The French Pastry School - Moving to Chicago

Depending on where you live, moving to Chicago for six months is no easy feat.

     Getting accepted to the French Pastry School is just the beginning of a very intense learning curve.  Students come from all over the world and there are many ways to find temporary housing.  There are sites dedicated to foreign exchange student housing, roommate sharing and house stays.  I was not interested in living in a stranger's home or in having a roommate.

     I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is ninety miles directly north of Chicago on Lake Michigan.  Many Milwaukeans who attend FPS take the Amtrak or drive each day.  This is how it breaks down by the numbers

     

      Amtrak

          $24    one way

          $48    round trip 

          $384  per week

          $960  per month

     

    Driving - one way

          90 miles, 

          1 hour 37 minutes (without traffic) 

          $10 gas 

          $2.35 tolls

          $14 validated parking

     

     Monthly cost of driving

          $755.20

     I chose to move to downtown Chicago to save myself the time and stress of the commute.  Once I made the decision to move, I had to work quickly to secure a place to live in time for classes to begin on July 7th.

    After familiarizing myself with neighborhoods and the mass transit system, I started with Chicago Apartment Finders and Craig's List Chicago.  I quickly found out that leasing agents, and most buildings for that matter, do not work with short term lessees.  I trolled the sublet page on Craig's List for almost two weeks.  A friend mentioned a realtor in Chicago who could help me out.  He doesn't normally handle renters but was willing to help.

     Each day I received an MLS listing with possible apartments that fit within the range of price, amenities, location and ability to sublease after six months.  Surprisingly, many buildings will not even allow sublets.  Here were my criteria:

• Rent between $800-$1200
• Studio/Convertible 
• Within 5 blocks of a train or bus
• Doorman
• Safe neighborhood
• Clean kitchen, bath and floors

     The Chicago market has more people who want to rent than there are apartments available.  If a liked a place, I had to jump on it site unseen or drive down immediately and make a decision.  I considered bringing one of my dogs with me but many buildings are not dog friendly and FPS requires a lot of time and attention.  I didn't want to worry about walking a dog or missing an opportunity because I had to run home.

     Apartments came and went so fast.  It was difficult to jump on a place from ninety miles away.  Craig's List seemed like the answer until we fell in love with an apartment and the woman pulled the apartment at the last minute.  In the end, we ended up looking at buildings that offered six month leases.  They charge a premium, approximately $200 extra a month, but it solved our problem.  I've been told that subleases get scooped up and that it's easy to get out of a year lease.  We weren't willing to take the risk.

     On our final visit to Chicago, we looked at three apartments.  The first one was a studio and it was very nice.  The second was a convertible (a studio with a small area for a bed but no wall) that was clean and perfectly located.  The third studio seemed out of the way and not as clean.  We chose number two.

Here is the floor plan

Here is a video of the apartment empty

This is a video of what it looks like now!

     This is my home for the next six months.  I'm three blocks from the brown line, one block from Whole Foods and a short jog to the lakefront.  It's the same lake but a completely different view.  I can't wait for classes to begin.