Should I Move Out (Chicago)?
I'll be 21 soon and I'm starting my senior year of undergrad in Chicago. I live in the suburbs with my mom. I'm considering moving out and wanted some insight.
I'll have class 2 days a week, so the commute isn't an issue. I'm just very tired of living at home and in the suburbs.
I have ~$20K liquid and a paid-off new car. I have my tuition funded as well. My future income streams are totally uncertain. I trade and have been making decent returns there. And I make ~$2,000/mo through Ebay, but that play only has about 6 months of life left. I have no real expenses right now. An apartment would run ~$500/month.
#1: Can I afford it? I've never lived on my own and am probably not factoring in some expenses I'll face.
#2: What would you do?
Do you think that the experience of living alone (with roomies) in the city over at home in the suburbs is worth the cost? Anything else I'm missing?
[quote=RustyFork] only has about 6 months of life left. I have no real expenses right now. An apartment would run ~$500/month. /quote]
Where the fuck are you planning on living in Chicago for $500? The cheapest 1BR I could find (and this was a few years ago) was $1000.
You can afford it and speaking as someone who moved out way before I was 18, it is absolutely worth the experience of being an actual, self-sufficient adult.
You're not in some ridiculously expensive city where the savings of living at home might actually start to make sense. Additional expenses above rent and parking go something along the lines of renter's insurance, utilities and toilet paper. Maybe laundry and food if you mom was still feeding you.
You're 21. It's about time. Life doesn't start until you leave your parent's house.
With roommates. It's a pretty standard going rate looking on Craigslist and my school's apartment site. I could go up to like $800 if I wanted to get fancy.
That's basically where I'm coming from. I want to be on my own so that I can grow as a person. Sounds lame, but I don't feel like an adult or a kid; it's a weird feeling.
I just wanna be smart about it, make sure I can afford it and that I do it right.
unless you are living in humboldt park, englewood, or Austin - that $500 needs to be revised badly (assuming this is a single)
Yes. The burbs blow. Live a little.
with roomie(s)
Dude you have no idea how much apts cost. Get out of your momma's basement and find out what the real world is about. I'm looking at apts in the city right now and we're talking $800+ per person with roommates.
I'm seeing $450-$700 on my school's website and a bit more on Craigslist. I go to UIC.
Stick it out at home until you graduate and land a job. You've managed to do very well and changing the underlying situation will bring all sorts of uncertainty, and more dangerously, will bring instability. When you change living situations, your thinking changes and you're very close to the promised land.
Don't screw up. Stay at home until you finish and land a job. You'll thank yourself later.
Well, the flip side of this is that there is never a great time to introduce change and uncertainty. The first time OP graduates and gets a FT job isn't going to be it either.
Might as well move out now. It's not that difficult. Thousands of college students do it every year. Plus, with only 2 days of classes a week, that leaves 5 to figure out all the details.
Go check out some of the apartments in person, Rusty. Price is important but so is quality. Living in a shithole makes some people feel like shit. Also, you only have two days of classes a week. If you're really worried about finances go get a part time job. It's part of the whole being an adult and figuring out how to pay your way through life thing.
Completely agree with this, as I feel I moved out a little too early. Wait until you graduate, land a job, a collect a few paychecks before moving out. I know 21 seems like it is time but the city is not going anywhere, save as much cash as possible and be 22-23 and have no worries about cash flow.
Make sure you aren't living near UIC. That is one of the shittiest places to live.
That's the whole point... to live close to campus. Why would I not live by UIC? It's cheap and it's by campus.
I'm from chicago and I recommend that you try living outside your parent's place for your senior year
I've lived alone for extended periods in a few cities in the U.S. and in Israel, Ukraine, and Mexico. I just want to make it permanent. The suburbs depress the shit out of me and I don't get along with my step dad.
That's what I figured. I'm emailing people from Craigslist and from my school's site now. Gonna drive to the city and check out some places tomorrow. I want to make sure that I like the place and the people.
Because isn't the whole point to have fun and be safe? UIC area is not too friendly. I would (and will starting this winter) live on the north side.
I don't see how living close to the school I attend would prevent me from having fun.
And it's not that unsafe. Lots of people get robbed, but I'm sure I'll be fine.
Hey if you wanna go that way, that's your choice. As I'm sure your aware, UIC is a commuter school. Living close to it doesn't give you any real benefits other than it's easy to get to class. Since you're only in class 2 days week I would live where the fun is at in the city. Spend more, live on the north side, get some roommates, feel safe.
I'd pay more and spend more time getting to campus. And I still go to campus on days I don't have class sometimes.
I would be willing to pay more to have more fun. But I don't see why I can't just go from my cheaper and closer to campus apartment to wherever there's something going on.
If you aren't going to at least live in the West Loop, you should stay home and save the money. UIC is a commuter school and the campus is shit. It's in a terrible part of the city and school isn't going to get you ahead, so might as well stay home and save the $.
I don't know why this is so funny to me, but it is.
oh shit, I didn't realize this was from a year ago. my bad
I don't know anything about Chicago. How would the UIC area be different from the West Loop? Where can I learn about the different Chicago neighborhoods? And why do you think that living by UIC is a bad idea?
I always get crime alert emails, but the area looks fine and I've always felt safe. I know lots of people who live in off-campus apartments close to UIC and they have no complaints.
In general the better areas are northwest or north of UIC. Some neighborhoods to consider (for partying) are Lincoln Park and Lakeview.
West Loop has been gentrified and has lots of upscale restaurants, bars and condos. That means it isn't as cheap as it used to be (similar to South Loop), but it gives you good places to go out, meet people, etc. Plus, you could easily get to UIC via walking, cab, bus, etc.
The other thought is to live on the North side where the action is (i.e. Lincoln Park/Lakeview) and commute down via the EL.
If you want to do it, then go for it. It's not fun compared to other neighborhoods, but I don't know what you really care about.
What do you mean by that? Like, why can't I party at apartments by UIC? And living by UIC, what's stopping me from going out anywhere in the city?
I just mean the bar scene and atmosphere is very much party friendly. Lots of young working professionals with some college kids up there. Nothing is stopping you sir. Just convenience, safety, and quality of the area. West loop works too for an in-between area.
What are would most of the UIC apartments be considered in? I've been to a lot and, like I said, they seem safe and the conditions are fine. I've seen far worse on the West Side. I shouldn't even say "worse" because it implies that the UIC area is bad. And I keep hearing how bad it is, but I'm not seeing anything concerning.
So from what I understand, I can pay ~$500-$600 to live by UIC, walk 5 minutes to campus, and go out anywhere. The city is still relatively small.
Or I can pay $800+, live farther from campus in a nicer area, but be closer to nightlife.
Doesn't it make sense to pay less, live close to campus, and take a cab when I go out? Or am I missing something?
It's just a matter of preference man. For reference, what suburb are you currently living in? That's true that you can pay those amounts and that's what you'll get. I think most people prefer to be able to walk when they go out thus the preference for those locations, but it's up to you. I am not a fan of cabs so that's how I feel. If you live close to UIC definitely make sure you have a few roommates. You need to do a lot of scouting of the areas you're considering for sure. Places on the north side are also close to the lake, and wrigley. It depends on what kind of things you like to do for fun for sure too. If you're going to sit inside and play video games then go cheap maybe.
I think the only way to start getting a feel for it all is to just get a place somewhere. If I feel like moving, I will.
I'm just tired of living at home. Tired of being surrounded by boring middle class white people. Tired of having to sneak in girls at the age of 20. Tired of my mom yelling at me that the house smells like pot and I drink too much. Tired of seeing my bitter ass Rx-addicted step dad whom I haven't spoken with in 8 years slump around the house in his underwear. Tired of the Metra.
You get it. I just wanna leave. I want to live a fun city life.
For sure dude. Just do some research and take the leap haha.
Not really relevant but I just feel like ranting about how cheap it is to live in Chicago. I have no idea how they do it.
Me: Pay $1,400 for a bedroom in a house in a Boston suburb.
My friend in Chicago: Pay $1,400 for a 1-bedroom on the 24th floor of a building with 2 wall of panoramic windows.
Fuark.
There is a substantial risk that your mom and the home environment in general is keeping you on track more than you realize. You should experience college while living on your own as it will do wonders for your social life. BUT if you feel yourself getting off track, grades falling, cutting class, etc then swallow your pride and immediately move back home.
Starting FT I think may be the easier time to make this change. The regimented lifestyle of FT work will keep you on track. Having class only two days a week I think is actually a negative for this situation.
OP look at it this way: a year from now you'll be calling all your own shots. You'll be done with school, working, and then the only variable you have to juggle becomes where you want to live. Think in terms of science where the best results are provided by measuring things as you change one variable at a time....you know what's causing what.
It's tempting to move out now, but I'd suggest just doing what you know will work as opposed to taking a risk before you have resources to burn. Then, when you start working, you can change up your living situation as much as you like because your source of stability is your job. Right now, it sounds like your core of stability is at home, and given that a lot of things can go wrong before you start working, reduce risk as much as possible to get the best results.
Think in terms of the rest of your life: sitting tight for basically 9 months is a small price to pay for the certainty that you will have control over your decisions. You're going to do as you like, this is just my opinion, but it seems fairly obvious that whatever situation you're in has enabled you to do far better than the majority of kids with your background. You've come this far, don't start changing the formula now.
This is assuming I can't keep my shit together.
Move when you get a full time job, and then you can put your savings towards buying something instead of wasting it on rent.
So, I'm an East Coaster and I don't really know anything about the living dynamic at IUC, is that main campus... like where the Fighting Illini play? I was thinking, why don't you just get a student house with a few bro's either on campus or adjacent where all the other students rage. I went to Penn State and there were a ton of good areas to live around campus (almost all the frats including mine were off campus). To me, you'd have a fun senior year and then could move out next summer and get a place in downtown Chi or where ever you take a job.
Is wilding really bad in Chicago this summer? I know that the city is having major crime problems during summertime with bands of south side teens coming in and wreaking havoc. The mainstream media has basically covered this up.
You would love for that to be the case but in any circumstance, Chicago shits on Philadelphia. Nobody but you would wonder around the south side.
I agree that Chicago is superior to Philly.
This isn't happening in south side. It's happening in downtown along michigan avenue, river north, gold coast, and streeterville. Some stories did make it into the chicago papers, but it's largely been neglected. Second City Cop blog has done a good job discussing what's going on.
I've never been to the south side, so calm down.
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