Housing Information for ATSA Interns

ATSA does not have private housing. However, we want to support our interns who are coming from out-of-state or areas in Illinois that are too far for a regular commute. Therefore, we have collected the following bullets consist of housing info/advice provided by previous years' ATSA out-of-state interns:

• I looked at the “for rent” section of local newspapers in order to see available housing options in the area. Since I was living alone, I was only interested in the studio or one-bedroom apartment options. I called the options that looked promising and set up times to go visit the apartments. It was helpful to call beforehand and get more information because many of the apartments required a one-year lease, which I didn’t need of course. I ended up renting the top floor of a small duplex about 30 minutes away from Oak Brook for the summer. My advice is to begin the process early, if possible, as it took me some time to find a space that was small enough and fit within my budget. In retrospect, I think it would have been easier and cheaper to find a facebook page where students post their summer sublets at a nearby college, like Elmhurst. 

• I actually found housing through Airbnb last summer, which has good deals for longer-term renting. I intentionally looked for housing that was about halfway between downtown Chicago and Oak Brook so that the commute wouldn't be too bad and I could still get into the city easily. I stayed in Oak Park, which was a very nice area and had great transit. Of course this might not really be of an issue depending on whether the interns will have their own cars or not. I didn't have a car and relied on public transport.

• I hope your are doing well, too! I'll just share with you how I lived and got around this past summer. For housing, I contacted a local church (Christ Church of Oak Brook) and asked if any members or staff had any extra room or knew of any good, cheap living spaces over the summer. Through that, I was connected with a family in Oak Brook that rented out an apartment that was connected to their home. I stayed with a roommate there and it worked really well for me! It was close enough that I was able to bike to ATS every day easily since I didn't have car. It was also near a Jewel so I could get groceries on my bike, too. If it happened to rain, I would just catch a ride with [another intern] or my host parents. The bus was also very close, so I was able to use that to get around sometimes as well. Google Maps was a fantastic resource for me along with all the connections I made to help find my way around. 

• Airnbn.com worked the best for me. There are lots of options. I found a studio for the summer that was more costly than the other options, but I also wanted to have my privacy. There were houses on there, too, near Oak Brook, but you had to share with other people you didn't know, and I didn’t like that idea. It was between a house where I would have my own room and share a bathroom with 1-2 other people, for about $500 a month, or my own studio for $1000 a month.  I went with the latter and my parents helped by paying half the rent, so it worked out for my budget. I also tried Apartments.com and searched but I preferred what I found on Airbnb.

• I called the Elmhurst College student affairs office (I think that’s what it was called?) and told them I was looking to sublet for the summer and asked them where students living in apartments post their sublet announcements.  It was a while ago now, so I can’t remember exactly, but from there I had leads that I followed up on and eventually found a student who was going home for the summer. I sublet her room in her shared apartment for $550 a month (but only had to pay half of Aug). It was a steal compared to others I was looking at. I say call the colleges in the area (Elmhurst, Wheaton, and check for others) and see if they can get into contact with students looking for subleasers. Good luck!

• I mainly looked on Airbnb and similar sites at first. Due to my Airbnb backing out at the last second I ended up living at Regency Place Apartments through Travelers Haven who supplied all the furniture. My apartment was 10 minutes away from ATS. It was a little expensive but nice to be so close. To save money I’d say to look on Airbnb but to be aware that they can cancel your stay since there’s no contract. 

Here are other links/resources/ideas submitted by previous interns

• Short-term housing for college students: http://www.uloop.com/housing/index.php/sublets Area colleges include: Elmhurst College, Wheaton College, College of DuPage. On the far left menu bar, click on housing, and on the far right of the page, be sure you click on college sublets.
• http://elmhurst.uloop.com/housing/ and enter "summer sublets" in the search
• https://www.forrentuniversity.com/Elmhurst-College Even if they don't show summer sublets, call anyway and see if they have anyone needing to sublet.
• https://www.forrentuniversity.com/Wheaton-College Even if they don't show summer sublets, call anyway and see if they have anyone needing to sublet.
• Elmhurst area
• Oak Brook area
• Hinsdale area

Don't want to live alone? Once the intern selection is made, interns connect with one another and in previous years, some chose to live together during the internship!

ATSA is located in Oak Brook, IL. Other local cities include:

• Elmhurst
• Lombard
• Hinsdale
• Westchester
• Wheaton
• Downer's Grove
• Villa Park