21 year old moving to Chicago from Seattle for my first full-time job. (Addison: for sale, rental)

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by ChikidII

Yeah. A lot of 20 years olds are moving into Logan Square and Avondale but I am sure there are still many more in Wicker Park and Bucktown.

Could very well be true, but it would be somewhat counter-intuitive with my experience. As these neighborhoods mature, they get more expensive, get more families, and get more people actually deconverting mutli-unit buildings into SFHs.

My impression from recent trips to/through Wicker Park & Bucktown is they are solidly in the thirty-something (and approaching 40-something) camp as far as residents.

There are of course still tons of younger folks still coming for the bars & music venues, but no twenty-something is supporting the boutiques and other high-end little shops that now blanket those areas.

Avondale is interesting as it's not simply getting people moving north along the blue line/Milwaukee, it's also getting people from the east from Lake View.

[CollegeHusky]

Thank you for the advice everyone. So as an eariler poster said, it would be crazy to live in Lincoln Park/Wrigleyville because of the commute to the airport? Anyone with that kind of experience in those two neighborhoods?

[ChikidII]

Originally Posted by CollegeHusky

Thank you for the advice everyone. So as an eariler poster said, it would be crazy to live in Lincoln Park/Wrigleyville because of the commute to the airport? Anyone with that kind of experience in those two neighborhoods?

Trust us don't do it! Lincoln Park and Lakeview are nice but it is going to get annoying really quick. It's just getting to and from the blue line from those two hoods will get annoying and then there is the horrible East to West traffic and vice versa you will have to deal with on top of that. In Lakeview it's really bad especally when it's baseball season....

[MiniMissMixxMatchMaxx]

i heard a lot of good things about bucktown

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by ChikidII

Trust us don't do it! Lincoln Park and Lakeview are nice but it is going to get annoying really quick. It's just getting to and from the blue line from those two hoods will get annoying and then there is the horrible East to West traffic and vice versa you will have to deal with on top of that. In Lakeview it's really bad especally when it's baseball season....

Yes, yes, yes.

[YoungTraveler2011]

Originally Posted by CollegeHusky

Hi posters,

I am moving to Chicago from Seattle. I attended the University of Washington. Not a hot bed for UW grads. Most of them move to SF, NYC, or stay in Seattle.

I am looking for a fun neighborhood to live in for a 20 something year old (I have to meet people!). I will be working with a management consulting firm. Therefore, I will be traveling Mon-Thurs to the clients site, so easy access to O'Hare would be preferable, but not the priority if it conflicts with living in a fun/good neighborhood.

With my salary I can spend up to $1200/month and be happy with my budget, but then again I wouldn't be opposed to spending $800/month since I will be on the road every week!

Input from people who have spent time in both Chicago and Seattle would be great! Comparing the differences, what do you personally like more and why, etc.

I plan on moving there in April and spending a month not working to explore the area and maybe do some trips outside of chicago.

Car or no car (I was feeling no, but maybe I'm wrong)?
Is a real estate agent essential like New York?

I will be up there in December to check out the neighborhoods. Steer me in the right direction please!

Also, Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Thank you in advance!

How did you get a job right after college in a far away state?

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by CollegeHusky

Thank you for the advice everyone. So as an eariler poster said, it would be crazy to live in Lincoln Park/Wrigleyville because of the commute to the airport? Anyone with that kind of experience in those two neighborhoods?

If you live in a Chicago for a while, it doesn't take long to realize how bad something would be, even if you've never done it all the time. Will it kill you? Likely not, but Logan Square, Wicker Park or Bucktown would all be solid options that would make you want to rip your hair out a lot less.

[Aleking]

anyone who travels out of O'hare for a living needs to be on the blue line...period. Move to Logan and deal with the hipsters.

[ChikidII]

I mean if you really want to live in those two neighborhoods and have a less headache inducing trip it would be to take the red line south to the loop (the red line serves those two neighborhoods) to transfer to the blue line in the Loop to head back north. Essentially you would be heading south to only back north, which is silly, but I rather do that than have to bus it to the blue line and deal with unpredicatable traffic. Either way it's going to be a hassle from Lakeview and Lincoln Park.

In all honesty, you should live along the blue line it's so much easier, just walk to the train and it's all good from there. It's not that Lakeview and Lincoln Park are hard to get to from the Blue line and vice versa. If you traveled like 5 times a year to O'Hare it wouldn't be a problem to live in those neighborhoods. The problem is you will be traveling a lot and that commute will get annoying really fast.

[ChikidII]

Originally Posted by aragx6

If you live in a Chicago for a while, it doesn't take long to realize how bad something would be, even if you've never done it all the time. Will it kill you? Likely not, but Logan Square, Wicker Park or Bucktown would all be solid options that would make you want to rip your hair out a lot less.

Right. If the OP was traveling maybe a few times a years, I would say by all means move to Lakeview and Lincoln Park. However, as said before, anyone who lives off of always going to O'hare should live right of the Blue LIne.