Moving from UK - Young professional - where to live? (Chicago: appointed, rent)

[Torriano]

Hi all

Thanks for such detailed and speedy replies, it's all really helpful. Particular thanks to emathias for thoughts on river north and beyond. Sounds like Streeterville is maybe not one to consider, and I'd already half disregarded lake view and Lincoln park for some of the reasons mentioned above.

Def agree that walking/transport is an important consideration, tho guess with blue and brown lines (and maybe a bike too, once winter is over, as suggested!) a lot of areas are well served. Coming from London I'm pretty used to a 10min walk and a 30-40min train journey (albeit not used to a -10 temperatures!) so the commute doesn't worry me.

Thanks again! Do keep posting, all opinions appreciated....

[Jandur]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

He's 30, not 24, and he's from the UK, not Cincinnati or Schaumburg.

Yes, yes, I know, I'm overgeneralizing, it's not all like Wrigleyville, yada yada....Still, I think he was on the right track with places like Old Town and Wicker Park, and there are good reasons others suggested those places and not LP/LV.

The average age in LP is 32~, Old town is 31. Probably a different range to get to that average, but those neighborhoods aren't much different. I know a ton of 22 year old kids that live in Old Town.

[marothisu]

Definitely River North, Gold Coast, or Wicker Park-ish type of neighborhood. Streeterville is boring..although it's getting better, it's still not there yet. You could probably live in any neighborhood you want OP with your budget. I live in Gold Coast and while it's fine, I prefer parts of River North. It really depends on what you're in for. I prefer the Wicker Park area to both though.

[ChiNaan]

So, am I the only one to whom River North, Streeterville, and Gold Coast (the south part of it, anyway), all seem like one neighborhood? They're too small and too similar for me to view them as distinct separate areas. I don't notice a change in environment or feel when I cross between them. I don't even know where their boundaries are with each other unless looking at a map, actually, and had always mistakenly referred to the whole area as River North or Near North until reading these forums. I'm not saying was right, because I clearly was not, but that's the way it has always appeared/felt to me.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

So, am I the only one to whom River North, Streeterville, and Gold Coast (the south part of it, anyway), all seem like one neighborhood? They're too small and too similar for me to view them as distinct separate areas. I don't notice a change in environment or feel when I cross between them. I don't even know where their boundaries are with each other unless looking at a map, actually, and had always mistakenly referred to the whole area as River North or Near North until reading these forums. I'm not saying I'm right, because I clearly was not, but that's the way it has always appeared/felt to me.

Stand at the corner of Superior and Franklin, at the corner of Rush and Oak, and at the corner of Grand and Fairbanks, and if you can't tell the difference between the three, you're nuts.

[ChiNaan]

Rush/Oak and Grand/Fairbanks look pretty similar to me (dense modern high rises with lots of higher-end retail). Superior and Franklin is a little different, but is also toward the edge of River North and not really representative of most of River North (which, again, is dense high rises with higher-end retail) to me.

So, is the Mag Mile in River North or Streeterville? Or does it depend on what side of the street you're on? I notice no change when I cross the street there, just as I notice no change when I cross north of Chicago, into what I believe is Gold Coast. I realize neighborhoods don't always have distinct boundaries, but I don't see a difference for a few blocks in either direction with those. Perhaps it's just me.

The whole area together is about the size of South Loop, West Loop, Loop, Pilsen, Lakeview, etc., so I guess it just seems like one area to me as those do.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

So, am I the only one to whom River North, Streeterville, and Gold Coast (the south part of it, anyway), all seem like one neighborhood? They're too small and too similar for me to view them as distinct separate areas. I don't notice a change in environment or feel when I cross between them. I don't even know where their boundaries are with each other unless looking at a map, actually, and had always mistakenly referred to the whole area as River North or Near North until reading these forums. I'm not saying I'm right, because I clearly was not, but that's the way it has always appeared/felt to me.

To me there's slight differences. Certainly they are different than a Lakeview or Wicker Park type of area, but they do have their slight differences.

To me, Streeterville is quite boring. Not much going on there. There's not a lot of pure bars, and the food that's there is usually kind of all the same establishment. EIther a chain or chain-y. There's not too many truly local places there. Most of the housing stock is similar (although not bad by any means but not a huge variance). There's a bowling alley and two movie theaters I guess though (although the bowling alley is more expensive than average and one of the theaters is too even if they're nice places).

In River North, there's both chain/chainy places as well as local places both expensive and cheap. There is also a little more variance in the housing stock there. I'd say it's less "cold" feeling than a Streeterville (i.e. arts stuff there).

Gold Coast has kind of both of what River North and Streeterville have although most buildings aren't as new. There's touristy stuff, some art stuff (and fashion), and some local type of places.

River North and Gold Coast are similar but River North is easier....but Streeterville to me is noticeably different than both as a whole.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Rush/Oak and Grand/Fairbanks look pretty similar to me (dense modern high rises with lots of higher-end retail). Superior and Franklin is a little different, but is also toward the edge of River North and not really representative of most of River North (which, again, is dense high rises with higher-end retail) to me.

Grand/Fairbanks has a big surface lot, and the only retail on the corner is Dominicks. You have to travel several blocks to see anything you could describe as "high end retail". Not to mention that Fairbanks, Illinois, Grand, Ohio, etc, are all REALLY wide roads, whereas Rush and Oak are small and pedestrian-scaled. Most of the Gold Coast has pedestrian-scaled roads. Much of Streeterville has auto-centric roads.

Superior/Franklin is smack in the middle of the City-designated (with even gallery-related tax incentive) "River North Gallery District" that's somewhere around 20 years old. So I think perhaps your definition of "River North" is a bit out of alignment with the reality of what it is. The River North Residents Association didn't even used to include the Hubbard/Kinzie/State area in their definition of River North.

The mix of retail, too, in River North is very different from Streeterville and/or the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast has far, far more boutiques, clothing stores, jewelry stores, quirky pastry shop type places. River North has mostly restaurants, art galleries, design galleries/showcases and a few salons. Streeterville actually has surprisingly little retail given the population, mostly because they have too much parking, too little transit, and are close to Michigan Avenue. Both the Gold Coast and River North have more retail because they're better connected to other areas via transit and have more foot traffic due to older buildings that don't guarantee every resident a car spot.

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

So, is the Mag Mile in River North or Streeterville? Or does it depend on what side of the street you're on? I notice no change when I cross the street there, just as I notice no change when I cross north of Chicago, into what I believe is Gold Coast. I realize neighborhoods don't always have distinct boundaries, but I don't see a difference for a few blocks in either direction with those. Perhaps it's just me.

The Mag Mile is really its own world, although I'd say that anything north of Chicago Ave is part of the Gold Coast, including that section of Michigan Ave. None of Michigan Ave is part of River North by anyone's definition (if you think it is, then part of your problem is that you don't have accurate definitions of the neighborhoods). Some people consider it part of Streeterville, but anything east of St. Clair or especially east of Fairbanks is just worlds different from Michigan Avenue in nearly every way except building height.

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

The whole area together is about the size of South Loop, West Loop, Loop, Pilsen, Lakeview, etc., so I guess it just seems like one area to me as those do.

Which is why the City clusteres it together as "Near North." And it does share some things in common, but they really are very different areas. I think Lincoln Park is more like Lakeview than any of those Near North areas are like each other. I see pretty clear differences between Streeterville, the Gold Coast, Michigan Avenue when taken as a whole, and River North as a whole, and even between the three sub-areas of River North I mentioned in my initial post.

I will say, I am very familiar with Chicago and may have better-than-average ability to identify areas by "feel". For example, I was watching "Chicago Fire" last night and correctly (after I ID'd what I thought they were, I was able to go directly to them with Google Maps/Streetview to verify it) identified the location of every single outdoor scene (down to the block) simply because of how it "felt" to me - everything from the diner in Lincoln Park, to the midrise in Garfield Park, to parts in the lower west side.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by emathias

None of Michigan Ave is part of River North by anyone's definition

Interesting. So what is the dividing line between Streeterville and River North, then?

Originally Posted by emathias

Which is why the City clusteres it together as "Near North."

Well at least I had that part right.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Interesting. So what is the dividing line between Streeterville and River North, then?

I don't consider them to abut. The Michigan Avenue corridor divides them, but I (and, I think, most people) don't consider Mich Ave as included in Streeterville nor in River North. I think most people put either Wabash or State Street as the western edge of the Michigan Avenue corridor and St Clair or Fairbanks as the eastern edge.

A lot of it is fairly subjective. I come to the definitions I advocate for based on three factors: 1) How I see the names used, 2) How I think most local people will understand the terms and 3) What makes sense based on functional and "feel" differences from retail, architecture, roadway size, etc.