I really enjoyed staying at Joelle's place!! I was there for 8 weeks for a work contract and it was definitely nice as a home base. The apartment and room were lovely and clean, nicely decorated and with a lot of natural light which I really appreciated. I really like to cook and bake so it was great to have a full kitchen stocked with pots and pans and cooking equipment. The room itself was lovely and spacious and I could lock on the door so it felt secure. Laundry in the apartment was great too. I shared the bathroom with the other room on the floor, which was never an issue for me. The place was well heated for winter too.
I didn't have a car so I had to take the bus then transfer to a train to go most places - it takes about 40mins by public transport to get downtown (it's only 10mins if you're driving). The bus stops are very close to the house which was good, but the buses get very unreliable after about 8pm so I often had to Uber back if I was coming home late. The location itself is pretty bare - not really any cafes/supermarkets/shops within walkable distance so I usually ordered my groceries etc. Felt safe walking around during the day but not so much after dark...I never had any incidents though. I think if I had a car it would have been even better as home base, but regardless it was a really nice place to come back to at the end of the day. I didn't have much reason to contact Joelle but she was always responsive if there was anything.
Thanks Joelle! I enjoyed my first stay in Chicago 😁