What kind of housing is available in Chicago that works with a 1 yo and 2 small dogs?|194095

I_m looking for something with a small backyard that is in Chicago. Is there any housing that exists like this. What neighborhoods? Where is a good website I can look at real estate?

Here_s what I think you_re looking at. If you have a decent amount to spend on rent a month, say around $1,000-$2,000 a month you could afford a pet friendly apartment (I know you said house, I_ll explain later) near the lake _ beaches that would be **large enough** for your family:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/62��
(the map links don_t work, here_s the intersection:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q_hl=en_ge��


I found that by including _pet friendly_ in a apartment/housing search on chicago.craigslist.org -
http://chicago.craigslist.org/search/apa��
and that_s right by Montrose Beach in Uptown which is one of the most dog friendly places in the city...Montrose Beach is is probably the only leash free beach in the city.

Finding a house to rent in Chicago anywhere near the choice neighborhoods is very difficult and will be expensive if you find it. There are lots of new town homes, and condos which is basically just like living in an aprtment, and in all of those cases you_re probably 99% going to have to walk your dog off property to a park or open area every time it needs to go out, and this is going to suck when it_s -10 outside in February.

I don_t know exactly what you_re looking for in terms of living in the city, but my me, my wife _ our 5 year old need to live in the city and we tried living in Lincoln Park right down the street from everything including the free zoo...we liked it for a while but for what you pay to live in a neighborhood like that, you don_t get much space for your money. We looked around and found a place on the south/west end of the city, it_s a house with a cobblestone backyard, and an upstairs _ downstairs. We still have access to all of the city buses _ trains _ it_s only a half hour on the train or bus to all of the things we like to do in the city, or maybe 20 minutes if we drive. We pay $900 a month for our place, that_s way less than what we paid in Lincoln Park.

If you have a car you need to think about parking it too. In the nice neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, parking is hard to find as you won_t get a designated spot unless you pay an extra $200 a month for it - and with a one year old, do you want to walk a block or two to your car every time? Basically my single friends are okay with that stuff so they can be near everything, I_m not because I want more space, and I can park in front of my house.

Wow that is VERY hard to find in Chicago. If you go to the suberbs then you will find what you want (trust me I live there) If you have to be downtown there are some bigger condos and parks but not a private backyard. Sorry about my answer but good luck! =D

I_m going to assume that since you_re looking for a house (and you do mean a HOUSE, right? and not an apartment) with a backyard you have that kind of money. In that case, there are plenty of places to search on the web. I_ve included a few links below:


http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified��



http://realestate.yahoo.com/Illinois/Chi��



http://www.chicagohomeestates.com/



http://www.rubloff.com/


As for WHERE to look, that_s hard to say. Some people will tell you the neighborhoods that are already established with nice shops, etc. But because those neighborhods are already established, they_re also expensive. The best bargains are in neighborhoods that are up and coming but not fully overrun yet. Places where the houses might need a little work but the neighborhood is slowly turning the corner. You_re best bet is to search on the sites above and make a note of ones that look interesting, then come back here and ask about the neighborhood. YOu_ve picked the right time to look for a house, though. It_s a buyers market right now. Good luck.

You might be able to find a townhouse with a small patch of grass depending on how much you_re looking to spend and where you_re willing to live. Houses in the city are crazy expensive. You can go to www.erealty.com or www.realtor.com to look at Chicago real estate. I like erealty because you can search by neighborhood but you have to set up a username and stuff so it is kind of a pain. Good luck!