4 Responses to “What is the average rent for a condo/apartment in Wicker Park or Wrigleyville?”

1. bodinibold says:

   March 9, 2010 at 1:45 am

   The rents have been going up steadily in both places as they grow in popularity. In the 1970s and 1980s you could have gotten a place in Wrigleyville for almost nothing. A one bedroom might have run you $650-800. In the late 80s and early 90s, places in wicker park were going to dirt cheap as well. But in recent years, both places have become the HQ of the Yuppies (Wrigleyville) and hipsters (wicker park) and the rents have gone up. Now you’d be lucky to find a one bedroom in either for less than $900. I did a search on a local apartment finder site and they have one bedroom in Wrigleyville going for $900 and up. (http://classifieds.chicagoreader.com/chicago/Results?sort=Random&subsection=oid%3A122&neighborhood=oid%3A18772&zipCode=&zipCode=&zipCode=&bedrooms=1BR&rentMin=%24300&rentMax=%242000&searchPhrase=&submit=). You MIGHT be able to find a few in Wicker Park for $750 and up (http://classifieds.chicagoreader.com/chicago/Results?sort=Random&subsection=oid%3A122&neighborhood=oid%3A18779&zipCode=&zipCode=&zipCode=&bedrooms=1BR&rentMin=300&rentMax=2000&searchPhrase=&submit=), but I can’t vouch for the condition of the building. Many of the buildings that still rent are old and might have some problems (plumbing) but the hipsters are snapping them up because they want to live there.

   As for safety, no place in the city is truly safe. There’s rapes, robberies and even murders that occur in both. True there are a lot of places in Chicago that are much worse, but you just have to watch your back in both. Overall, though, I’d say Wicker Park has more sketchier areas than Wrigleyville.

   The pros and cons?

   Pros – both have lots of places to drink and eat. The clothes shopping in both places are a little pricey, maybe moreso in Wicker Park because it’s more boutique clothing stores with independent designers. Neither really has great food stores immediately in the area. YOu’d have to drive or hoof it to get to a good grocery store. Both have a lot of transportation options, though, so you can get to other parts of the city easily.

   Cons: both can be noisy and loud with tons of people all over the place. That might seem fun at first, but it can become tedious after a while. I used to live near Wrigley Field and while I thought it was cool to be able to walk to the ballpark at the time, I got sick of the roving bands of drunks leaving the game, of the puke in the passageway of my building, of the constant car honking day and night, bums hitting you up for spare change all the time (REALLY bad in Wicker Park). and i got sick of everybody trying to outhip each other. And then there’s the price and cost of living there. Like I said, no real grocery stores so if you shop at one of the little ripoff grocery stores, be prepared to pay more than what you would at a regular store.

   My advice?: Go check out a few other neighborhoods like Andersonville and Edgewater. Both are north of Wrigley and are developing rapidly. Not so much where there are bands of drunk idiots all around, but they’re more like regular neighborhoods with a couple of cool bars, some nice restaurants, easy access to public transportation and not the constant loudmouths and honking car horns. They’re both like small towns within the city. Tbey both have access to quiet lakefront beaches and bike paths. They have their share of crime, sure, but people still seem to cope. And they both have access to several grocery stores. And the rents won’t empty your pockets. At least yet.
2. regular american says:

   March 9, 2010 at 2:33 am

   Both neighborhoods are safe, but I wouldn’t walk at night alone.

   Pros- fun, lots o’ people, nr. Wrigley Field, nr. the lake!

   Cons – parking almost non-existent, lots o’ people, nr. Wrigley Field

   There’s all price ranges of apts. avail. Check the Apartment Guys site
3. Dajik says:

   March 9, 2010 at 2:36 am

   wrigleyville would be safer imo, but probly more expensive..would guess $1500 for an apartment in wrigleyville but not sure
4. lalalalalala says:

   March 9, 2010 at 3:33 am

   I live just north of Wicker Park in Bucktown and its pretty nice. There aren’t a lot of bars near my house so my neighborhood is quiet and I can walk to the “cool” intersection of Milwaukee, North and Damen. The rent for my apartment(2bed, garden) is $985 but that is a steal. You could maybe find a one bedroom for that in Wicker Park.
   In Wrigleyville pretty much any apartment is going to be tiny and close to a bar. I saw one there when I was hunting for an apartment that was 2 bedrooms, $1200 and there was barely space to turn around in.

   They are both pretty safe, you are going to run into drunk people a lot in Wrigleyville though.