Moving to Chicago..help selecting locations (Lincoln, Sheridan: transplants, apartments, city hall)

[PeaceAroundTheWorld]

Hello,

This is my first post on this board and after searching for awhile, I thought I would post. My boyfriend and I are relocating to Chicago. I lived there about 8 years ago before college and have family there. He has never lived in the city and he is from a small town in Indiana. I am 26 and he is 23. I am looking for some opinions on places to live. When I did live there, I never really explored the north side, so I am not quite sure about some of the listed areas. I get crime happens everyone, but we prefer to not be at least within walking distance of high crime areas. Any suggestions would be very helpful! Here is some info about what we are looking for.

Rent: Max $1400
Beds: 1 bedroom
Lifestyle: We would like to live near other young professionals. Walking distance to bars and shopping. Safety is a must.

Priorities
1 - Safety
2- Walk-ability - would prefer to walk/el vs. drive.

Potential Areas:

Lincoln Park - Somewhat expensive, but it's high on our list. I am wondering if there are many young professionals in this area?

Lakeview - Another one high on our list.

Logan Square - How safe is this area? How close are bars and shopping? Seems like some places in our budget, but I am not sure how safe it is.

Wicker Park - This is his top choice, but I was concerned about safety due to the proximity to Humboldt Park... is this area safe?

Ravenswood/Lincoln Square area - These areas seem to be heavily family oriented... any opinions on this for young professionals?

I know you can provide statistical data, but I am looking for people who live and/or have recently lived in these areas. Thank you!

[ARaider08]

For 1400 you may be able to get a 1BR in Buena Park.
It's a "neighborhood" in-between Wrigleyville and Uptown.
I lived there and paid ~1200 for a 1BR and felt like I was in a safe area.
Most apartments in the 'hood are ~10 minutes from the Sheridan Red Line station.

Lincoln Park - You probably won't be able to find a sizeable space for 1400 there (I'm from GA so I'm used to quite low $/sqft, haha). You can nab something between 500sqft and 800sqft in LP for 1400 but expect fierce competition as good apartments don't last long. Since you're moving soon (lots of summer movers here), expect even more competition.
Lakeview is almost exactly the same as LP... Eerie, really.
Wrigleyville is a high demand "neighbrohood" you might consider but it's going to be on the pricier end.
Logan Square - Not too far from Wicker park but you're biggest problem there would be mass transit access. Everyone says traveling laterally in Chicago is a pain and they aren't wrong. If you want to get from LS to LP/Lakeview, have fun waiting on the Eastbound 74 bus route because, otherwise, you're booking it on the BlueLine and transferring downtown (shameless plug, the CTA and City Hall should really just work their assess off for a light rail corridor... One that's actually research for efficiency gains if possible... Ha...).
Wicker Park is the hippest of the bunch. Lots of young professionals and young people in general. [sarcasm] Being a young person, I despise being around too many young people[/sarcasm]. Wicker Park is great for that! Lots of bars in the area and lots of festivals in the summer time. Safety is about average for the neighborhoods above.


Here's a subjective rank of you're selection
Safety:
Low crime
Lincoln Park, Ravenswood
Lakeview, Lincoln Square
Moderate-low crime
Wicker Park
Logan Square
You can check out crime stats from the Chicago Data Portal or CPD's crime tracker.

Walkability
Car-free
Lakeview
Wicker Park
Lincoln Park
Some driving required
Logan/Lincoln Square
Ravenswood
One more neighborhood you may consider doing research on is Ukranian Village.
Here's the thing though, I've never seen any apartments available in that price range... I don't know why that is but I imagine when an apartment goes up in Uk Village it goes extremely fast. It just depends.

[ToriaT]

Those are good picks. Be careful because there are some areas in Lakeview that are experiencing more crime than can be expected.

[PeaceAroundTheWorld]

Thanks very much for your feedback. With Wicker Park, how close is that to Humboldt Park? I have read that area is very crime ridden. Is that true?

[NealIRC]

Originally Posted by PeaceAroundTheWorld

Thanks very much for your feedback. With Wicker Park, how close is that to Humboldt Park? I have read that area is very crime ridden. Is that true?

Humboldt Park is a neighborhood where White men can jog around shirtless and lay in the grass reading and not get bothered by the gangs there.

The neighborhood was bad in the early 2000s though when the MLDs and Cobras went to war with each other.

But pretty much everything died down and that's when White hipsters started moving into both sides of the park.

[glass_of_merlot]

Originally Posted by NealIRC

Humboldt Park is a neighborhood where White men can jog around shirtless and lay in the grass reading and not get bothered by the gangs there.

The neighborhood was bad in the early 2000s though when the MLDs and Cobras went to war with each other.

But pretty much everything died down and that's when White hipsters started moving into both sides of the park.

I heard the absolute opposite about Humboldt Park. Weird how people have such different opinions what they consider "safe". lol

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by PeaceAroundTheWorld

Hello,

This is my first post on this board and after searching for awhile, I thought I would post. My boyfriend and I are relocating to Chicago. I lived there about 8 years ago before college and have family there. He has never lived in the city and he is from a small town in Indiana. I am 26 and he is 23. I am looking for some opinions on places to live. When I did live there, I never really explored the north side, so I am not quite sure about some of the listed areas. I get crime happens everyone, but we prefer to not be at least within walking distance of high crime areas. Any suggestions would be very helpful! Here is some info about what we are looking for.

Rent: Max $1400
Beds: 1 bedroom
Lifestyle: We would like to live near other young professionals. Walking distance to bars and shopping. Safety is a must.

Priorities
1 - Safety
2- Walk-ability - would prefer to walk/el vs. drive.

Potential Areas:

Lincoln Park - Somewhat expensive, but it's high on our list. I am wondering if there are many young professionals in this area?

Lakeview - Another one high on our list.

Logan Square - How safe is this area? How close are bars and shopping? Seems like some places in our budget, but I am not sure how safe it is.

Wicker Park - This is his top choice, but I was concerned about safety due to the proximity to Humboldt Park... is this area safe?

Ravenswood/Lincoln Square area - These areas seem to be heavily family oriented... any opinions on this for young professionals?

I know you can provide statistical data, but I am looking for people who live and/or have recently lived in these areas. Thank you!

It's a tough question be ause they are a lot alike. Logan Square is more up and coming, and Wicker Park was kind of a more "edgy" neighborhood 15-20 years ago; I guess it still is in some ways. Anyway, WP and LS have a little bit more hipster vibe.

The others are a little more smooth around the edges, residential, have been gentrified longer, or never went south in the first place.

Lake View is basically ground zero for transplants, so lots of Big 10 kids.

But it's hard to pigeonhole. Boys town is also in Lake View, for example.

I would come see them.

You can find a 1 br in all at that price.

All are safe.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot

I heard the absolute opposite about Humboldt Park. Weird how people have such different opinions what they consider "safe". lol

Even 5 years ago the vast majority of violent crime in HP was being pushed toward the SW corner of the community area.

Not saying it's completely safe, but it's not even close to what it was.

10 years ago it was among the worst neighborhoods in the city.

[IJEJB12&2]

If you don't have lots of time to look before you move, start off in LP or Lakeview. It'll give you both some time to acclimate to Chicago & you can explore other neighborhoods to see if there's somewhere you like better.

As others have mentioned, they're both safe neighborhoods full of transplants. In LP, if you're close to the actual park (i.e., along Clark St) you'll be further from the Red/Brown/Purple lines but there are plenty of bus options nearby. I lived in LP with my husband during my early 20's. There are lots of bars & restaurants that draw people from all over the city. The neighborhood is a mix of young professionals & families. It depends a little on where you look in LP as to the mix of people. It's a very tony neighborhood. Lakeview is a little younger and chock full of younger people. It's a very dense area population wise, but it's a lot of fun.

[NealIRC]

By Humboldt Park I'm not talking about the Black side of the community area, I'm talking about the Puerto Rican side. The Black side still has crime going.