Boston to Chicago (Lincoln, Washington, Harvard: appointed, for sale, apartments)

[chicago_bound]

Hey everyone, I am considering a move to Chicago in the next few months from Boston. I visited Chicago last month for the first time and was taken aback by how great your city is! It's funny because most cities I have visited for the first time have left me a bit disappointed. Its like they didint meet my expectations in some small way. Some cities I have been disappointed in are Miami, LA and Atlanta. However when I visited Chicago not only were my expectations met they were exceeded! The only other city that has done that to me was NYC which I ended up living in for over 6 years.

Some history about me: I am from CT originally and lived in NYC for about 6 years before moving to Boston last year. I have been having some trouble in identifying with Boston, its kind of strange, but I still dont really feel like its my "home" and I don't get any kind of vibe from Boston. It has also been difficult for me to make friends here, and this never wa a problem in NYC. I'm very friendly and outgoing, but Boston seems very "clicky" and hard to break into. I think part of the problem was that I lived in NYC for years and ANY place after NYC is going to be a letdown. I ultimately had to leave NYC due to the incredibly high cost of living, so moving back there is not an option. That is one of the things I liked about Chicago, compared to NYC and Boston and it is down right affordable for me. Chicago is the first city I have been to that gave me that "energy" since NYC. I have put my condo up for sale here and depending on how long it takes to sell, I will most likely be moving to Chicago shortly thereafter. I wanted to ask if there were any East Coast people who have moved to CHicago and if so, how do you like it? People always tell me that winters will be brutal, but I can't imagine them being much worse than winters in Boston. I prefer colder weather anyway and hate hot humid weather. Also Im a gay male in his 30's, any ideas of what a good part of Chicago would be to live in? I can afford about $1500 a month for a 1 bedoom, would like to be close to public transportation since I plan on ditching my car. Also I dont need to be in the gay mecca, just a nice place close to restaurants and museums and local bars. Any suggestions? thanks!

[jdiddy]

There's a number of threads on here about New Yorkers moving to Chicago. Since you appear to identify yourself more as a New Yorker than a Bostonian, they should prove helpful to you.

But I'll summarize them for you,

Chicago's affordable, the people are great.

There you go, saved you pages of reading.

[jessiegirl_98]

If you can afford 1500 for a one bedroom, you can virtually live anywhere in the city that you choose :-) If you want to be close to museums, I would suggest the South Loop. Close to museums, Grant Park, and restaurants/bars (although I'm not as familiar with the night life there). One bedrooms there go for about $1200. If you want to be in the middle of everything, you can live in the Gold Coast. I lived there a few years ago and had a really, really nice 1 bedroom for $1500 (however, I feel the rents have increased a lot). I enjoyed it...walking to Michigan Avenue, etc, but it is pretty conjested/touristy. Other neighborhoods that you would probably enjoy are Lincoln Park (by the zoo, the lake, tons of bars and restaurants) and Lakeview (by the lake, again, tons of bars/restaurants). Lakeview also has Halstead street which is home to many gay bars. Andersonville is also a nice neighborhood that has a lot of gay bars, good general bars and restaurants, and is a bit more tame than boystown in Lakeview. (you could get an AWESOME place in Andersonville for $1500/month). The only negative of Andersonville is that it is farther north. Any of these places are convenient to public transportation. You can check that out more at Chicago Transit Authority | 1-888-YOURCTA. Wicker Park is another place to check out..... If you want to find anymore about these neighborhoods, you can search on this board.

[Chicago60614]

Yeah, choose anywhere. I'm basically in your same boat, only I've lived here for 6 years now.

I would choose somewhere in Lincoln Park, Lakeview or Roscoe Village.

I'm down near Diversey and Racine and I love it. I can walk anywhere, but I'm not RIGHT in the middle of everything. Really though anything north of Armitage, south of Irving Park, east of the lake, and west of Ashland is going to be pretty good. This obviously isn't the only place to live, but for someone new to the city with no car, it's a good stepping board. There are a ton of things to do, lots of new people move to this area, and there's a ton of transportation. From this little area you can really get a feel of what YOU want, and go from there to other neighborhoods. I'd use the brown line as a general basis of where to look for places. It's a very easy ride downtown on the Brown, and the neighborhoods that follow it are all very nice and "cute"

They're doing construction on the brown line, yes, but it's coming along pretty well and in a year the major hassles should be wrapping up to a degree.

[Attrill]

I grew up in Boston, lived in NYC for a while, and moved to Chicago 14 years ago. I haven't regretted it at all. Chicago is a great city.

What parts of Boston and NYC did you like? There are a lot of great areas in Chicago that all have their different advantages. The areas Chicago60614 and Jessie_girl talked about are definitely worth checking out. Another area to check out is Ukrainian Village/Wicker Park/Bucktown. The strip of restaurants and bars along Division (from Ashland to Western) is great, and there are loads of clubs and bars just to the North in Wicker Park (centered around the intersection of Milwaukee and Damen). It keeps going North from there into Bucktown, and also spreads to the southeast into West Town.

[chicago_bound]

Thanks for the replies so far! You guys are fast lol It sounds like Lakeview or Lincoln Park would work well for me, also checked out Andersonville on craigslist and they seem to have some really nice apartments there. I like the fact that you can be in a nice leafy neighborhood but still be close to the action. Wicker Park sounds like another great area, I'll keep researching on it.

Attrill: Good to hear that you have enjoyed Chicago all these years, that gives me hope. To answer your questions about neighborhoods, in NYC I really loved Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park area, also parts of Chelsea are nice too. I also really loved the Upper West Side which was kinda funky but down to earth I felt. In Boston I love Cambridge, near Harvard Square, the South End and Davis Square in Somerville. And of course Beacon Hill which was way too pricey for me.

Thanks jessiegirl for the link to the Chicago Transit Authority, that is very helpful.

[Lookout Kid]

Andersonville is great, but don't be fooled into thinking it's in the heart of the action. It's pretty far north, and the Red Line is several blocks east from the big strip on Clark. For $1500/month you would have a really swank pad in that neighborhood, though!

Ravenswood/Lincoln Square are equally leafy, but probably better served by the "L". Still, these neighborhoods are a little sleepier compared to Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, and Bucktown.

Wicker Park/Bucktown has really become a major nightlife destination, and has a "hipper" flavor than Lakeview or Lincoln Park. I really loved living over there. The crime is still a bit higher, though.

[j33]

I've lived in the Wicker Park/East Village area for several years and enjoy it quite a bit. I particularly like my proximity to downtown (I can walk to the west loop art gallery/restaurant area in 1/2 an hour and the LOOP in about 45 minutes if I'm feeling ambitious). And while the main streets are definitely nightlife destinations, the side streets are quiet enough for my mid-thirties self who isn't usually into 'nightlife destinations', but loves restaurants, casual bars, art galleries, and some of the stores.

That being said, it has its downsides, as has been mentioned, the crime is a bit higher, the rents are a bit expensive by Chicago standards, and I don't think you get that much for them, and, well, some of the 'super hip' kids can get annoying.

It probably depends on who you are and what you enjoy. I work in the arts and enjoy that aspect of society a lot more than the average joe, so I think this part of the city might appeal to me more than some people.

[NYrules]

If you are gay and in your mid 30s looking for nightlife and being able to meet people then look no further than in Lakeview. Lakeview will seem much like NYC with its constant hub bub of people on the sidewalks walking up and down, to the music of the car horns in the city, to the sheer diversity of the population from white, to mexican, to african americans. The cost of living in Lakeview is compareable with "The Village" or Soho on Manhattan and the atmosphere is very similar with it's artsy and less "clicky" feel.

Chicago's climate is also very similar to NYC where winters can be a crap shoot leaving one to never know what to expect for a winter come December 1. I have seen Christmases with temps in the 60's where there were leaves on the trees up until a few weeks ago much like this year seems to be going, to other years where we will have over a foot of snow on the ground and temps in the single digits. Springs like NYC take forever to get here due to the city's close proximity to the icy waters of Lake Michigan which basically work like a giant air conditioner. Summers also like NY's are hot and humid where temps frequently will hit 90 degrees and have humidities ranging from 50-70%. Falls are the most pleasant to most with it's prodominantly sunny skies and temps which will typically range from 50-70 degrees most days, to 80-85 during "Indian Summer" spells. Overall there is not much difference in climates from here to NY, and NO our winters here are no where near as severe as Boston's, so that should be some good news for you.

[TootsieWootsie]

Chicago's Boys' Town in Lakeview is large enough to have rainbow flags on quite a few streets (what? a mile's worth?) You cannot miss it. It's a big, busy, popular area.
And unless you want a huge place, you could get a studio for $600-700 and a one bedroom for less than $1,500. I had a guy who was gay and your age live there recently. Nice area with tons of little mom-and-pop bars and restaurants for all. You should be happy there, I would think. I would if I were in your shoes. Heck, I would myself.