Chicago Neighborhoods

rubyjem00

My DH and I live in the southern suburbs of Chicago but are planning on buying a condo in the city early next year. We just seem to be getting mixed reviews about what neighborhoods to look in. We would prefer to be north of the city and are looking in areas like Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Uptown, and Edgewater, among others. Does anyone have any insight into any of these areas or perhaps other areas that might be good? We are planning on giving up our cars and we would prefer to be in an area that is close to restaurants, bars, shops, etc.

TIA! 

karmaisoverrated

Ravenswood is awesome, My brother and his girlfriend lived there for a few years before they moved to Milwaukee for work. Your not to far from everything and there are some good bars and rest. Lakeview and Lincoln Park are nice. But try to avoid Wrigleyville unless you like the busy night life. Bucktown is also a good up and coming area. Lots of shops and restaurants popping up.  Hope that helps!

scubagirl81

We just moved to Ravenswood about 6 weeks ago, and we're loving it! There are plenty of awesome places within walking distance. From where we are, we can actually walk to Wrigley as well (although it is kind of a long walk, but do-able!), and to Lincoln Square without having to pay the higher cost of living in either of those neighborhoods. And it's easy to get to the loop because the brown line and the Metra both run right through the middle of the neighborhood. For us it is the perfect combination of things to do without being too crazy.

Jen

celiabeth

Andersonville if near Clark St is good and tons of restaurants on Clark St.  Accessible by the red line.  Ravenswood is nice and quiet.  I find the brown line less efficient than the red line.  If commuting into the city a ride on the brown line is a lot longer.   Uptown I would be careful with, better to do Ravenswood, Andersonville or Edgewater than Uptown.  Parking a car is a lot easier in these areas too and less congested.  My DH and I lived in Andersonville, but recently moved to the South Loop to be closer to downtown and is more family oriented (tons of daycares nearby).

LexiMS

We are on the Bucktown/Logan Square line.  We LOVE it!  There is a ton close by, lots of bus lines and a 5 min walk to the blue line.  I think we get a lot for what we pay.  Although you said you were getting rid of your cars, we do have cars and find the parking easy.

joelen&louis

Check out the city data site for a lot of great info and more input from residents:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/chicago/

Sansy

I live in Jefferson Park and I love it.  It's on the north west side.  I live a few blocks away from the JP Blue Line but I drive so I don't take the train unless I go downtown.  There are nice restaurants and bars but not as many as Uptown, Edgewater or Lakeview.  It's more family oriented.  I personally love Lincoln Square.  Lots of restaurants and bars and the brown line is very close. 

 

 

mtc2009

We live in Lakeview/Wrigleyville and love it.  If you find a place on a nice side street it has a real nice neighborhood feel.  We are close enough to Wrigley field to conveniently walk to games, but far enough that we don't have to deal with the noise and craziness of the bars near the field.

 I would stay away from Uptown.  It's supposedly an up and coming area, but thats been said for many years and its really hard to determine the lines of the "safe" areas.  We almost bought a really nice place in that area last year, but in doing research found that there's quite a bit of violence (to be fair, not in all parts of uptown), plus the rumor (or possibly not a rumor anymore) of a new low-mid income housing project going up, which many people in the neighborhood were fighting.  We just didn't want to get involved in a fight against the alderman and the city right off the bat upon moving somewhere.

 

darlawoods

I agree with PP about Uptown, we lived nearby and hated it.  

Before venturing to the west suburbs to start a family we lived in Lincoln Park/Lakeview (Southport area) and it was great to be around many restaurants, the train, and other things we needed.  I didn't have a car and used peapod for groceries or cabbed it home.

I would highly recommend the Lincoln Park and Lakview area 

Bride7/15/05

We lived in Old Town/Lincoln Park when we first moved here.  We now live in Lakeview... there is more around for a variety.  One thing when we were buying was that DH used 'walk score' where it will give you a walking score of your area based on nearby transport.  I love that in my new neighborhood I have a grocery store that is within very easy walking distance.  In Old Town I would drive down to Dominic's on Division versus the .5 walk to the Treasure Island.

Maybe what you do is figure out 2-4 neighborhoods that you really really like and just do a walking tour around the area.   

rubyjem00

Thanks for all the great advice! We are about to kick our housing search into full gear and now I feel like we have a place to start. Thanks again!

Ainslie325

celiabeth:

Uptown be careful with, better to do Ravenswood, Andersonville or Edgewater than Uptown.

 

I agree with this poster somewhat about Uptown-- you need to know which part of town you want to live in. I lived in Margate Park (lakefront Uptown, Ainslie and Marine Drive) for two years.  I had a beautiful, one-bedroom condo with in-unit washer and dryer, tons of storage, granite, stainless, and hardwoods for $950/month.  I lived on a beautiful, tree-lined street next to a city park and public grade school.  We were less than one block the lakefront park, the dog park, and less than two from Montrose Beach. I have a list of restaurants in the area that I really loved-- many of which I could and would walk to-- Fontana Grill and Magnolia Cafe come to mind, along with Fat Cat for the best fries I ever had in the city.

 

Uptown is not unlike what Bucktown was fifteen years ago--a neighborhood in transition. Helen Schiller's announcement that she will not run for aldermanic reelection should make a huge difference in neighborhood improvments- pending an upswing in the Real Estate market. Schiller was generally unsupportive of any condo conversions that could be construed as gentrification, and her attitude has stalled the neighborhood's development.  Uptown has far better El connectivity than Andersonville (which does have a great strip of restaurants and shops on Clark--a concentration of dining and retail that Uptown doesn't have), and Uptown has better drive time to the loop (via LSD) than Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Andersonville, or Edgewater do on any highway.

 

Because the neighborhood there is considered transitional (admittedly, it's been in that category for a while), real estate there will be less expensive, but you will have to come to terms with the fact that some parts of Uptown just aren't going to be "transitioned" for some time.  As far as Edgewater is concerned, I found it very hard to distinguish between the two neighborhoods-- the feel was about the same to me--with Edgewater just a bit to the north. Would I walk home from the Lawrence el alone at 2 AM? No...but I'd be unlikely to do that anywhere in the city.

sugrrrplum

This was all very helpful for me too!  Thank you!

Smartcookie721

Lakeview and Lincoln park are both nice. Everything is in walking distance and if anything put yourself near the red/brown/purple line and youll have quick access to everything.  I work at IMMC (Illinois Masonic Medical Center) so we get all the traumas that happen in the area... I just like to always give a word of forewarning-this area and general vicinity are nice, but do not think that its 100% safe as so many people do.  I get beating and shooting victims on a steady basis.  Not the most terrific place to raise kids either because theres not alot of space for them to run around and day care is ridiculously expensive.  But if youre looking to enjoy the city life during your younger years then its terriffic! Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and wrigleyville all are so populated with restaurants and bars within walking distance of every apt! Good luck!