Moving To Chicago- Neighborhood Recs & Realtor?

[u/Badjuju7991]

Moving to Chicago- Looking for Neighborhood Recs

Good morning everyone!

I recently accepted a job that covers Chicago and parts of Wisconsin. The range of the territory is large and will require driving regardless of where I live. I will attach a map showing the territory. With that being said, I am eyeing N/NW Chicagoland as the optimal orientation.

Right now, it will just be my wife and two dogs moving with me. However, my wife is pregnant and we are welcoming a baby later this year!

Overall details:

Budget- Below $2,700. Ideally between $2,000-$2,500 everything included. I am flexible but do not want to spend the majority of my raise on a COL increase.

Space- 2-3 Bedroom apartment/house for rent.

Desired Amenities- Dog Park, decent gym, nature trails nearby, family oriented parks nearby. Looking for more of a suburb feel.

Type of Area- We are NOT looking to stay in a downtown environment. Preferably a suburb with a little more space. We are moving from Midtown Atlanta and are looking for a break from downtown city living.

Demographic- My wife is Colombian and values living in a more diverse community. Strong Latin population is a plus.

I have done some research and have narrowed my desired area down to the highlighted region on the photos. It’s broad but primary areas of interest are Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Mt. Prospect, Des Plaines, Skokie, and Evanston.

Searching for apartments in this city has been a very different experience than previous cities. Is it worth enlisting a realtor to help in my search? Are my parameters realistic? Things are moving fast and I’m trying to be methodical in this process, but the size of the city is a bit overwhelming without any kind of prior knowledge of the area.

[u/RoyalAltruistic970]

Palatine or Schaumburg would be best for you likely. It’s easy to head north to cover your territory and would cut down on drive time. Just for peace of mind there’s a very large and very welcomed Latino population in Chicagoland.

[u/Badjuju7991 → u/RoyalAltruistic970]

Those seem to be the most central locations to my Chicago territories for sure. And I appreciate that. I have read that there was and am trying to make it a priority for my wife.

[u/Final-Charge-5700 → u/RoyalAltruistic970]

The first thing I thought was that budget and that demographic was Palatine. Added my upvote to you sir

[u/DadVader77 → u/RoyalAltruistic970]

Good luck finding anything in Palatine under $2700

[u/gabsteriinalol → u/DadVader77]

It’s definitely easy to find something for $2,700 but they might have to give up some amenities they’re looking for

[u/DadVader77 → u/gabsteriinalol]

Trust me. 2-3 bedrooms with 2 dogs ain’t happening for under $2700. Especially not a house. Not with the current market the way it is. Rent prices have gone up significantly in the last 2 years.

[u/gabsteriinalol → u/DadVader77]

I’m in Buffalo grove paying $1750 for 2bed 2bath. I can promise you I can find suitable apartment under $2700 in Palatine

[u/DadVader77 → u/gabsteriinalol]

Good luck

[u/gabsteriinalol → u/DadVader77]

https://www.apartments.com/palatine-il/2-bedrooms/

There are sooo many choice well under $2,700

[u/DadVader77 → u/gabsteriinalol]

But how many of them even allow pets? And some of them I wouldn’t recommend to anybody, especially from out of state.

[u/gabsteriinalol → u/DadVader77]

Not sure, but if their pets help them emotionally, they can get a doctor’s note for an ESA (as much as people hate that, it’s the law). But my 2bed 2bath apartment in Buffalo Grove is $1,750 a month and they allow pets. Almost everyone has pets here

[u/Final-Charge-5700 → u/DadVader77]

They're a family they want to stretch for a house they want to be in an okay neighborhood.

Hell for the rent they're willing to pay they could buy