asian community? (Chicago, Evanston, Glenview: best neighborhood, house, job openings)

[gasgangrene]

[SIZE=3]I’ve seen a couple of job opportunities recently in the Chicago area and may consider a move, but was wondering if anyone knew about neighborhoods with a significant Chinese presence. We have a multigenerational household of 8 with three people who speak only Mandarin. I visited the officially designated Chinatown briefly many years ago, but it struck me as more touristy rather than a real Chinese community, and it didn’t seem to be surrounded by the best neighborhood. I am assuming that there is a probably another concentration of Asian/Chinese people somewhere in the city or suburbs. Perhaps Chicago is like Houston or DC where the old downtown “Chinatown” is just a tourist destination and most of the original inhabitants have sold out and moved elsewhere, taking the authentic grocery stores and restaurants with them. We would obviously need a large home (4-5 BR), but could spend up to $1M. Job openings are in Hyde Park, Maywood, and Evanston and a long commute would be problematic.[/SIZE]

[oakparkdude]

I'm not Chinese, but I have Chinese friends who grew up in Chinatown. If you go a block off the commercial strip, there's a fair bit of residential occupied by Chinese Americans. Its not as big as San Francisco, but my educated guestimate is probably 5-10,000 Chinese Americans in the neighborhood. If anything, the neighborhood is growing in size and spilling over into surrounding neighborhoods like Bridgeport (historically Irish). Some of the surrounding neighborhoods are not the greatest, but gentrification is underway and the area has probably improved a lot compared to when you were last here.

Hyde Park would be a short commute from Chinatown. Maywood and Evanston would be a bit further.

[Drover]

Chinatown may be small compared to West Coast cities, but it is the real deal. It's not a "facade" neighborhood like Greektown where there are few actual Greeks living there or Andersonville where there are few actual Swedes living there. There are actually lots of Chinese people living in Chinatown. And the neighborhoods around it (Pilsen to the west, South Loop to the north, Bridgeport to the south) are just fine. I'd live in in Chinatown in a heartbeat if I had the chance.

[reppin_the_847]

I'd grab the job opening in Evanston and then buy a house somewhere like Wilmette or Glenview. Possibly Northbrook, but from there the commute times would begin to be a bit iffy. Some of these North Shore suburbs have historically attracted a lot of affluent Asians due to the excellent school districts. For $1 Million, you should be able to find a decent house in these areas. If you wish to venture further north along the shore, then perhaps check out the Highland Park & Deerfield areas as well.

Originally Posted by gasgangrene

[SIZE=3]I’ve seen a couple of job opportunities recently in the Chicago area and may consider a move, but was wondering if anyone knew about neighborhoods with a significant Chinese presence. We have a multigenerational household of 8 with three people who speak only Mandarin. I visited the officially designated Chinatown briefly many years ago, but it struck me as more touristy rather than a real Chinese community, and it didn’t seem to be surrounded by the best neighborhood. I am assuming that there is a probably another concentration of Asian/Chinese people somewhere in the city or suburbs. Perhaps Chicago is like Houston or DC where the old downtown “Chinatown” is just a tourist destination and most of the original inhabitants have sold out and moved elsewhere, taking the authentic grocery stores and restaurants with them. We would obviously need a large home (4-5 BR), but could spend up to $1M. Job openings are in Hyde Park, Maywood, and Evanston and a long commute would be problematic.[/SIZE]

[ahava]

Originally Posted by reppin_the_847

I'd grab the job opening in Evanston and then buy a house somewhere like Wilmette or Glenview. Possibly Northbrook, but from there the commute times would begin to be a bit iffy. Some of these North Shore suburbs have historically attracted a lot of affluent Asians due to the excellent school districts. For $1 Million, you should be able to find a decent house in these areas. If you wish to venture further north along the shore, then perhaps check out the Highland Park & Deerfield areas as well.

I agree. Glenbrook North HS is 14.6% Asian, and Glenbrook South is 12.2%. There is a large Chinese Christian Church in the area, and I know of an Asian grocery store in Northbrook, but I believe the owners are Korean. If there's one there are probably more though.