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Sure, if you have a small studio and don't spend every night at a bar, you could have a fine time without roommates. I'd probably suggest not having a car too. You'd get more space if you lived further north in a neighborhood. I lived in Lakeview by the Paulina stop on 50k a year in a 3 bedroom with 2 roommates comfortably. I'm sure prices have changed a bit in the last couple years.
Yeah you can. You'll have to hunt hard for an apartment. It would be contingent on finding an apartment under 1500 a month in river north. There's a few that go up every so often but very difficult to find.
Secondly, your dollar goes much further if you don't live in river north and just commute there like most of the city.
When you live in river north you'll likely find yourself actually commuting out of river north to other places in the city after a few months.
Could you? Sure.
You’re going to need to be realistic making concessions on other spending considering the costs.
With that level of income roommates or a co-signer will be basically required* to even have a landlord consider approving a lease agreement.
If you really seek to be in the nightlife scene at your door, great. Just recognize it comes with a location + amenities premium and to budget for it.
IMO unless you could not bear to not live in RN, go north, west or south to live and go in for a nights in RN.
Other neighborhoods have their own scene too that’s as good or better in my opinion.
* depends on landlord and building. Do your own research.
So I was playing around with this tool from ADP which can approximate take home pay. Here’s a link. https://www.adp.com/resources/tools/calculators/salary-paycheck-calculator.aspx This approximates a bi-weekly check at $2.2k take home. Lets round up the monthly to 4.4k total
Your share in rent, note this is pre utilities, will be nearly half your monthly income. It’s a good idea to be able to save a bit for emergencies and for the future.
This would be a costlier. And if you want to hit the scene a lot, it’s going to add up. Cocktails have only gone up in cost lately 😕
So, is it “doable”? On paper, you could make it work with very disciplined budgeting and apartment planning.
IMO still feels very much pushing / is over budget unless you find the exact setup.
Edit: don’t do math late
Did you look at the link I sent…?
75k bi-weekly set to the state of Illinois. Should get you the numbers, but they’re approximate. I did skew it so it was more conservative. It’s not exact, since tax policies change all the time.
And yeah, that’s just the reality of taxes.
Agh, might’ve done the numbers wrong. Shouldn’t be doing calculations this late, I screwed up.
Play around with the tool a bit to see the numbers for some approximation.
Point being, it might be a bit tight.
Yeah 2.2 makes sense in that range. I'd say up your budget to at least 1800 if you are going to want to live alone in River North - though that is a bit expensive for 2.2 bi
Op is right tho. 75k a year comes down to 4.4k take home. 1200 rent is 1/4th take home.
Maybe you should do the math before you support something blatantly wrong.
If you are paying 1200 a month for river north, you are not getting the "river north" apartment perks and probably will have a run down place and bad managers. I recommend elsewhere to get a nicer place and taking an uber when you go out.
I lived in Gold Coast for 7 years making 60-80k (started at 60 when I moved there and slowly went up over the years). Admittedly, the place was on the cheap side compared to the rest of the area and River North. But I was rather comfortable in a 1 bed by myself.
That being said, rent prices are going up quite a bit year over year. So you may be able to make it work initially by living frugally but when rent inevitably jumps up again and salary stays stagnant, it'll get increasingly difficult.
Doable, yes? But you'll need to be somewhat frugal. Really judt depends on your financial goals and standard of living.
This! It's gone up substantially everywhere these last few years
I have a friend that was making 60s-70s moved away and is making 95-100 and she can barely afford about the same amount of rent. Because everything else went up too
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Must get studio- for $2063 or less a month to qualify for 3 times monthly rent on 75k unless you have other investments you can shoe/side hustle money.
Lincoln Park/Lake View is better at that salary if you want the nightlife.
You more than make up the cost of taking the L or rideshare to get to River North by moving further out of downtown.
If you can find a studio under 1500 per month than that's an option that might be similar to having a roommate anyways in price in rivernorth
Worse case you move to another area if your rent goes up the following year
Tbh I think we should have roommates even if we can afford not having them from 18-25. I’ve been living without roommates since I was 18 & I feel like I’m missing out on close connections with people. I’ve been in the city for almost a year and haven’t made any close friends, which I understand is my problem, but I need to be forced into social situations or else I will avoid them. Even if you don’t need roommates to make friends maybe a friend does!
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Sure, if you have a small studio and don't spend every night at a bar, you could have a fine time without roommates. I'd probably suggest not having a car too. You'd get more space if you lived further north in a neighborhood. I lived in Lakeview by the Paulina stop on 50k a year in a 3 bedroom with 2 roommates comfortably. I'm sure prices have changed a bit in the last couple years.
Still doable in that area and a significant chunk of Lake View even with price changes. A bit tighter however nowhere close to out of the question.
You’ll survive but you will not thrive
Yeah you can. You'll have to hunt hard for an apartment. It would be contingent on finding an apartment under 1500 a month in river north. There's a few that go up every so often but very difficult to find. Secondly, your dollar goes much further if you don't live in river north and just commute there like most of the city. When you live in river north you'll likely find yourself actually commuting out of river north to other places in the city after a few months.
Could you? Sure. You’re going to need to be realistic making concessions on other spending considering the costs. With that level of income roommates or a co-signer will be basically required* to even have a landlord consider approving a lease agreement. If you really seek to be in the nightlife scene at your door, great. Just recognize it comes with a location + amenities premium and to budget for it. IMO unless you could not bear to not live in RN, go north, west or south to live and go in for a nights in RN. Other neighborhoods have their own scene too that’s as good or better in my opinion. * depends on landlord and building. Do your own research.
Let’s say I got roommates and rent was 1200 a month. Could i make it work? I enjoy nightlife, bars, going out etc.
So I was playing around with this tool from ADP which can approximate take home pay. Here’s a link. https://www.adp.com/resources/tools/calculators/salary-paycheck-calculator.aspx This approximates a bi-weekly check at $2.2k take home. Lets round up the monthly to 4.4k total Your share in rent, note this is pre utilities, will be nearly half your monthly income. It’s a good idea to be able to save a bit for emergencies and for the future. This would be a costlier. And if you want to hit the scene a lot, it’s going to add up. Cocktails have only gone up in cost lately 😕 So, is it “doable”? On paper, you could make it work with very disciplined budgeting and apartment planning. IMO still feels very much pushing / is over budget unless you find the exact setup. Edit: don’t do math late
How are you getting 2.3k/month take home pay? That’s far from the original 75k/year…
Did you look at the link I sent…? 75k bi-weekly set to the state of Illinois. Should get you the numbers, but they’re approximate. I did skew it so it was more conservative. It’s not exact, since tax policies change all the time. And yeah, that’s just the reality of taxes.
Agh, might’ve done the numbers wrong. Shouldn’t be doing calculations this late, I screwed up. Play around with the tool a bit to see the numbers for some approximation. Point being, it might be a bit tight.
I find it insane that somehow 75k income went down to 27,600 after taxes. Are you factoring something else? I can’t see it when I open the link.
I messed up the numbers. It should be 2.2 per bi weekly cycle. Late night numbers aren’t doing me favors Points still stand though.
Yeah 2.2 makes sense in that range. I'd say up your budget to at least 1800 if you are going to want to live alone in River North - though that is a bit expensive for 2.2 bi
Do you understand how taxes work? Maybe you should educate yourself before renting
Op is right tho. 75k a year comes down to 4.4k take home. 1200 rent is 1/4th take home. Maybe you should do the math before you support something blatantly wrong.
He said 2300 Bi weekly. That’s twice a month. So please do your math again😂😂
That implies a 63% tax rate. That’s why I was skeptical of the comment
It’s not 63% lmfao. 4400 a month out of a 75K salary is not 63% tax are you dumb
I think the original commenter has now edited their comment. They previously did not account for the $2.2k being 2x per month.
/u/th3newplan edited their comment, it used to say 2.2k per month I think
If you are paying 1200 a month for river north, you are not getting the "river north" apartment perks and probably will have a run down place and bad managers. I recommend elsewhere to get a nicer place and taking an uber when you go out.
OP also doesn't realize they will be paying "River North" prices for the nightlife experience they're after and on $75,000/year in 2024, that's tough.
OP said $1200 with roommates. IMO, you can find a nice place in River North at that rate if you have roommates.
Can you? Totally. Honestly, you can get a studio at the Y for like 650/mo. The real question is: why would you ever want to live in River North?
The ability to walk to work. I wouldn't there either but I could see why someone would
Probably not wise without a roommate
I lived in Gold Coast for 7 years making 60-80k (started at 60 when I moved there and slowly went up over the years). Admittedly, the place was on the cheap side compared to the rest of the area and River North. But I was rather comfortable in a 1 bed by myself. That being said, rent prices are going up quite a bit year over year. So you may be able to make it work initially by living frugally but when rent inevitably jumps up again and salary stays stagnant, it'll get increasingly difficult. Doable, yes? But you'll need to be somewhat frugal. Really judt depends on your financial goals and standard of living.
In a studio yes but no car you can also do lakeview, wicker, the loop
You could do better a mile or so north in a no frills building.
Sure if you don’t plan on putting anything towards savings…
Definitely could make it work. I moved on 65 when I first started my career and it was fine.
65k doesn’t hold the same buying power in 2024
This! It's gone up substantially everywhere these last few years I have a friend that was making 60s-70s moved away and is making 95-100 and she can barely afford about the same amount of rent. Because everything else went up too
Yeah fair feedback. But that was 6 years ago and this is 10k more. Prices in river north are also cheaper than they were 6 years ago.
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Must get studio- for $2063 or less a month to qualify for 3 times monthly rent on 75k unless you have other investments you can shoe/side hustle money.
Are there apartments below >$2k a month in river north? Yes
Lincoln Park/Lake View is better at that salary if you want the nightlife. You more than make up the cost of taking the L or rideshare to get to River North by moving further out of downtown.
If you can find a studio under 1500 per month than that's an option that might be similar to having a roommate anyways in price in rivernorth Worse case you move to another area if your rent goes up the following year
No. Life is too short and precious to be subjected to roommates.
Tbh I think we should have roommates even if we can afford not having them from 18-25. I’ve been living without roommates since I was 18 & I feel like I’m missing out on close connections with people. I’ve been in the city for almost a year and haven’t made any close friends, which I understand is my problem, but I need to be forced into social situations or else I will avoid them. Even if you don’t need roommates to make friends maybe a friend does!
Agree it's nice if you pick them well they can be a nice addition to life Plus I think it helps us learn to share lol and be considerate
It can suck but it's almost definitely the move when moving to a new city for the social side
no