Local Resources
Take a look at some of the great things Chicago and West Town have to offer. These resources are designed to help you move and get settled, and to acquaint you with the area after your move.
Do you know of a resource that would be perfect for this page? Suggest it here.
Do you know of a resource that would be perfect for this page? Suggest it here.
| Area Information | |
| Crime Statistics - Do a search of reported crimes within a given area of Chicago. | |
| Online Community Guides - Selected community profiles and guides provided by Pioneer Press. | |
| Chicagoland Neighborhoods and Towns Guide - Helpful information about the Chicagoland area including neighborhood descriptions, utilities, local tax information, drivers licenceing, auto registration, doctors and more! | |
| The Tribune on Communities - The Chicago Tribune's real estate section with helpful information with Chicago communities and surrounding towns. | |
| The Chicago Bungalow Association - The Historic Chicago Bungalow Association is a non-profit organization, chartered by the state of Illinois that administers the Historic Chicago Bungalow Initiative. It is the mission of the Association to preserve the Historic Chicago Bungalow and to assist homeowner's, through education and resources, in adapting the bungalow to meet their current needs. | |
| Chicago Neighborhood Tours - Experience Chicago one neighborhood at a time with over 25 unique Neighborhood and Special Interest tours... | |
| Schools | |
| Chicago Public Schools - The offical website to the Chicago Public School District. | |
| Private, Independent and Religious Schools - Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools (LMAIS) provides links to sites of Chicago-area independent schools. | |
| State Dept. of Education - school reports, statistics, demographics.... | |
| School Information - free school profiles | |
| Mortgage | |
| Free Annual Credit Report - What is the Purpose of This Site? This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. | |
| Your Credit Guide - Learning Center for what you should know about your credit. | |
| The Basics - Understand the key elements such as renting vs. buying and how much can you afford to choosing the right type of mortgage for you. | |
| FICO Calculator - Find out how your score affects your mortgage payment. | |
| Mortgage Tax Savings - See how the interest you pay equates to income tax savings. | |
| Public Transportation | |
| The " L" and Buses - The nation's second largest public transportation system provides rail, bus, and other transportation information for travel around Chicago. | |
| Commute Trains - The Metra serves the many Chicagoland commuters from the Loop to the Suburbs. | |
| Bus systems in the Suburbs - Pace Bus serves areas outside of Chicago. | |
| Chicago Airports - Find out about flight information in and out of Chicago. | |
| Amtrak Trains - Traveling nationwide by railroad. | |
| Utilities | |
| ComEd - We are committed to providing you with reliable electric service -- service that holds exceptional value. | |
| People's Energy - Peoples Energy delivers safe and reliable natural gas to one million homes and businesses. | |
| Nicor - Providing natural gas service to Chicago's Suburbs. | |
| SBC - For phone and internet service. | |
| Comcast - Local cable and high speed internet service. | |
| RCN - Phone, cable and internet service. | |
| Dish Network - Competitive satillite tv service. | |
| Direct TV - DIRECTV is the nation's leading digital multi-channel television service provider. | |
| Relocation Links | |
| Chicago Real Estate - Yahoo! Real Estate offers a wealth of to help with every aspect of your move | |
| Moving Center - Moving Estimates, Truck Rental, Moving Supplies and Storage | |
| USPS' Movers Guide - help for planning and executing your move including address change. | |
| Driver's Services - Here is where you can apply for a change of address for your driver's license and registration. | |
| The Chicago Reader - Need to find an apartment? Here is a great local paper for finding that rental home. | |
| The Apartment People - The Apartment People is Chicagos largest FREE apartment finding service. | |
| National Weather - find weather info anywhere in the US | |
| US State Departments of Education - see the list of all 50 states | |
| Official City Websites - find area info websites across the world! | |
| Community Information - free community profiles | |
| Insurance | |
| All State - Offical website for quotes, finding an agent and helpful tips. | |
| American Family - Offical website for quotes, finding an agent and helpful tips. | |
| Farmer's Insurance - Offical website for quotes, finding an agent and helpful tips. | |
| State Farm - Offical website for quotes, finding an agent and helpful tips. | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| A World Class Concierge Service - Personal Assistant, Errand and Concierge Services. | |
| ActiveRain Real Estate Network - | |
| Tax Information | |
| Cook County Assessor's Office - Find out local property tax information. | |
| Cook County Treasurer - FAQs about property tax bills, appeals and refunds. | |
| Tax Assistance Programs - You may be eligible for property tax assistance. Find out more here. | |
| First-time Homeowners - What deductions apply to first time homeowners on your income taxes. | |
| Homeowner's Exemptions and Senior Freeze - Learn about the 7% property tax cap in Chicago and how to qualify for a Senior Citizen tax freeze. | |
| Selling Your Home - FAQ's about selling your home and your income taxes otherwise known as "Capital Gains". | |
| How to Report Moving Expenses - How to guide from the IRS | |
| Government | |
| City of Chicago - The official site of Mayor Daley's one and only Chicago! | |
| Illinois Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation - Here is where you would research licenses of real estate brokers and lenders. | |
| City Council Information - The Chicago City Council consists of 50 aldermen, one representing each city ward. The council meets regularly to discuss legislation, orders and ordinances whose subject matter includes traffic code changes, the city's relationship with utility providers, taxes, and much more. | |
| US Goverment Portal - The U.S. Government's offical web portal. | |
| For Investors | |
| Landlord Tenant Law - If your planning on purchasing property for rental income, check here for some answers to frequently asked questions. | |
| Home Inprovement and Repair | |
| Angie's List - Terrific consumer resource at finding trades professionals for any kind of job. Best of all, fellow members rate service professionals based on reliability, cost, and quality of work. Yearly membership is required, however, existing/past clients may contact me directly for referrals. | |
| Do It Yourself Network - A resource for various projects. | |
| Home and Garden Television - Lots of information on home repair and improvement. | |
| Handyman Matters - Handyman Matters brings professionalism, craftsmanship, and excellent customer service to this industry, completing over a quarter million jobs since we started seven years ago. We pride ourselves on reputable, ethical business practices, quality job performance, and superior customer service. We cover all residential and commercial projects. | |
| Mr. Handyman - There's no need to make multiple calls and set up different appointments for your home maintenance and repair projects. Call Mr. Handyman, make one convenient appointment, and we will take care of everything on your "To Do" list. | |
| Better Business Bureau - Use this resource to check a company's customer service history before hiring. | |
| Landscaping and Gardening | |
| Chicago Botanic Garden - These are the features of the Illinois Best Plants site. Start with our Plant Search to find plants that meet your needs and grow well in Illinois. | |
| Garfield Conservatory - Enjoy a unique shopping experience at one of the citys best kept secrets: the Garfield Market, located at the Garfield Park Conservatory campus. | |
| U of I Lawn Care - Learn how to care for your lawn in eight steps. | |
| Entertainment in Chicago | |
| Metromix - Local entertaiment guide for movies, dining, shopping and more. | |
| Special Events in Chicago - See what's going on in Chicago. | |
| Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau - Chicago is a business center, with a diverse, powerhouse economy. It is also a tourism center, with world-renowned shopping, dining, museums, architecture, theatre, music, and more. For business. For pleasure. We're your kind of town. | |
| Chicago Park District - Young and Old can find something to do at one of the many local parks throughout chicago. | |
| Chicago Golf Guide - The #1 Golf Guide for the Chicago area. Interactive Maps. Player Comments. Driving Directions. Fast. Easy to Use. Complete. | |
| Food and Wine | |
| Just Grapes - Everything about wine education, wine retail and wine tasting bar. | |
| The Chicago Wine School - Chicago Wine School is an independent educational organization providing information about wines and spirits. | |
| Flavour Cooking School - Food is essential for the body, but good food nourishes the soul. Our approach is to bring people to the table with intimate cooking classes, share product knowledge and encourage you that good food can be made at home." | |
| Kendall College Cooking School - The Recreational Cooking School at Kendall College offers classes for the home cooking enthusiast. Classes are taught by Kendalls professionally certified chefs, each with years of experience. Kendall offers Skill Building Classes, Hands-On Classes, Cuisine Classes, ParticipationDemo Classes, and Classroom Informational Classes. | |
| The Chopping Block - The Chopping Block Cooking School, with two locations in Chicago, offers daily hands-on and demonstration cooking classes for the home cook. Our classes are intimate and interactive, and subjects change monthly. Topics include seasonal, ethnic, healthy / vegetarian and weeknight cooking, entertaining, knife skills and wine tastings, plus our popular technique-oriented Building Blocks Series. | |
| Jill Prescott's School For The Home Chefs - Professional skills for the home chef. | |
| For Parents and Kids | |
| Buy and Sell Kid's Stuff - MyKidsCloset.com is a place where parents can buy the things their babies and kids need at great prices as well as sell their used babies and kids' stuff to make extra money, similar to a baby consignment shop or baby boutique but much better. | |
| Northside Parents Network - NPN Northside Parents Network serving Chicago's Northside Parent Community. | |
| Chicago Parent - Celebrating 20 years of connecting with families. | |
| K.I.D.S Program - Register your kids identification with the city for immediate response in the event of an Amber alert. | |
| Klaas Kids Foundation - Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification for Illinois plus other means for keeping our children safe. | |
| Favorite Charities | |
| CARE - Working with poor communities in more than 70 countries around the world to find lasting solutions to poverty. | |
| Children's Adovocacy Center for Sexually Abused Children - | |
| Polaris Project - Combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery. | |
| Ricky Martin Foundation - Battling the exploitation of children with a focus on sex trafficking. | |
| Vital Voices - Human Trafficking is modern-day slavery and a global plague. It is happening in the United States and around the world. The most appalling fact is that most people are not aware of it. | |
| Women for Women International - The goal of Women for Women International is to take women from victim to survivor to active citizen. | |
| Children's Memorial Hospital - | |
| Making Dreams Come True - | |
| Big Brother Big Sister - | |
| The Homeless Voice - | |
| The Anti-Cruelity Society - | |
| Lance Armstrong Foundation - | |
| Local Weather | |
| Local Weather - forecasts, weather patterns, radars.... | |
| Maps | |
Mapquest - maps, driving directions, road trip planner....
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