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Old 05-31-2012, 09:37 AM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,331 posts, read 23,757,300 times
Reputation: 7419

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Quote:
Originally Posted by emathias View Post

You could also live in River North, although depending on what part of River North your walk to work might stretch to 25 minutes or so. There are also a lot of transit options between River North and South Wacker. I've spent about 11 years of my career working on or near South Wacker and I live in River North. I've walked, ridden a bike, taken the "L", take cabs, and taken buses. Sometimes all in the same week - I like the flexibility.
I have a coworker who walks both ways to work and back home who lives in River North and I have another in the GC who walks home from work (unless it's really cold out, then he takes the red line).
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Old 05-31-2012, 09:46 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,936,054 times
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As others have noted "walking" exclusively is excessively limiting -- even adding a short bus /El ride for the River North or Gold Coast areas are going to make poor weather (hot to cold) a lot more tolerable and add tremendously to the options for nightlife. Frankly, given the division of Chicago caused by the Congress Parkway / Eisenhower & Kennedy Expressways I would recommend against walking even from parts of the South or West Loop very close to offices on S. Wacker except on exceptionally pleasant days -- too much heat and soot / smells / noise of truck/bus/car traffic will leave you wanting multiple showers a day, and in snowy/icey weather you'll get to work / home covered in the mess of salt and slush; a bicycle might save some time but that means more gear /maintenance. Public transit is your friend...
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Old 05-31-2012, 04:19 PM
 
3 posts, read 5,573 times
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Thank you all for your advice.

To answer one set of questions. I'm in my mid-20s, I'm single, wouldn't mind having a dog, would enjoy having attractions near by but I haven't been much of a bar goer up until this point (then again I have always lived in much smaller areas where there was no night-life.) I haven't lived in an area where public transit was used by anyone besides homeless people or alcoholics so it's foreign to me, but I'm willing to try anything. I've heard Gold Coast is nice, but I'm also not familiar with local names of areas like "Red Line" and "North River".

Living around people my age, with a good social scene, but still safer and easy to get into work would be great.
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Old 05-31-2012, 04:32 PM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,936,054 times
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Lakeview has this guy written all over it...

There should be a special thread for folks who don't realize public transit "ain't exclusively for people who pee themselves", though from the smell at some poorly maintained El stops the confusion is understandable.
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Old 05-31-2012, 04:48 PM
 
Location: Chicago
3,865 posts, read 6,772,219 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alcox27 View Post
Thank you all for your advice.

To answer one set of questions. I'm in my mid-20s, I'm single, wouldn't mind having a dog, would enjoy having attractions near by but I haven't been much of a bar goer up until this point (then again I have always lived in much smaller areas where there was no night-life.) I haven't lived in an area where public transit was used by anyone besides homeless people or alcoholics so it's foreign to me, but I'm willing to try anything. I've heard Gold Coast is nice, but I'm also not familiar with local names of areas like "Red Line" and "North River".

Living around people my age, with a good social scene, but still safer and easy to get into work would be great.
You would probably love River North. Your budget supports it. There is a very vibrant night life. The opportunities to meet people are unlimited. You would have close access to the beach and as the other poster mentioned, you could walk/bike/take public transit to work. Also, the public transportation in Chicago is awesome. You would be an idiot to not take it. There are all walks of life, from homeless to 100K salary plus. I have shared the L with a couple of homeless people who basically crapped themselves, but it isn't common. Besides, its all about taking in the experiences the city has to offer.

Here is a neighborhood map for ya. Near north side is where River North is located. As the name suggests, its literally JUST NORTH of the river.
http://lucidrealty.com/images/Chicago_Neighborhoods.jpg

Here is a general idea of costs within certain neighborhoods. Scroll down for 1 bed/ 2bed, etc.
Top Secret Apartment Data | Domu Chicago
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Old 05-31-2012, 05:01 PM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,331 posts, read 23,757,300 times
Reputation: 7419
Quote:
Originally Posted by alcox27 View Post
Thank you all for your advice.

To answer one set of questions. I'm in my mid-20s, I'm single, wouldn't mind having a dog, would enjoy having attractions near by but I haven't been much of a bar goer up until this point (then again I have always lived in much smaller areas where there was no night-life.) I haven't lived in an area where public transit was used by anyone besides homeless people or alcoholics so it's foreign to me, but I'm willing to try anything. I've heard Gold Coast is nice, but I'm also not familiar with local names of areas like "Red Line" and "North River".

Living around people my age, with a good social scene, but still safer and easy to get into work would be great.
As far as the dog goes, not everywhere, especially a high rise will be OK with dogs and when they are, it's usually less than 40 pounds.

As a resident of the Gold Coast myself, it is nice, and while I'm around your age group and there's people in the GC my age, I'd say the average age in the 'hood is at least 35-40. Most people are established, make a good living, etc. There's a lot of stuff around and what not, and close to public transit so it's nice. It's quiet for the most part except for around Division Street (i.e. State/Division, Dearborn/Division, etc), but I don't live near there.

I would say that River North, if you want to look downtown, is your best bet..

The thing about Chicago is there's many good neighborhoods and each is better suited for someone who likes ____ and ____ and is in ____ age group. There's a lot of public transit in the city that's pretty fast. When I moved here, before, I wanted to live downtown amongst the skyscrapers and what not. I didn't know much about Chicago, I just wanted to move in a high rise with an awesome view. I still live where I did when I first moved here, but after awhile you learn a lot more than Chicago. I'd have no problem moving right now to an area like Ukrainian Village, Logan Square, Wicker Park, Lakeview, North Center, Lincoln Square, etc.


Also, "Red Line" refers to the Red Line train line, North River? Not sure we use that, but maybe you meant River North, which is the area downtown right north of the part of the river that runs East-West
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Old 05-31-2012, 05:54 PM
 
13 posts, read 13,950 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jandur View Post
Also I would just try to contact a local real estate agent to set up showing on a weekend. Avoid Chicago Apartment Finders and Apartment People. They are pretty awful.
In another recent Chicago post - http://www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ghborhood.html - Chicago Apartment Finders were praised by a couple of forum members, so I'm a little surprised by this comment. I've also checked out their website and they seem incredibly customer focussed. I'll potentially be moving to Chicago in the next 12 months and was thinking these guys would be good to start. Does anyone else have feedback - good, bad or otherwise - about Chicago Apartment Finders?
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Old 05-31-2012, 10:01 PM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,620 posts, read 8,113,751 times
Reputation: 6321
Quote:
Originally Posted by alcox27 View Post
...
I've heard Gold Coast is nice, but I'm also not familiar with local names of areas like "Red Line" and "North River".
...
Then, frankly, you've got some homework to do before you ask any more questions.

And it's "River North," so you're barely even reading what we've already written for you, which is kind of rude.
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