Hannah Howells, 22, moved to Boystown in October. View Full Caption Ariel Cheung/DNAinfo Chicago

LAKEVIEW — Think you are paying a lot to rent that one-bedroom, 500-square-foot apartment near the "L"?

You're right — rents in Lakeview hit about $1,400 in February, on average, a national rental company said.

That's nearly a 4 percent jump from January, reported Zumper.com, which offers 8,200 apartments in 30 Chicago neighborhoods.

And experts said rents are only going to increase as spring moving season begins.

"There are definitely options out there,” said Erin Smithe, 22, but “if you want to live by yourself, there's not as much.”

Smithe added: “It's so much easier if you have a roommate to find affordable rent."

Ariel Cheung says when you rent affects what you pay:

Erin Smithe, 22, moved to Lakeview two years ago and says while rent is expensive, there are sufficient options to keep her in the neighborhood. View Full Caption Ariel Cheung/DNAinfo

Smithe moved from Phoenix two years ago into a 250-square-foot Lakeview studio apartment she found on Craigslist.

"I was paying $100 more a month for rent than I was in Arizona, where I had 1,200 square feet, a private balcony and in-unit washer and dryer, so it was kind of hard to adjust," Smithe said.

Smithe moved to a three-bedroom house with four women before finally finding a junior one-bedroom apartment recently.

While Smithe did consider looking at different neighborhoods, she said she doesn't see herself leaving Lakeview anytime soon.

"I trust and know Lakeview, so I just didn't want to screw with that. Plus a lot of my friends live here," she said.

That loyalty is common, and even new Chicagoans often seek out Lakeview when moving to the city, said Maurice Ortiz, director of operations at Apartment People.

"Even people who don't know a thing about Chicago, they will have this order: Lakeview, Lincoln Park or Bucktown. Those are three areas they absolutely start with," Ortiz said.

Apartment People has been matching renters with apartments since 1984 — while landlords pay for the service, it's free for renters — and Ortiz said the market is gearing up for the spring rush after a chilly winter. With May 1 ushering in a flood of movers, prices will likely start increasing in March and April, Ortiz said.

With pricier neighborhoods like Lakeview and Lincoln Park sometime out of newcomers' price ranges, Ortiz said he's noticing a willingness to explore lesser-known or up-and-coming areas, like Rogers Park or Logan Square.

"For the first time in a long time, people are willing to move outside that comfort zone. It's probably one trend we'll continue to see as prices tend to get higher and higher," Ortiz said.

Hannah Howells didn't know much about Chicago when she moved here last October, but she knew one thing: She wanted to live in Lakeview.

"I just wanted to live somewhere safe, and this really felt like a safe area," said Howells, 22. She quickly figured out a one-bedroom apartment would be out of her $600-$800 price range.

While she considered less expensive neighborhoods, her heart was set on Lakeview. Howells looked at about 20 apartments before finally finding a Boystown studio apartment for $725, she said.

Rent in Lakeview was slightly below the citywide median price, Zumper said. The median rent price for a two-bedroom apartment was $2,000, a 2.6 percent increase over January. Ortiz said the figure is fairly accurate for the neighborhood, with one-bedroom apartments typically starting at $1,100 a month.

Lakeview did see a jump of 3.7 percent in February rental prices, although the increase was not as drastic as rises in Auburn Gresham and North Lawndale. Nearby neighborhoods of Logan Square ($1,350), North Center ($1,250), Uptown ($1,180), Edgewater ($1,050) and Avondale ($1,020) had lower median rent prices, while Lincoln Park averaged $1,750, making it the fifth most expensive neighborhood on Zumper.com's list.

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