Moving from NYC to Chicago, advice on apartment hunting

All,

In a few months I will thankfully be ending my stint in banking and moving to Chicago to start my PE role. Besides a quick stop to interview in the city, I have never been there before, and don't have a ton of friends in the region either. As such, Id appreciate any advice regarding living situation.

My office will be north of the loop, so based on some conversations my initial take is that it sounds like river north / Gold Coast would be the best area for me. I'll be renting rather than buying. I'd like to be an area with lots to do / good nightlife as the improved work life balance is very important for me following these past 2 years. I know very little about the Chicago restaurant / party scene, but being in a good section of town for those aspects would be great.

So, based on that, does it sound like river north / Gold Coast is a good place to start looking for apartments? Is there any app that is the equivalent to StreetEasy in NYC for Chicago apartment hunting (I haven't found anythting) Would you suggest high rises or not? If so, are there any particular buildings that you have heard good things about?

Appreciate any help!

 

Get a broker who will show you a ton of apts. People give living in loop shit, but it's plenty busy and it's a 5 minute uber anywhere . If you want a new, full amenitily building, the loop or right in river north is probably where you'll end up.

Me, personally, I wanted less than a 10 minute walk to work.

Either way, get ready for some cheap ass rent. Place is absurdly cheap. Just buy anything of value on Amazon to avoid the criminal sales tax.

 

Thanks, appreciate the heads up on avoiding the sales tax too. Definitely looking forward to cheaper rent or a much nicer place after living in a rathole. Do the brokers in Chicago also charge an absurd fee? I've grown biased against brokers after getting looted for over ~6k from them when I got my apartment in NYC. Though it seems hard to avoid one coming from out of town and having little knowledge of the market

 

River North: Clubby, nice restaurants, near the loop: high rise recommended. Close to your work.

West Loop: near Randolph Street ("Restaurant Row") Great food, trendy area right now. High-rise or low rise

Old Town: Low rises, neighborhood feeling, good restaurants, good night life (more bars than clubs)

Wicker Park: Low rises, neighborhood feeling, more "hippy area"

Wrigley: Fratty

I glanced at StreetEasy for ~1 min. Looks like a combo between West Loop and River North.

 

I live near the blue line. less than 10min walk to train, stops directly below my work (PNC tower across from chase tower). For $1700, I have the top floor of a 3 story flat, 2 bdrms, 2 baths, jacuzzi tub, 1300sqft private roof top patio, in unit utilities. For $1700 in streeterville or river north, you can have 595 sq ft.

 

I'm not familiar with the Chicago metro. Is the blue line the one that goes directly West or the one that goes Northwest? I lived in the West side of Chicago from like 2-5, but I don't remember it. I feel like depending on which line you're talking about changes things. If you live on the line that's the directly west blue one, do you feel like it's a safe area with a good amount of young people? If you live on the one that's Northwest, I'm sure it's similar to the Lakeview area. Do you have a roommate? Also, idk if you're a first year analyst, but would you recommend a first year in Chicago to spend $1700 when you could get away with a lot less?

 

When I was a first year I lived in the SoNo East apartments in on the edge of Lincoln Park / Old Town. One bedroom @ around $2,300 / Month... Loved every single thing about it.

Second year I moved into a loft with some friends in wicker park at a substantially cheaper rate but if I wanted to live solo still I would go back there in a heart beat.

The other place I loved a ton was anything next to North and Wells. I'm blanking on the apartments but there are some great (and pricey) buildings around there I know some IB analysts live in.

In regards to what is appropriate to spend who the F*** cares. You earned you money. Spend it however you want... Dont live in the loop. You will just take cabs all weekend to see friends...

just realized you said you're doing an internship after typing all the above....just use craigslist or something...

"If you want to succeed in this life, you need to understand that duty comes before rights and that responsibility precedes opportunity."
 

convertibles (bigger than a studio smaller than 1 bedroom) in south loop in a luxury apt are about $1500. first year analyst shouldnt spend above 1700 IMO especially if you have a hefty student loan you're paying off...I PM'd you a while ago check your messages.

 

I worked in the south loop for about a year and a half but on the west side of the river, (lake Michigan) the side of the river had some decent looking places by it, and shopping centers popping up, anywhere on that side I wouldn't be too worried about, my office was right on the edge of the line, maybe half a mile further west and it probably wouldn't be as ideal safety wise. I wasn't making IB money and did not live in any of them though.

 

You're paying out the ass to be around a bunch of annoying yuppies. It sounds like that's what you want though, so yes, those are the areas to look at.

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

congrats. Chicago nightlife is great. I suggest Lakeshore East. It's quiet, upscale. Has amenities, and you'll be close to work. I'd also check out the new Optima building in Streeterville. The loop and river north are great too, but can be very noisy from the El and ambulances. West Loop is by far the trendiest neighborhood right now but could take a while to get to work with traffic

 

Ukrainian Village is dope actually. I lived there for like 8 months. It was voted top spot to live in the US. Don't remember where I saw that.

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

Close to work and close to bars/night clubs is a bit mutually exclusive--La Salle/Van Buren has no real form of night life (other than going to Ceres on some weeknights). If you want to have good nightlife and be reasonably close to work--live somewhere in Lincoln Park, River North, or Gold Coast. The public transportation from those areas to the financial district is quick and you'll be close to nightlife.

 

River North/Streeterville/Gold Coast is your best bet. Depending on where you live in that area, you will be 15-25mins walking distance from the office. Plus, there are all the bars, restaurants, etc you could ever want.

You can't walk to work from Lincoln Park/Lakeview, but it's a 15-25min "EL" train (public transit) ride. Plenty of night life as well, but I personally like having the option to walk to work.

Check out 1 Superior Place and Grand Plaza in Rivernorth/Gold Coast. Great buildings with lots of young proffesionals.

 

That's inline with the area, but there are so many places that are cheaper. Lakview can be had for 1800-2000. I would also look in the Wicker Park/Bucktown/Noble Square area. Tons of restaurants and bars, quick and easy commute downtown, and reasonable rent. Living in the loop is really dumb unless you're working 100 hours a week - it's dead on the weekend and everything is expensive. Pass.

 

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Silver6
 

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