Overrated and Underrated (Lincoln, Roscoe, Bridgeport: transplants, crime, townhouse)

[Libertine]

Which neighborhoods in this city are the most overrated and which are the most underrated (grade by any criteria-restaurants, bars, etc.)?

[Drover]

Overrated: Near North, especially the Cabrini-Green area where people are paying half a million for a townhouse while shootings still go on a block away.

Underrated: Roscoe Village. Perhaps not "underrated" to those who are familiar with it so much as "overlooked" when people recommend upscale-ish neighborhoods to potential newcomers. RV doesn't get mentioned nearly as often as its contemporaries to the east.

[BRU67]

Overrated: Lincoln Park and Lakeview -- Very nice but c'mon. Let's broaden our horizons a little here, college students and recent grads! The Red Sox and Yankees of the City.

Underrated: Ravenswood and Albany Park.

[lazy1]

Overrated: Rogers Park

Underrated: Kenwood and maybe Chinatown

[TeacherMan]

If I tell you what is more under-rated, and why, then everyone will move there and know all the joy that I receive for a tremendously low price, and it won't be so cheap anymore...

HA, HA!!

No, Actually, I don't feel qualified as a new resident to rate anything...but I do give "big props" of recognition to my new neighborhood of Bridgeport. I feel it is an undiscovered "diamond in the rough." Culture, history, variety, value priced.

Looking forward to more responses and debate.

Cheers,
-TM

[hgclyde]

From I have read on this forum and what I saw vacation last year here my 2 cents for what its worth:

Overrated:
North Side: Near North Side,Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Wicker Park, Bucktown, (to a lesser degree Rogers Park and Uptown due to crime issues)
South Side: Hyde Park, Kenwood (to a lesser degree Bronzeville and South Shore)

Underrated:
Most Northwest side communities;
South Side:
Chattam and most Southwest side neighborhoods.

It seems if your community is not like Lincoln Park, Lakeview or Hyde Park with the bars, stores, nightlife or galleries forget it. To bad. Not every neighborhood wants to be to the next Lincoln Park and nor it should be; some residents want just basics and thats it. There nothing wrong that either; especially the inner city areas that struggle with crime and poverty just wants basics of a communities: grocery stores, sit down restaurants, banks etc.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by hgclyde

Underrated:
Most Northwest side communities;
South Side:
Chattam and most Southwest side neighborhoods.

You know what neighborhood is pretty great? Edison Park. It's way out there and may as well be a suburb, but I've spent some time there recently and it is a really cool place. Good bars. Good restaurants. More laid-back suburban feel while still having some of the cool city-ness that I like. Neat place.

As for me, I think Lincoln Park is terribly overrated. It's nice. It's just too expensive and contains what may be the city's most annoying people. No offense.

I think Wicker Park is overrated, too.

[via chicago]

Really anywhere that people are paying luxury prices to live somewhere that was originally built as a middle class/blue collar neighborhood.

[Scribbler]

Lincoln Park/Lakeview are exceedingly overrated in terms of recent grads/twentysomethings relocating to the city. There are prospective transplants who ONLY know those neighborhoods. Runners up, Wicker Park/Bucktown.

Underrated, hmm...everywhere else, pretty much?

[Frank the Tank]

I agree with Drover about Roscoe Village being underrated. It's a great walkable neighborhood in and of itself that's also close enough to the Lincoln Park/Lakeview/Bucktown areas to enjoy all of those neighborhoods' amenities in short order yet just far enough way to not deal with the overflow of people right out of school (along with a much better parking situation).

Overrated would be the Gold Coast and Streeterville areas. They have fantastic locations and are great to visit in terms of shopping and nightlife, but the fact that they are dominated by high-rises means there's not quite as much of a community feel. Even Lincoln Park and Lakeview, as crowded as they may be, still feel like real neighborhoods.