Help! Need apartment in Chicago area..on a budget

[Chelley00]

Just as a point of reference, my ex is paying $1,100 a month for rent on a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment in the Naperville/Wheaton area. They moved there from a 4 bedroom older rental house that was $1,800 a month.

 

[nilseks]

You've been given some great tips and advice on certain areas. We moved from the south burbs of Chicago to southern WI a year ago. DH asked co-workers to give him input on different areas. Your husband might want to give that a try. If you have kids, you can use greatschools . net to get an idea about school districts, although keep in mind it is just a guideline and you can't put all your stock in test scores. You're definitely going to get more for your money in Indiana, but a lot of that area is spotty and you just need to do your research and be selective.

A very good friend of mine lives down near St. Louis (Alton) and the cost of living is so, so, SO much cheaper down there. If you truly only have $650 to budget for a living space, your husband might want to re-think whether this is a good job move for him. Salaries are definitely much higher up here than in the St. Louis area, and your husband probably needs to be compensated properly for the move. Most everything will cost more up here--rent, utilities, groceries. There's far more traffic so he will spend more on gas, etc. etc. All things to think about when evaluating a move.

 

[daughtersrus]

There is decent housing out there and in Plainfield, just make sure you figure in the cost of gas in your budget. I55 is never not backed up.

Have you been on I55 lately? The traffic is HORRIBLE with the construction, especially coming from Plainfield. The area from Rt 30 to Weber Rd is a parking lot in the morning and from I355 to Weber in the evening.

You can finder cheaper housing in Bolingbrook and Aurora but you have to be extremely careful about the neighborhoods there as there are some bad ones.

I'm not sure about apartment rentals but Bolingbrook was recently voted one of the best places to live by Money Magazine.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/PL1707133.html

 

[snickerharley]

Thank you all so much for your help I think we are going to look in the Indiana area someone mentioned Hammond and I think that is a good option. This has just been crazy we found out last wednesday that we were moving...with only 2 1/2 weeks to uproot. Yes he did get a slight COL raise but we were trying to find a palce similar in cost/ size in order to save more but we now realize that is unrealistic.

 

[Momto3Girls&Max]

Have you been on I55 lately? The traffic is HORRIBLE with the construction, especially coming from Plainfield. The area from Rt 30 to Weber Rd is a parking lot in the morning and from I355 to Weber in the evening.


I'm not sure about apartment rentals but Bolingbrook was recently voted one of the best places to live by Money Magazine.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/PL1707133.html

That's what stacyp9 was trying to say. That I55 is always backed up.

I'm not sure what was considered by Money Magazine when selecting Bolingbrook as one of the best places to live. As with any other place, there are some really great areas in Bolingbrook and some really sketchy ones. It would be best to visit the area to decide if it is a good fit or not.

 

[aclov]

If your looking in Hammond, try south Hammond, the area around Purdue and Hessville area - the streets are named after states. I'd stay away from North Hammond or anything around Calumet Ave. Highland is a nicer if you wanted to go further down, but Hammond would be closer to Calumet City.

 

[stacyp9]

Have you been on I55 lately? The traffic is HORRIBLE with the construction, especially coming from Plainfield. The area from Rt 30 to Weber Rd is a parking lot in the morning and from I355 to Weber in the evening.

I'm not sure about apartment rentals but Bolingbrook was recently voted one of the best places to live by Money Magazine.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/PL1707133.html

Whoops, that was an unfortunate typo. I drive it every day and I agree. It is always awful and rush hour never seems to end.

I know. There are some very lovely areas of Bolingbrook, primarily west of 53. There are also some neighborhoods with significant gang and drug problems and a significant amount of section 8 housing.