House hunting dilemma

I checked out 8 places in chicago in 36 hours. Not bad. One in lakeview. 2 in andersonville. 1 up by howard. 1 in wicker park. And 3 apartments very close to the morse stop in rogers park. Lakeview dude struck me as a stoner, and the apartment was poorly maintained. Not bad. The first roger’s park person was a self-described fag hag. I started getting guilt twinges just from hanging with her and chatting briefly, and the place was a bit iffy. Wicker park had no laundry in the unit. Also, my potential roommate was waaay too cute. In his presence, I was starting to overlook fatal flaws. It would have had the shortest commute, but just, no. I happened across a place to check out in andersonville on my way to lunch on day 2. It wasn’t bad. Extraordinarily cheap. Nice roommate, though totally run down place. I quickly nixed that one. The last “no” was another cute gay guy, this time in rogers park. He wanted a bit too much separation, and his place was pretty expensive. Very nice, decent commute, but not very homy.

Now on to the maybes.

Howard guy had his own condo. A long commute, (I’d estimate 45 min each way minimum) and the farthest from boystown and other fun neighborhoods. The most expensive one I’m considering ($600 + 1/3 utils). But he’s a great guy. And the gym (Bally’s, also a nationwide chain, $4/month to have access to all) would be between the train station and home, eliminating all excuses for not working out. Grocery store right next to that. He listed a PS2 as an amenity of the apartment. Laundry in the place. He seems totally affable and easy to get along with. Also a homo from SF.

Next place. A 3 BR in Andersonville with two women. One ex-SF-er who will be moving out in January. One Polish lady. $500 a month, including everything: laundry, internet, electricity, heat, you name it (imagine how quickly I could pay off my credit cards…). Polish lady smokes on the front porch, not a problem. An easy walk to see and . A bit far to the nearest gym, which is cheetah (a bit pricy, gay, pretty, but not fully featured (no pools at any of their sites). But, it’s uh, andersonville. It’s a great location, restaurants, a gay bar or 3 in walking distance, grocery store is a bit far, but still walkable. Shortest commute of the places I’m considering, though it would involve a longish walk in downtown or a transfer in boystown (and thus standing for the last 20 min of the commute. Inconvenient for reading).

Last place. Two straight guys. Friendly, mellow. $500, utils not included. Not really close to anything. I just liked the social vibe of the place. (ouch, okay, this one just moved to the bottom of my maybe list).

So, fundamentally, it’s a choice between low rent, and long walks for groceries and gym (~10 min to the gym ~15 to the grocery store, maybe less) Or, over $100/month more for a handy gym and grocery store (and a slightly longer commute). I did feel a bit cozier with the Howard guy, on a personal basis, but the location, especially at that price is too hard to beat. Plus, if the roommates don’t work out, I’ll have a hand in selecting a new one soon. Okay, decision made.