How to Find Cheap Apartments in Chicago
How to find cheap apartments in Chicago: Learn about the neighborhoods.
As with any city, apartment rents vary dramatically by neighborhood. Areas like Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and the Gold Coast will always be expensive because of their proximity to the lake and to conventionally popular restaurants, bars, and shopping. The more recently gentrified Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods are also pricier these days thanks to their hipness – but they’re still much more affordable than the traditional moneyed areas. The makeover of this Wicker Park zone has spilled northwest into Logan Square and even directly west into Humboldt Park: both are quite cheap and welcoming, even if slightly grittier.
Other popular but affordable neighborhoods on the north side include Ravenswood/Lincoln Square, Uptown, Edgewater/Andersonville, and Rogers Park (which is way north but full of cheap, quality apartments). Last but not least, the Pilsen neighborhood, a bit southwest of the Loop, is worth a mention because rents are amazingly cheap and an artists’ colony has begun to thrive there. For brief details about all these neighborhoods (and others), visit www.chicagoneighobrhoods.cc.
How to find cheap apartments in Chicago: Hit the pavement.
Many of the best deals are unadvertised in publications – buildings with nothing more than a sign in the window indicating an available apartment. If you have a neighborhood in mind and the time to walk around with a cell phone and a notepad, by all means do it. For all the large, bureaucratic property management companies in Chicago, there are still a lot of friendly landlords who own just a handful of buildings or who rent out space above their owner-operated stores cheaply without print/online ads.
How to find cheap apartments in Chicago: Use Craigslist.
Chicago’s Craigslist is one of the largest around, making it a must-search database for cheap apartments and roommate situations, many of which are well under $500. In fact, I just ran a search for the low price range of $300-400 and found over 200 results within the last 30 days. Often frequented by the under-35 set, Craigslist has an orientation toward hipper, popular neighborhoods – but it’s used by people of all ages and people seeking housing throughout the city. This is how I found my own obscenely cheap roommate scenario.
How to find cheap apartments in Chicago: Read the Chicago Reader
This “alternative” weekly newspaper includes a hefty and well-organized classified section that actually groups apartment rentals by type and price, saving time and frustration. For example, there are sections for Studio Apartments under $500, Studio Apartments $500-599, etc. It’s a quick and easy way to sift through rentals, and landlords/companies know that a sizable part of the Reader’s readership is scouring for cheap housing.
Good luck! Chances are that you’ll find so many cheap apartments in Chicago that the problem will be picking just one place to call home.
