Interested in Relocating to Chicago. Tips? (Lincoln, Bridgeport: neighborhoods, college, young professionals)

[VTJayElle]

Hi there,

I am interested in relocating to Chicago from Vermont to be nearer to family,get out of my mid-20's economic funk (your 20's are hard), and to get out of the countryside.

Anyway - I'm a history nerd. I love attending performing arts (all of it!). I'm pretty social, but appreciate the value of my alone/quiet time. I require a good cup of coffee in the morning. I won't have any friends in the area already so it'd be nice to know about some organizations that other mid-late 20's professionals are participating in (Young Professionals? Sports? Volunteering?)What neighborhoods are safe and affordable? I'm not opposed to some noise, but am not interested in the college party scene whatsoever. I'd like to be within walking distance of coffee shops, bookstores, restaurants, bars, shopping, museums.

What is the culture of Chicago like? Is it a good place for young professionals? Who are the major employers? Or does anyone know of some really great start-ups I might look at? I'll be able to start interviewing locally in late December/early January.

Anything that you think might be helpful is greatly appreciated! Thanks for the help!

[marothisu]

Affordable is a relative term. What do you mean by it? I think you'd do well in Lincoln Square/Ravenswood, Andersonville, or Ukrainian Village, Noble Square or East Village based off that. Maybe Bridgeport or something. Chicago has a lot of museums, and a lot that people don't know about, though the big ones are located downtown (i.e. the Art Institute), but there's many small ones outside of that. Since Chicago has a good public transit system, it's not too hard to get from any of the areas I mentioned above to some of the major ones, or the major performing arts places (i.e. the opera, musicals, etc).

Chicago is a big city (you know, almost 3 million) so there's no shortage of volunteer opportunities. Sometimes it's hard to just *know* about it. One of the best things I think is to look for meetup groups (Find Meetup Groups near you - Meetup). There may be things posted at coffee shops and stuff too.

The culture in Chicago depends on where you are. For example, there's a lot of immigrants or first generation in Chicago, so some neighborhoods may be geared more towards that, there are the downtown neighborhoods which on average may be higher end, or some of the neighborhoods popular with recent college grads, or some more artsy or hipster ones, etc etc. It's not THE most progressive place but I think it's getting better from what I can see in that respect.

As far as major employers? That's such a loaded question. Chicago area has the 3rd largest economy in the US. There are certainly sectors of the economy that are larger than others. Perhaps you should look at this list. These are just companies based (HQ'd) in the area. There are many more that have offices that you aren't going to see on here. There are some startups in Chicago if you're wondering. The best place to look is probably the startup incubator called 1871 (1871 | Where digital startups get their start). There are others that exist outside of this, and other small tech companies/firms (some digital agencies for example).

[VTJayElle]

Thank you! This is definitely something to get me started. I know Chicago is huge, so trying to find what I'm looking for from out of state is a little overwhelming. I'll be staying with some family a couple hours away pretty soon, so I'll be able to head into the city and really get a feel for it. This is super helpful, thanks again!