River north for families? (Lincoln, Roscoe: rent, neighborhoods, pre-k)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Even from Orleans & Illinois, it's only a half mile walk to the 3 grocery stores near State Street. That's less than 10 minutes of walking. Go a few minutes further, and you can to the Borders at State & Randolph or the parks in Streeterville.
Yes those walks are no fun in winter, but if you live in the city then walking even 15 minutes to get somewhere should be no big deal. There are lots of people even in Lincoln Park, Lakeview and other areas people usually consider to be super walkable that don't have a grocery stores and a book stores within half a mile of them. For some reason, downtown it has to be less than 2 blocks away or it's too far.
I agree though, the western edge of River North (west of Orleans) is pretty isolated with not much going on.
Even from Orleans & Illinois, it's only a half mile walk to the 3 grocery stores near State Street. That's less than 10 minutes of walking. Go a few minutes further, and you can to the Borders at State & Randolph or the parks in Streeterville.
Yes those walks are no fun in winter, but if you live in the city then walking even 15 minutes to get somewhere should be no big deal. There are lots of people even in Lincoln Park, Lakeview and other areas people usually consider to be super walkable that don't have a grocery stores and a book stores within half a mile of them. For some reason, downtown it has to be less than 2 blocks away or it's too far.
I agree though, the western edge of River North (west of Orleans) is pretty isolated with not much going on.
Most people take 10-12 minutes to walk 1/2 mile in the city between normal walking speed and traffic lights. Then you walk back. That's 20-25 minutes just to get a few groceries, not counting shopping time. I'd venture to say most people in the suburbs get their their closest grocery store faster than that. So while, no, it's not a big deal to walk 10-15 minutes for something that isn't part of your regular needs, when you have to walk that far for everything except a Subway sandwich, it adds up and really detracts from the convenience. Which is why so many damn people on the western edge of River North own cars and drive to get groceries. Maybe you live in some fantasy-land where distances have no consequences and people are happy to walk 25 minutes for groceries, but here in the real world, the vast majority of people who have the money to pay rent or own places in the downtown area simply will refuse to walk that far for something as basic as groceries.
Most people take 10-12 minutes to walk 1/2 mile in the city between normal walking speed and traffic lights. Then you walk back. That's 20-25 minutes just to get a few groceries, not counting shopping time. I'd venture to say most people in the suburbs get their their closest grocery store faster than that. So while, no, it's not a big deal to walk 10-15 minutes for something that isn't part of your regular needs, when you have to walk that far for everything except a Subway sandwich, it adds up and really detracts from the convenience. Which is why so many damn people on the western edge of River North own cars and drive to get groceries. Maybe you live in some fantasy-land where distances have no consequences and people are happy to walk 25 minutes for groceries, but here in the real world, the vast majority of people who have the money to pay rent or own places in the downtown area simply will refuse to walk that far for something as basic as groceries.
Most suburban people probably drive 20 minutes to the nearest grocery.
You might want to check the school locator on cps.edu to make sure the school is one you'd be happy to send your child to, since unless you are getting an amazing deal it will likely be a long time before you can sell the place. If it's Ogden, you're fine.
We lived in The Loop for a year with our then 3 year old. We enjoyed it but left because my husband wanted more space. I think it's fine to live downtown with a child so long as you are big on walking. There are pediatricians, grocery stores and parks nearby, as well as public transportation.
Most people take 10-12 minutes to walk 1/2 mile in the city between normal walking speed and traffic lights. Then you walk back. That's 20-25 minutes just to get a few groceries, not counting shopping time. I'd venture to say most people in the suburbs get their their closest grocery store faster than that. So while, no, it's not a big deal to walk 10-15 minutes for something that isn't part of your regular needs, when you have to walk that far for everything except a Subway sandwich, it adds up and really detracts from the convenience. Which is why so many damn people on the western edge of River North own cars and drive to get groceries. Maybe you live in some fantasy-land where distances have no consequences and people are happy to walk 25 minutes for groceries, but here in the real world, the vast majority of people who have the money to pay rent or own places in the downtown area simply will refuse to walk that far for something as basic as groceries.
When you walk everywhere you tend to organize your shopping trips a little better than when you can just jump in the car to go get whatever you want.
When you walk everywhere you tend to organize your shopping trips a little better than when you can just jump in the car to go get whatever you want.
I feel sorry for you people who are trying to defend the poor level of services in west River North as if it were something more than merely barely tolerable.
I live in River North and I've lived in River North, Old Town or the Gold Coast for most of the past 16 years. I sort o live in the middle, so I can be at the nearest grocery store in 5 minutes. I don't own a car. And without a car, I wouldn't live any further west than Franklin.
I don't know ANYONE who lives in the suburbs who has to drive 20 minutes to get to the nearest grocery story. My brother lives in Wheaton and he can be at the nearest grocery store in 5 minutes. Even my coworkers who live in the edges of Naperville near Aurora can be in a grocery store in 10 minutes.
And this is exactly what we should expect when people moving into downtown elect an alderman who is anti-urban, anti-density, and anti-development.
You simply can't have a good urban experience without the density to support sevices. You can't get those services when you force developers to jump through all sorts of absurd hoops in order to build. And it will never happen when the people who have moved in want to keep their cars and drive out of the neighborhood because there are no services because they force new development to adhere to absurd parking and traffic requirements.
Until the City grows some balls and actually allows actual urban development in the urban center again, River North probably won't get any additional walkable grocery stores despite having more than enough residents to support at least two more. It's truly sad, but seeing people defend the current situation and basically imply people who recognize that it's not ideal are lazy or bad planners makes me think Chicago's downtown has perhaps reached an impasse against ever becoming a really great urban area to live in instead of just a collection of places where people live and then drive to big box stores on the periphery of downtown - i.e. just areas that act like super-close-in, hyper-dense suburbs instead of an actual city.
EDIT: Actually, I forgot, the next "grocery store" in River North will be right next to the Chicago Brown Line stop. And it will be a WalMart store. That's relevantbecause with the hoops Reilly sets up, only a big retailer like WalMart can afford to go through the process. Reilly may think he's "protecting" the area, but in multiple ways he's making it impossible for the area to come anywhere close to its full potential.
Plenty of people drive 20 minutes to a grocer in the suburbs. Of course I can walk to three different grocers in my neighborhood in 5 minutes. Not complaining.
Emathias you quoted me but if you read my post you'll see I was also defending walking to supermarkets downtown. Just wanted to point that out.
Perhaps I should have written "When you live downtown and walk everywhere you tend to organize your shopping trips a little better than when you live in the suburbs and can just jump in the car to go get whatever you want."
I didn't own a car at all for most of the time I lived downtown, I didn't even have a license. In fact I didn't learn to drive until I was 30 years old.
Plenty of people drive 20 minutes to a grocer in the suburbs. Of course I can walk to three different grocers in my neighborhood in 5 minutes. Not complaining.
I agree with whomever else said this is an overexageration for the vast majority of suburbanites.
but that's neither here nor there.
My two cents: It's not the most family-friendly neighborhood. I would suggest, if you really want to live there, to rent for a while to see if you really like the lifestyle.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
