Apartments in Chicago 'burbs...

[ILLINI]

I was wondering if anyone knows of any cheap apartments in the Chicago area. I've been looking in the papers and apartment guides, but word of mouth seems to lead to the best deals. It would have to be within an hours drive of DuPage Airport (KDPA). Not looking for anything special and i'd like to keep the rent down in the neighborhood of $400-550 for a studio/1 bedroom or $700-900 for a two bedroom. I would really appreciate any and all help that anyone may be able to offer.

 

[ValkariaKid]

I think it's going to be hard to find one that cheap. My girlfriend just got a 1bdr apartment in Aurora for $800, and that was considered a steal.
Aurora's nice. Her commute is only 45 min. to O'hare, and about 20 min to DuPage.

Good Luck

-Paul

 

[ILLINI]

I know they are not too common, but they are out there. A friend of mine is renting an apartment in the basement of an apartment building for around $500 in LaGrange. (Like I said, i'm not looking for anything special) Unfortunately, there aren't any other apts for rent in his building. I was hoping someone might me able to give me a hot tip.

I do appreciate the info though. Thank you.

 

[njcapt]

500 bucks in La Grange? He must share his room with a water heater (took me ten years of slaving to be able to afford to move back there). Look at the more blue collar suburbs away from the commuter rail lines. The best bet to find a lot of apartment ads is to get ahold of the local newspaper. Look up Liberty Press and Pioneer Press on the web for links to the local papers.

 

[A1FlyBoy]

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-newsstand

expect to pay at least $800 burbs and $1,250 and up closer to the city.

Oh, and these are studios/1bedroom.

 

[pilotguyt]

If you only need to be within an hour of dupage, try the far, far west suburbs. By this I mean, Sycamore, Dekalb etc. While these aren't the most entertaining cities in the world they will definitely be cheaper and provide easy access to DPA through 88, 64, or 38.

 

[Pilotadjuster]

burbs apts

My God--DeKalb is now a far west suburb? Place has grown a hell of a lot in the 9 years ive been away!

$500 in LaGrange was about what I saw 11 years ago for a basement apartment with electric heat (big$).

If you can take the drive you might look in Worth or Chicago Ridge (used to live in a nice apt 111th & Harlem, but it was $550/mo 11 yrs ago).

Dekalb is a college town and might have better options. Just a long way from Rush!

 

[brew3departure]

Apartments in Chicago area

I'll throw my .02 in here,

I've been commuting from the Oak Park area to DPA for almost 2 years, with a brief stint in MKE last summer. Just moved out to the Clarendon Hills area - you might want to try looking around there (Westmont/Downers Grove/Darien), also, friends of mine rent a finished basement in LaGrange for about $600/month.

Chicago Ridge, Worth, Alsip and Blue Island (to second what people have already said), but you might also luck out in Oak Lawn - maybe try close to the expressway (294).

$500 might be tough, but when I was looking in the area I am now, I found studio/one bedrooms in Glen Ellyn for not much more than that. That's a real easy commute to DPA - right down North Ave (if only it wasn't under construction).

I have no idea if there are apartments in the far Northwest - Hampshire/Marengo area - but if you're considering driving all the way from DeKalb, those are just as far and might be cheaper - but I'm not sure.

Hope this helps, happy hunting,
-brew3

 

[ILLINI]

I just wanted to thank everyone that has given me some ideas on where to look. I really appreciate it!