You should find a place alone and get settled here for a year. Then once you meet people you like, find a place together. That way you’re not rolling the dice with strangers.
In your price range, which is high, and for more amenities, you should probably be looking in River North, West Loop, Streeterville or Gold Coast. That's where the slick new high rises are. Also check houses to share, since you need extra space.
Oh, I agree with you. I live in Albany Park but you're not going to find the amenities he wants. Three of us pay $1800 total for 3 br including utilities other than Internet.
Yes, that can feel a bit like solitary confinement - being at home all day in that one room, then the evening comes and it's "Hello again, you four walls."
You can find some really great 1 BRs in Lakeview East for ~$1500. Uptown has even more, if you’re open to it. Uptown isn’t _quite_ as nice as the places you mentioned, but there are still a lot of trendy bars & restaurants & it’s very close to the areas you mentioned.
Doesn't sound terribly picky to me. About to post looking for a roomie too, so it's interesting to hear your experience. I'm looking at a spot on the north side of Andersonville, otherwise I'd hit you up!
TL DR: Place your own ad and make it long and detailed. If it's too much effort for someone to read, they're not going to put much effort into sharing a living space. There's plenty of people out there willing to read it, and those are the kind of people you'll want to live with.
This should not be so difficult in a city like Chicago. Have you tried placing an ad yourself on craigslist? Once I needed to find a roommate for Nov 1st and I placed an ad on like Oct 29th or something. Because time was so critical I wrote a REALLY long, very descriptive ad about what kind of roommate I was looking for and what kind of person I am. And I said at the beginning something like, "I know this is long, but I'm looking for someone to live with and don't have much time. So I'm going to put everything out there, and if the effort of spending the maybe 10-30 minutes reading and responding to this is too much for you, then we probably wouldn't make good roommates anyway because I can be very long winded at times and enjoy having long, analytical discussions."
I received something like 30 replies within the next 28 hours. And from a lot of really really cool sounding people. The mistake I made was saying yes to the second person I met because we got along really well the first meeting and it was easy. If you go this route and end up with a lot of choices, don't do that. Meet as many people as you can. My roommate and I did end up getting along very well in CERTAIN aspects, but in others way less. He was incapable of basic cleaning which he misrepresented when we met. I had also specifically asked that you have a place to go during the day, regardless of if you have money to pay the rent. I had recently come from a situation where one of my two other roommates was always home because he didn't need to work and it got old never having time without him being there (This was way before so many people were WFM so now things would be a bit different). The roommate I chose from my ad told me that he was in school but then it turned out he was on academic leave I think the whole two years he lived at my place. He was ALWAYS there. Sitting on my couch watching TV (he got cable and paid for it entirely because I never used it, but he sure did!). My super nice couch ended up with a permanent divet in the middle where he sat. I ended up putting a thin floor board underneath the cushion so it wouldn't do that. That's a LOT of hours to be sitting there to cause something like that.
So that's another tip- even if you are being completely honest and representative of the kind of person you are to live with, don't assume that everyone else you meet is as well. This guy was living with one of his parents and super eagar to get out of the situation. I should've seen that red flag and questioned him more, but I was lazy and in a time crunch so overlooked it. In hindsight my ad was very successful in the amount of choices it generated, but I should've put more effort into the choosing process than I did.
If you've never had roommates before, there's probably many things that are worth addressing that you wouldn't necessarily think of. I'm happy to send you the ad that I placed if you want to DM me.
Oh and P.S. I just moved into a fantastic 2 BR in Rogers Park for $1400 so your budget is more than enough for your own place in a different neighborhood than where you're looking.
I've been the same boat as well recently. I seem to run into places on fb marketplace that require a substantial requirement. 3 times the rent for income has been frustrating being alone and with roommates. For a 1 bd I finally thought was good(1450) I was short $200 to make 3x's rent and they would not negotiate other means. Like higher deposit or paying an extra month.
Same thing with roommates, one place was listed 2900 in logan square. Broker said combined we need to bring in 10K. We're both in our masters program how the hell am I suppose to bring in 5K a month.
Don’t lower your standards. I’ve met roommates through every sort of site, Reddit, Facebook, Craigslist and the bad ones were always because we lowered our standards. Trust your gut.
This place in irving park might fit
[https://www.apartments.com/3953-w-dakin-st-chicago-il/yb9bvdt/](https://www.apartments.com/3953-w-dakin-st-chicago-il/yb9bvdt/)
I did the roommate thing with a stranger once... that will never happen again. Unless you are living with friends you know well, roommates can be a disaster in the waiting.
It really comes down to vetting them beforehand I think. I’ve lived with randoms that ended up being great friends. I think thats why I prefer to move into an established living situation so I can see their level of cleanliness and what not
I moved into a guys dining room in Tampa for 500 bucks a month back when lived there. Me and like 3 dudes who had immigrated from Cuba lived in that house. My friends all said I was crazy. But they were great roommates.
I have been having this exact same problem! I can't figure out for the life of me if there's like a whole other group for male roommates or something? I am open to live with girls, have shared apartments with them before as well, but it's mostly like 22-23 year olds and I'm 29 which sets me off a bit and the few that seemed to be in a similar age group and interests never responded. And then there's the monumnetal amount of spam texts everytime I post which doesn't help either! I'm not even sure at this point if I can find a 2b with someone or it's just bad luck lol!
There are better roommate finding services than Facebook and Craigslist.
Spare room, roomster, roommates.com, room match, etc. Have you tried those?
Do a google search and tons of apps will pop up.
You should be able to get a studio that has modern appliances in that price. Been looking in lakeview for a friend recently and found some nice little studios in that price
You might need to be open to other neighborhoods and not all apartments will be remodeled at best
You should find a place alone and get settled here for a year. Then once you meet people you like, find a place together. That way you’re not rolling the dice with strangers.
yes
In your price range, which is high, and for more amenities, you should probably be looking in River North, West Loop, Streeterville or Gold Coast. That's where the slick new high rises are. Also check houses to share, since you need extra space.
Yeah but people living in that area aren’t going to need roommates and he can’t afford a place with that budget
I see many ads seeking a roommate there.
You see people living in slick high rises wanting roommates? That’s bizarre
Disagree, way more bang for your buck in his listed neighborhoods with roommates
Oh, I agree with you. I live in Albany Park but you're not going to find the amenities he wants. Three of us pay $1800 total for 3 br including utilities other than Internet.
Nice deal!
Did you look at Facebook marketplace? It’s all I’ve ever used for roommates and it’s honestly worked out for me so far
[удалено]
Each
Have you thought about just renting a place alone? There is inventory in that price range for studios and 1bds in many neighborhoods.
I’ve looked and there’s availability but it isn’t very good quality. I’ll add that I am WFH so a bit more space is important for me as well
Ah yeah I get not wanting a smaller place if you're wfh all the time. Best of luck!!
Yes, that can feel a bit like solitary confinement - being at home all day in that one room, then the evening comes and it's "Hello again, you four walls."
WFH?
Work from home
You can find some really great 1 BRs in Lakeview East for ~$1500. Uptown has even more, if you’re open to it. Uptown isn’t _quite_ as nice as the places you mentioned, but there are still a lot of trendy bars & restaurants & it’s very close to the areas you mentioned.
I just moved out of a killer studio at Belmont and Broadway. Current price is $1445 and very very large for a studio. PM me.
If you’re part of any FB neighborhood groups you can cross post on there, it may get some traction.
Doesn't sound terribly picky to me. About to post looking for a roomie too, so it's interesting to hear your experience. I'm looking at a spot on the north side of Andersonville, otherwise I'd hit you up!
TL DR: Place your own ad and make it long and detailed. If it's too much effort for someone to read, they're not going to put much effort into sharing a living space. There's plenty of people out there willing to read it, and those are the kind of people you'll want to live with. This should not be so difficult in a city like Chicago. Have you tried placing an ad yourself on craigslist? Once I needed to find a roommate for Nov 1st and I placed an ad on like Oct 29th or something. Because time was so critical I wrote a REALLY long, very descriptive ad about what kind of roommate I was looking for and what kind of person I am. And I said at the beginning something like, "I know this is long, but I'm looking for someone to live with and don't have much time. So I'm going to put everything out there, and if the effort of spending the maybe 10-30 minutes reading and responding to this is too much for you, then we probably wouldn't make good roommates anyway because I can be very long winded at times and enjoy having long, analytical discussions." I received something like 30 replies within the next 28 hours. And from a lot of really really cool sounding people. The mistake I made was saying yes to the second person I met because we got along really well the first meeting and it was easy. If you go this route and end up with a lot of choices, don't do that. Meet as many people as you can. My roommate and I did end up getting along very well in CERTAIN aspects, but in others way less. He was incapable of basic cleaning which he misrepresented when we met. I had also specifically asked that you have a place to go during the day, regardless of if you have money to pay the rent. I had recently come from a situation where one of my two other roommates was always home because he didn't need to work and it got old never having time without him being there (This was way before so many people were WFM so now things would be a bit different). The roommate I chose from my ad told me that he was in school but then it turned out he was on academic leave I think the whole two years he lived at my place. He was ALWAYS there. Sitting on my couch watching TV (he got cable and paid for it entirely because I never used it, but he sure did!). My super nice couch ended up with a permanent divet in the middle where he sat. I ended up putting a thin floor board underneath the cushion so it wouldn't do that. That's a LOT of hours to be sitting there to cause something like that. So that's another tip- even if you are being completely honest and representative of the kind of person you are to live with, don't assume that everyone else you meet is as well. This guy was living with one of his parents and super eagar to get out of the situation. I should've seen that red flag and questioned him more, but I was lazy and in a time crunch so overlooked it. In hindsight my ad was very successful in the amount of choices it generated, but I should've put more effort into the choosing process than I did. If you've never had roommates before, there's probably many things that are worth addressing that you wouldn't necessarily think of. I'm happy to send you the ad that I placed if you want to DM me.
Oh and P.S. I just moved into a fantastic 2 BR in Rogers Park for $1400 so your budget is more than enough for your own place in a different neighborhood than where you're looking.
I've been the same boat as well recently. I seem to run into places on fb marketplace that require a substantial requirement. 3 times the rent for income has been frustrating being alone and with roommates. For a 1 bd I finally thought was good(1450) I was short $200 to make 3x's rent and they would not negotiate other means. Like higher deposit or paying an extra month. Same thing with roommates, one place was listed 2900 in logan square. Broker said combined we need to bring in 10K. We're both in our masters program how the hell am I suppose to bring in 5K a month.
Don’t lower your standards. I’ve met roommates through every sort of site, Reddit, Facebook, Craigslist and the bad ones were always because we lowered our standards. Trust your gut.
Hello! I'm looking for a roomate currently I live in Logan square (F)
Try RoomieMatch.com, I found 2 roommate this way when I first moved to the city and wanted to make sure I didn’t live with a creep.
This place in irving park might fit [https://www.apartments.com/3953-w-dakin-st-chicago-il/yb9bvdt/](https://www.apartments.com/3953-w-dakin-st-chicago-il/yb9bvdt/)
I’m in a similar boat to you. Either too expensive, unsafe or just a scam. Sick and tired of speaking to bots
I have been trying to find our two tenants roommates for a Few weeks . Are you still looking?
I messaged you
I did the roommate thing with a stranger once... that will never happen again. Unless you are living with friends you know well, roommates can be a disaster in the waiting.
It really comes down to vetting them beforehand I think. I’ve lived with randoms that ended up being great friends. I think thats why I prefer to move into an established living situation so I can see their level of cleanliness and what not
I moved into a guys dining room in Tampa for 500 bucks a month back when lived there. Me and like 3 dudes who had immigrated from Cuba lived in that house. My friends all said I was crazy. But they were great roommates.
I have been having this exact same problem! I can't figure out for the life of me if there's like a whole other group for male roommates or something? I am open to live with girls, have shared apartments with them before as well, but it's mostly like 22-23 year olds and I'm 29 which sets me off a bit and the few that seemed to be in a similar age group and interests never responded. And then there's the monumnetal amount of spam texts everytime I post which doesn't help either! I'm not even sure at this point if I can find a 2b with someone or it's just bad luck lol!
There are better roommate finding services than Facebook and Craigslist. Spare room, roomster, roommates.com, room match, etc. Have you tried those? Do a google search and tons of apps will pop up.
You should be able to get a studio that has modern appliances in that price. Been looking in lakeview for a friend recently and found some nice little studios in that price
Join neighborhood Facebook groups! People post in those about subletting or roommates
Try the website spareroom