Where are you getting your data? I just moved from Chicago last year and my friends in Lincoln Park were paying around $1600 for a 2BR at Clark/Fullerton. Trulia suggests that this is not uncommon: http://www.trulia.com/for_rent/Chicago,IL/16_zm/41.920751,41...
Also, the average for places like Lincoln Park is skewed up by all the high-end housing in the area. Places like Andersonville and Edgewater are even cheaper, and very safe and family-friendly: http://www.trulia.com/rental/3102177710-5406-N-Kenmore-Ave-2...
Heck, last year I was paying $1450/month for a 1BR in a full-service high-rise in Streeterville with a 28th-floor view. My wife paid just around $1100 a month for a huge 1BR in Streeterville a couple of years ago. If you've got a roommate, it's totally possible to live in River North on a teacher's starting salary.
Also, the average for places like Lincoln Park is skewed up by all the high-end housing in the area. Places like Andersonville and Edgewater are even cheaper, and very safe and family-friendly: http://www.trulia.com/rental/3102177710-5406-N-Kenmore-Ave-2...
Heck, last year I was paying $1450/month for a 1BR in a full-service high-rise in Streeterville with a 28th-floor view. My wife paid just around $1100 a month for a huge 1BR in Streeterville a couple of years ago. If you've got a roommate, it's totally possible to live in River North on a teacher's starting salary.