Finding a place to live in Chicago is stressful enough if you’ve lived here forever. When you’re fresh out of college and broke, it can be a bit more difficult. I relied on my dad to help me find a good deal, since I had never been apartment hunting (a benefit of being a sorority girl — you have a place to live). My other friends who recently moved to Chicago had their own tactics, mainly using the Internet to find apartments for rent. I’ve heard many success stories about Craigslist from people who used the Web site to find apartments or move in with people looking for a roommate. Looking for roommates is kind of like online dating; it’s hit or miss whether or not the situation will work out.
On Craigslist, one of my girlfriends found two guys living in Lincoln Park looking for a roommate. She jumped at the chance to live in the neighborhood, and is happy she did (the apartment is two blocks from Lincoln, Halsted, and Fullerton, a partier’s paradise. I’m sure that had nothing to do with the situation). Considering her three-bedroom’s location, she got a great deal; they each pay $533, not including utilities. Another acquaintance scoured Craigslist and found a spacious two-bedroom with vaulted ceilings above the Bar Louie at Chicago Avenue and Orleans Street for around the same price.
My friend in law school found a studio in the Gold Coast for $800 a month including utilities. But if she had worked a bit harder, like another girlfriend of mine, she may have been able to bargain her rent down. An apartment in a building on Lake Shore Drive, right across from North Avenue beach, hadn’t been sold in ages. My friend convinced the leasing agents to lower her rent by $200. She and her roommate pay $800 each which includes heat and cable.
We want to hear your success stories and your horror stories about apartment hunting.