Ukrainian Village- your thoughts? (Chicago: for rent, violent crime, transfer to)

[EastBoundandDownChick]

I have been doing a lot of research (both online and in real life) regarding which Chicago neighborhood will be the best fit for me when I relocate there. I visited this past week and fell in love with so many different areas of the city. But one of my most favorite was the Ukrainian Village, which was suggested to me by a relative who lives near there. I'm a professional type but also very artistic. It seemed like a very good mix of people, definitely liked the vibe there. Anyone have thoughts on the neighborhood they would like to share? I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I move.

[Chicago76]

U. Village is a relatively inexpensive alternative to Wicker/Bucktown. Plenty to do from a nightlife perspective. Not even getting into the Division street places like Rainbo and those running east from there just outside the 'hood: the Hideout, Innertown, Cleo's, Darkroom, and some new place called Lockdown I've never been to are all in the area offering good nightlife options. The nieghborhood itself is fairly diverse: artists and professionals, immigrant families, old Ukrainian ladies, etc. The housing stock is generally good and one of the things I absolutely love about the area is the availability of places with a front terrace (in larger buildings) or at least a front porch in the smaller buildings.

The not so great:

1-It's a very safe area by violent crime standards, but does get a lot of property crime.

2-If you like to sleep in on the weekends, Sunday takes some getting used to with all of the church bells firing up at 7 am and continuing through the early afternoon. There are a ton of churches in that area.

3-Commuting downtown can be a relatively big pain when you factor in how geographically close the area is to the Loop. Waiting for a Chicago bus (which run better than they used to but still aren't great) and then catching the blue at the Chicago stop (where trains are already packed to he gills) is annoying.

I could live with #1 and #2 above just fine, but #3 bugged me. I wound up moving back to Wicker Park for better rail access. People make it work, and not everyone commutes DT, but I'm not a morning person, so anything I could do to make my chronic lateness better went a long way for me.

[Aleking]

you've asked the same question more or less three times now.

Scoping out the Chicago 'hoods tomorrow, need advice!

What Chicago neighborhoods are considered 'artsy'?

There are still plenty of artsy people, it's still safe and the transit still sucks.

[WhaThe]

I like it here a lot. The neighborhood groups are active and people are friendly.

I don't have trouble with the transit (especially with bustracker). I can go to work end to end in 25-35 mins. There is a transfer involved but it doesn't bother me. From where I'm at I can take the buses to multiple train stops. I am also starting to appreciate being a little separated from the train after living near them for so long. I have a suspicion that criminals much prefer the trains to the buses as well.

[RingWalk]

It's pretty much see what you get. If you liked it when you visited it, you would like it. Pretty safe, etc.

[EastBoundandDownChick]

Originally Posted by Aleking

you've asked the same question more or less three times now.

Actually, no, I really haven't. I'm asking specifically about this neighborhood. The last time I checked that was the one of the main reasons people come on relocation forums... you know... to get an idea of the places they are potentially moving to. Who are you, the frickin' CD police?

[asdollardawg]

Well, I can't help too much since I currently live on the south side, but I'm lookin to move there as well. I'm not sure about your budget, but I've been looking at studios/1br around 800 and see quite a few nice ones just southease of Chicago and Western. Perhaps not the best part of the neighborhood (I'd ideally like to be closer to Damen...which I hear is more the epicenter of the area), but looks pretty decent.

Anyways, I'm attracted to it for similar reasons as you. Good mixture of families, working types, artists, professionals. Fun, low-key nightlife with some good eats and coffee shops. And, I hear it might be a little more stable of a population living there than some nearby areas, so people might be a little more invested in keeping the small stores open, area nice, etc. But, like I said, this is all secondhand info. I don't really know jack...

But, I am going to check it out this weekend. See if I can't find any for rent by owner places that are cheaper than the ones on craigslist. I hear that's the best way to do it

[ole69]

We lived right next to St. Nikolai's for 3 years, and for 1 of those years, the bell tower was literally across the alley from us, and the bells didn't keep us up, although we noticed them.

I say it all the time but Uk Village is my favorite Chicago neighborhood so far and we would have stayed there if we could afford to buy there (rent is reasonable, housing price for what we were looking for was too steep).

People rag on the bus all the time but I work in River North and had no problems at all with the #66 Chicago Bus (I didn't transfer to the Blue Line, just took the #66 to State and walked). The Grand Bus is kind of crappy though

[EastBoundandDownChick]

Yes, it does seem transit is the biggest issue with this neighborhood. But if that's the only real issue and the rents are reasonable I firmly believe the area has real value to it. Considering all of the money I'll save taking a bus instead of driving I suppose I can deal with it lol. Thinking about those cold Chicago winter mornings though, man... you guys must be a tough breed! I don't know if I'll be wearing a coat so much as a sleeping bag with sleeves!

[Milwaukee City]

What are the borders of UK? every person I talk to has a different border setup.