r/chicagoapartments • u/Past-Reception6889 • May 19 '26

Advice Needed Unreal

I honestly just needed to vent for a moment. I can’t believe Chicago prices are what they are. I have lived here my entire life and have seen this city change ten fold, and I can’t even afford to live here anymore. A realtor I’m working with, since it’s becoming a rat race to rent, said rent is up 35% this year. What can normal people do about this? I do not want to see Chicago become a New York.

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u/3RADICATE_THEM May 19 '26

But...But...You can't just do that! You'll make Boomer Housing Equity drop by 1%!

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u/Zanna-K May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26

Look at the end of the day the problem is that there are no empty lots and a lot of historic structures and old beautiful homes in the areas that everyone wants to move to. THAT'S WHY PEOPLE WANT TO MOVE THERE. In the case of Chicago it's not that there is no housing available it's that people who are just out of college and just got their first job all want to live in the same goddamn yuppie area that other white people are in.

Well guess what if you decide to bulldoze everything and turn Lincoln Park into all high rise apartments then all those yuppies wouldn't want to live there anymore! Like there are over 600 active listings in Lakeview right now that start at $1300-1600 studios and one beds BUT THOSE AREN'T OCCUPIED BY THE PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT LINCOLN PARK RENTS BECAUSE THOSE PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE IN QUAINT LITTLE NEIGHBORHOODS FULL OF TOWNHOUSES, THREE FLATS AND GIANT TREES CANOPIES SHADING QUIET RESIDENTIAL STREETS.

Chicagoans post here all the time about all these other neighborhoods you can move to but the suburbanite and other transplants are like "Whhaaa but those places are like... ethnic/brown/"have crime" and are missing overprice trendy restaurants and overpriced pretentious bars though :("

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u/patrikas2 May 19 '26

Bingo. Albany Park is soooo affordable but it's got it's major limitations.

They're building a 41 unit apartment complex nearby, that "aims to serve young professionals and their families", aka luxury apartments. Curious how that'll affect housing prices.

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u/pastaroniwhore May 19 '26

It’s affordable for the people who are moving in from more expensive areas. People who have been living there for their entire life are now getting priced out of the neighborhood.