Does the Gold Coast neighborhood feel as dense as the Upper East Side (NYC)? (Chicago: lofts, condo)

[Bishwhat]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the Gold Coast pretty much Chicago's Upper East Side? Is it as walkable and diverse? Which do you prefer and why?

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Bishwhat

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the Gold Coast pretty much Chicago's Upper East Side? Is it as walkable and diverse? Which do you prefer and why?

Chicago's true ''Gold Coast'' is small, semi-isolated and slow and is in no way comparable to NYC's UES. It's walkable to an extent, depending on where you are located. I prefer the UES, especially with the 2nd Avenue subway opening soon. The UES is much more walkable and convenient.

Chicago's Gold Coast has access to Division Street to its south and North Avenue to its North/Northwest. North Avenue east of Clark is dead.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Bishwhat

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the Gold Coast pretty much Chicago's Upper East Side? Is it as walkable and diverse? Which do you prefer and why?

It's Chicago's version of the UES but the UES is denser in 99% of areas. Gold Coast is still dense though - most people think of it only down to Division but the neighborhood boundaries have definitely expanded to south of Oak. Some people even put it to Pearson now (especially 'Lamborghini of Gold Coast').

[Bishwhat]

Thanks for the responses you two. So what areas of this neighborhood would a person be able to live car-free? Is it relatively safe? Are cabs readily available or is that something you need to call in advanced for?

[jonnynonos]

You could live anywhere downtown car free, cabs are readily available and it's completely safe.

The one caveat is there is a remnant of a notorious housing project from Chicago and Larrabee to Division, but it is pretty quiet these days and there is actually a fair amount of nice housing adjacent to it.

[chicagobear]

Originally Posted by Bishwhat

Thanks for the responses you two. So what areas of this neighborhood would a person be able to live car-free? Is it relatively safe? Are cabs readily available or is that something you need to call in advanced for?

Depending on where you work, you can live car free in many neighborhoods, especially the general downtown area (Loop, South and West Loop, River North, Gold Coast, Streeterville). Cabs are easy to hail on the street.

[Attrill]

Are your requirements safe, able to live car free, and able to hail a cab? Gold Coast definitely fits those needs, as do many other neighborhoods in Chicago.

[Bishwhat]

Originally Posted by Attrill

Are your requirements safe, able to live car free, and able to hail a cab? Gold Coast definitely fits those needs, as do many other neighborhoods in Chicago.

Yes pretty much. But I'm looking for a place that has the dense feel to it as well. Lots of foot traffic, etc.

[lycos679]

How dense? Chicago isn't NYC.

Similar thread, 15 pages. The responses are hit and miss; towards the end people are talking about sunbelt cities.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/chica...hborhoods.html

Originally Posted by grapico

The only areas that come close to a NYC vibe is the Gold Coast/Streeterville/Old Town or a small part of Printers Row that has the old lofts and stairways on the side of the buildings, but they won't be near as busy. A lot of them offer "doorman" buildings and the areas are for the most part have lots of highrises and for the most part built out. While I'm not a big fan of the area the Viagara Triangle when it's slammed is a bit reminiscent of some areas in Manhattan.

Originally Posted by marothisu

The side streets in the Gold Coast south of Viagra Triangle and west of Michigan Avenue are also slammed with people in the summer/nice months too. That area is a little bit more neighborhoody. The new Argo Tea Plaza/Connors Park at Wabash, Rush, and Chestnut is a good new people watching spot. A lot of people go by there. Not far away there's a few restaurants (i.e. Cru) with outdoor patios that's good for people watching too. There's always a lot of people going by this general area.

As Grapico mentions, a lot of high rises and there's still more on the pipeline so it'll continue. There's a 35 story residential tower being built right near the area I just mentioned above too.

Originally Posted by marothisu

Yeah and north of Division in Gold Coast can have a little bit of an upper east side feel and I'd say that can even continue into the high rises along Lake Michigan/Lincoln Park in Lincoln Park and Lakeview. Not the same but a little of the same feeling. I was in a very elegant old condo a few weeks ago on the border of Lincoln Park and Lakeview a block in from the lake that reminded me of being in NYC more than Chicago.

Originally Posted by Nafster

I'm happy with New York being New York and Chicago being Chicago. I love them both in their own special way.

I still really don't think there are any New York style neighborhoods in Chicago.

The only parallel I can find is that I really think parts of River North remind me of The Meatpacking District and parts of the Loop resemble Midtown.

Originally Posted by Manigault

I've lived in Chicago and I've lived in NYC. The only place in Chicago which reminds me of Manhattan is Streeterville. Narrow streets, no parking, a little green space thrown in the middle.

Originally Posted by marothisu

Here's a few of my experience with NYers and specifically in the Near North Side (i.e. River North, Streeterville, etc) and Loop area. I'm not saying all of Chicago is like this, or even more than just a little bit, but this is a few of my experiences.

My mom is from right outside of Manhattan, first time she was here she remarked that it reminded her a little of parts of Manhattan. Same as my uncle, who's a born and bred guy from Queens. Had some friends in last year from Manhattan, one of them has never lived anywhere else. In fact, this was her first trip outside of the east coast. She's lived in NYC all her life. She spaced out once on State and around Grand and remarked "weird, for a minute I thought we were in midtown." When we were taking a cab through Michigan Ave once, she said "Reminds me of NYC..kind of like 5th." Another time I was walking on State just north of the Chicago red line stop and heard someone infront of me say "I feel like I'm back in Brooklyn." I've met a handful of people in the last 6 months who moved here from NYC. When I ask them how they like it so far, they've all mentioned this area reminding them of parts of NYC.

I'm not saying Chicago is like NYC, there's other things than just besides look, but in my experience, there are some areas that a born and bred NYer will even say reminds them a little of their home city. Not tons of areas, but yes some.

[Attrill]

Gold Coast and Streeterville are the closest thing to the UES in Chicago (in all of the US really). Plenty of other neighborhoods have plenty of foot traffic, basically anything North of the Gold Coast up to Wrigleyville, between the Red Line and the Lake would be worth checking out. Much of it is more similar to the side streets of the UES with 3-5 story buildings as opposed to the larger buildings along the main drags in the UES. In Chicago the larger residential buildings are clustered along the lake, although they do extend inland a bit.

There are also plenty of other neighborhoods that fit your main criteria, but the buildings will be smaller (2-5 stories) and much of the foot traffic is based on nightlife and commuting. The areas around the Division and Damen (Wicker Park) Blue Line stops have a good amount of foot traffic. Even the California and Logan Square stops have a decent amount going on around them.

NYC and Chicago are definitely different, but Chicago is the closest thing to an old school urban city like NYC. One friend of mine from NYC described Chicago as "a little bit of Manhattan, and a whole lot of Brooklyn" (he meant it as a compliment).