Small towns are incorporated for all sorts of reasons. But unlike many Chicago suburban towns, Manhattan, Illinois, was incorporated to obtain a saloon license. Today, there are no shortage of watering holes in Manhattan, which still remains a great place to find a local pub and sip a beer with old friends.
Manhattan is a great place to live if you want to be relatively close to Chicago, yet live a comfortable and suburban lifestyle
Small towns are incorporated for all sorts of reasons. But unlike many Chicago suburban towns, Manhattan, Illinois, was incorporated to obtain a saloon license. Today, there are no shortage of watering holes in Manhattan, which still remains a great place to find a local pub and sip a beer with old friends.
Manhattan is a great place to live if you want to be relatively close to Chicago, yet live a comfortable and suburban lifestyle. This Will County town is located about 50 miles southwest of Chicago in northeastern Illinois. Established in 1886, Manhattan is an old and established community with approximately 7,051 residents. Many Irish immigrants moved to this area in the mid-to-late 1800s to work in the growing railroad industry. Manhattan still celebrates its Irish heritage today, with the annual spring festival, Irish Fest. With a spotlight on local businesses, over 10,000 people from all over the area attend the festival each year. According to the 2010 census, Manhattan has a total area of 6.57 square miles. Manhattan is accessible from three major interstate highways, since it is seven miles from I-80, 11 miles from I-57, and 12 miles from I-55.
Moving to Manhattan
Renting an Apartment or House
Manhattan is a great place to find places for rent and places to live in. Although there are almost always available studio apartments for rent and one- or two-bedroom apartments for rent, you can also find rental property in condos and single-family houses. For example, you can often find two and three bedroom houses for rent for a very decent rate, as well as an apt for rent in a complex with little trouble. A studio apartment can be a little harder to come by.
When to Start Shopping
Since the early 90s Manhattan has enjoyed a consistent growth of 35 to 45 homes per year. Over the past decade, the Village has permitted an average of over 200 homes per year and estimates the number of new homes per year to average 250 units. All this growth should tell you that Manhattan is a hot place in the suburbs to move to. To avoid the most competition, consider starting to shop for a new apartment, especially pet friendly apartments, in the early fall season. Although you may not have quite as many options, you can often find cheaper prices after summer has come and gone.
How to Be Prepared
As you're looking for an apartment to rent, make sure that you have the standard array of documentation readily available to flash in front of potential landlords. There are plenty of other renters lined up to take your dream apartment in Manhattan, so don't error on the side of inefficiency. Bring a copy of your ID, your credit report, bank statements, pay stubs, letter of employment, and references with you as you shop so you're prepared to sign a lease when you've found your ideal new home.
Top Manhattan Neighborhoods
Considering Manhattan itself is only 6.57 square miles, it is somewhat impressive that there are any neighborhoods at all to speak of. The city is roughly divided up into two main sections, though it can easily be identified by area that is considered the town center and its surrounding areas.
Route 52/West Baker Road: The Route 52/West Baker Road neighborhood is a little more expensive than some areas of the city, but it is a nice place to live. This area is mostly made up of medium and large size homes with three to five bedrooms each, and most people own their homes in this neighborhood. Although many of the residences were built between 1970 and 1999, a good number of homes were built in the last decade too. Demand for housing here is higher than the national average. Even though there is a Metra train in town to provide public transportation, almost everyone in this neighborhood owns one or more cars. This is a friendly neighborhood with a good school district, low crime rates, and a strong sense of community.
Village Center: The Village Center is a more affordable neighborhood in Manhattan, compared to the Route 52/West Baker Road neighborhood. You can find studio apartments, one and two-bedroom apartments, townhomes, and small to mid-size single family homes in this area. Residences in this area were predominantly built in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
Living in Manhattan
One of the biggest perks to living in the suburbs of Chicago is access to an excellent public transportation system. Manhattan has a station on Metra's SouthWest Service train line, which provides daily rail service to Chicago and drops off at Union Station. Manhattan is the southernmost point on this Metra train route. Many residents use the train to commute to work in Chicago and to attend festivals and concerts in the city on weekends. Commuters who drive face an average commute of 35 minutes each way. Manhattan is home to Starcon Inc., which is a major contractor in the petrochemical industry. This is a major employer in the area and provides maintenance service to oil refineries.
Manhattan feels more like a small, rural, and close-knit town than a large, generic suburb, and the low crime rate reflects this sentiment. During the hot summer months, residents like to grab their lawn chairs and picnic baskets to gather in the park for outdoor concerts and movies. It's truly a community event that brings the neighbors together in a very civil and civic way. Certainly this is an appreciated aspect of living in a quaint town such as Manhattan.
