Going to Northwestern...Advice on Chicago housing?

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Doc Ivy

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Hey guys, just wanted to pick your brains as to how you are going about finding affordable housing.

Does anyone know about the subsidized student housing (not dorms) Galter Carriage and Worcester? Rent? Availability?
Is there anyone form chicago who can give us the heads up on reasonably priced neighborhoods, close to the school?

Thanks in advance guys.

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The subsidized apartment application needs to be turned in 6 months before they decide. I heard it is really hard to get. I found a nice apartment magazine on a street corner that lists a ton of apartments. Hope this helps. Take Care. Paul
 
Hi, I live in Chicago (in Lakeview) and know a few people who go to NU. Most of these students who live off campus tend to live right near the school in streeterville, which in my opinion is very expensive (probably the lowest you could find is 1000-1200 for a one bedroom--slightly less for a studio or convertable). I think their subsidized housing is a little better than that, but I'm not sure, I don't know anyone who lives in it. The most popular place for students (and most young recent college grads) to live in Chicago is usually on the North side--Lincoln park, Lakeview (including wrigleyville), and Uptown would be good examples. The further North you go the cheaper you get, but also parts of Uptown aren't really that nice. Staying closer to the Lake is nice because then you are close to the Red line and buses that go along lakeshore and michigan. If you don't have a car make sure you check out the availability of public transportation around your chosen apartment. Apartments are much cheaper here than near the school (but still some of the more expensive places in the city), I pay around $1200 for a two bedroom and I know people in studios for around $600/$700 in Lincoln park, but you have to keep in mind the cost of transportation, A CTA pass costs $75/month. I've heard that areas more Northwest of the loop like Bucktown and Wicker park (out along the Blue line towards Ohare) can be slightly cheaper and are about an equivalent distance from the gold coast, but I don't know too much about housing in that part of the city.

A good way to find out where you would want to live is to check out the chicago reader online at www.chicagoreader.com and click on the link for the space finder. You can use this to find apartments for rent, or you can just use the two links with the map of chicago and its zip codes and list of neighborhoods and their zip codes to see where the different parts of the city are. So you have some idea of the places that you think would be close enough to NU for you. Good luck in your search!

Goofygirl
 
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Just want to lend support to goofygirl- those neighborhoods are very popular and for good reason: relatively cheap, fun (unless you hate having parks, bars, and beaches around), and easy to commute from.

Check out places near fullerton st, north ave, belmont ave, and addison st (although not on those streets because they are quite busy.)
 
I've lived on the north side for the past three years, as you might figure from my handle. I definitely recommend the "Chicago Reader" newspaper for trying to find an apartment. The website lets you search for apartments by zip code and neighborhood, which is very handy.

In terms of locations, just make sure you're near an "El" stop and you'll be fine. The med school is right off of the red line at Chicago Avenue, so it's readily accessible no matter where you plan to live -- public transportation in Chicago is fantastic. I'd recommend living somewhere on the near northside of the city - it's where most young people live. The sweet spot in terms of price/location is between Armitage (2000N) and Irving Park (4000N). Just be aware that you'll generally get what you pay for in Chicago. If anyone has any other questions about where to live, feel free to PM me.

Wrigley
 
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