Hostels (Chicago, Lincoln, Columbia: how much, house, neighborhood)

[d-iron]

I need help y'all can someone recommend CLEAN affordable hostels. Thanks, appreciate it

[Libertine]

I've stayed at 2 hostels in Chicago...Arlington House at Arlington and Fullerton in Lincoln Park (a slightly dirty, kind of ran down hostel on a beautiful tree line street 2 blocks from tons of bars and restaurants in safe and fun neighborhood). The other hostel is HI Hostel (Hostelling International) at Wabash and Congress (a very nice, well kept up hostel in downtown, many restaurants but few bars nearby). They're both about the same price, so it depends, would you rather stay in downtown or in a "hopping" neighborhood 30 minutes from downtown?

[d-iron]

Originally Posted by Libertine

I've stayed at 2 hostels in Chicago...Arlington House at Arlington and Fullerton in Lincoln Park (a slightly dirty, kind of ran down hostel on a beautiful tree line street 2 blocks from tons of bars and restaurants in safe and fun neighborhood). The other hostel is HI Hostel (Hostelling International) at Wabash and Congress (a very nice, well kept up hostel in downtown, many restaurants but few bars nearby). They're both about the same price, so it depends, would you rather stay in downtown or in a "hopping" neighborhood 30 minutes from downtown?

How much did the neighborhood hostel cost?

[brainiac138]

If the previous poster is talking about the Hostel in Columbia College's student housing I would suggest taking it, it is quite nice.

[Albert0]

Are both of these hostels mostly inhabited by a particular age group? Or does it matter? What kind of atmosphere would someone expect to encounter? What kind of costs?

[dragoro]

I thought hostels had an age cap. Least they did when I spent a year backpacking in Europe.

[Manigault]

Isn't that kind of like staying at the 'Y'?

[Albert0]

I originally learned about hostels from my Mom. She has stayed in them regularly over the years, including last year in Kansas, and I would hardly describe her as one of the 'Rainbow People' that regularly meet to camp out in that state.... she is currently 83 years old!

To say the least, I am a little bit younger than her, but older than many that I suspect people would characteristically imagine might be staying in hostels. That is why I am asking people for their experience with the age factor.

I'm sort of a non-traditional person for my age (there are still people in their twenties that will confuse me, at least from a distance) with a person within their age group. In fact today a lot of those people sometimes seem rather... conservative to me.

Where I live I mix in with a broad spectrum of age groups, but on one hand I am wondering what sharing in close quarters might be like in these circumstances and what the reality of the mix really is. I would suppose it depends on the hostel that one is staying in.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by Albert0

Are both of these hostels mostly inhabited by a particular age group? Or does it matter? What kind of atmosphere would someone expect to encounter? What kind of costs?

Aren't there different types of hostels (based on age)? Youth/College, Family and Elder hostels? Or maybe that's just in Europe.

[j33]

I don't think that there is an age limit on the hostel downtown. By the way, I'm in my 30's and have stayed in hostels in Europe when I was over 30 years old (and once in nyc for a couple of nights on a pinch) without any problems.