthy number of young professionals who love the close proximity to the downtown business district.
Streeterville
Named for an eccentric ship's captain who laid claim to 150-odd acres of landfill in the 19th century, Streeterville is anything but trashy nowadays. Convenience to downtown businesses and attractions make Streeterville an ideal destination for folks who don't quite want to be in the thick of things, but want to be close enough to touch them.
The Loop
This is where the movers and shakers live, the folks who work in the Sears Tower or the Loop's many government buildings, or watch the tickers at the Chicago Board of Trade. Most residential buildings are condos and the few apartments can cost a pretty penny. Lofts are common, but things like grocery stores and restaurants aren't quite as much.
West Side
Bucktown
West of DePaul, this neighborhood probably has
the most to offer in terms of twenty something shopping, bars and
food. (MTV's "Real World" lived on North Ave. in Bucktown.)
Transportation is slightly more difficult if the Milwaukee Ave bus
is the only option.
Wicker Park
Keep going west and slightly south of Bucktown
and you'll find the incredible gentrification of the Wicker Park neighborhood.
Trendy shops and restaurants along Division Street have moved the
bodegas and used tires stores further west. Rent is definitely less
than the above neighborhoods but is rising quickly.
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