Update: I walked away from the $1,200 Logan Square apartment with free heat and I regret it
Everyone in this sub swears you have to grab the first cheap place you see in Logan Square or you'll be priced out forever, and I bought into that hard. Two summers ago I toured a 1 bedroom off Milwaukee Ave for $1,200 with heat included, old radiators, creaky floors, the whole thing. I turned it down because the kitchen had no window and my mom said no window means no air flow in July. I found a newer place in Avondale for $1,450 that looked way nicer in photos. Fast forward to now and my electric bill hit $190 in February because the baseboard heat is garbage and the windows leak cold air like a screen door. My old coworker took that Logan Square spot and pays $1,250 after a small bump, and her heat is still free. So the window thing cost me about $230 a month and a kitchen that actually looked fine when I went back to visit. Anyone else here pass on a spot over one small thing and get burned way worse later? Would love to hear I'm not the only one who did the math too late.
You're not wrong about the window but I wouldn't call it a $230 mistake, more like a $230 surprise you didn't see coming. A kitchen with no window would bug me too, that's a real thing, not some small detail. The part people forget is that this stuff cuts both ways. That coworker could get hit with a huge rent jump when her lease is up, or the building could get sold and the free heat goes away. Old buildings with radiators are great until the landlord decides to stop paying for the boiler. You made a call with the info you had and it turned out worse than you hoped, that happens to everyone. The real lesson is checking the heat source and asking about utility costs before you sign, not kicking yourself over a kitchen window two years later.