Looking for good neighborhood for retired couple (Chicago, Naperville: apartments, rentals)

[doodlemagic]

Hey hopefully someone can chime in and help with some suggestions for potential neighborhoods to look at. This is actually for my parents. They had been living out in the west burbs Naperville area for the past 20 years or so, then moved down to Charleston, SC for the past few years. Going to be retiring soon and looking to move into the city for a couple years.

Looking for suggestions for neighborhoods for them. They enjoy trying new restaurants, maybe catching a show or play on occasion. My moms main request was somewhere safe where she can go grocery shopping at 10 or 11 in the evening and feel safe comming home later in the evening.

I guess she looked at Bucktown so far and wasn't a fan. Looking for some suggestions? I think River North is too pricey.

[NealIRC]

Jefferson Park / Forest Glen.

[deeman7]

Lincoln Square or North Center may be a good fit.


Are they looking to rent or buy? Is there a budget?

[emathias]

Plenty of retired folks in River North / Gold Coast, but if that's too pricey I guess that rules that out.

Lincoln Square is all around a nice area, although the grocery stores are a little spread out. Really, there aren't that many parts of Chicago with a good selection of walkabout grocery stores. Maybe the Southport corridor around Addison. Stuff to do, a movie theatre (Music Box), and a Jewel, and not far from the Brown Line. Similarly, along Lincoln Ave just west of there.

Lincoln Park near Lincoln Ave and, say, Webster, could be nice though perhaps not much cheaper than River North. South Loop just south of Roosevelt might meet their needs, too.

[OyCrumbler]

Chinatown. Very walkable, pretty much full-service neighborhood with a lot of amenities (wide range of shops because it's dense and almost economically self-contained) and among one of the safer neighborhoods in Chicago. Fairly good access to other parts of the city via the Red Line with 24 hour service, a nice park with a boathouse hosting ferry service to the loop, and a good, new public library. It's also a pretty funny idea as it'd be like having one foot into living abroad.

[jonnynonos]

It's really just a matter of going down the top 15-20 transplant neighborhoods and determining what they can afford. Naturally, prices decline further away from the city core. The north side along the lake is the most gentrified while the Milwaukee corridor is a bit further behind. Might look at the S. and W. loop too although I imagine the W. loop is as expensive as River North these days.

[ToriaT]

I agree with Lincoln Square, North Center, also the area around North Park college, Ravenswood. Edgebrook and Forest Glen. Why on earth would a retired person have to go grocery shopping at ten at night. Truthfully the suburbs are safer than the city. They might want to also look into Oak Park or Evanston.

[Vlajos]

Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Edgewater, North Center, Near North Side are some good options.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by emathias

Plenty of retired folks in River North / Gold Coast, but if that's too pricey I guess that rules that out.

Lincoln Square is all around a nice area, although the grocery stores are a little spread out. Really, there aren't that many parts of Chicago with a good selection of walkabout grocery stores. Maybe the Southport corridor around Addison. Stuff to do, a movie theatre (Music Box), and a Jewel, and not far from the Brown Line. Similarly, along Lincoln Ave just west of there.

Lincoln Park near Lincoln Ave and, say, Webster, could be nice though perhaps not much cheaper than River North. South Loop just south of Roosevelt might meet their needs, too.

The difficulty that MANY folks encounter is finding the balance between affordability and access to amenities.

Given the professed desire to have lots of new restaurants and such it does make sense to consider places like the Southport area, but that is also a very pricey area, especially for nicer rentals. Ditto for Lincoln Park, River North and Gold Coast. The OP's parents were not impressed by Bucktown, and I suspect it might be depend on where exactly they were looking -- the section of newer bars is rather "youth oriented" though most spots to eat have a good mix of people.

The trade-off of considering the South Loop, where there relatively newer highrises, might be wise. There are similarly some apartments near Greek Town / Fulton Market that have excellent access to restaurants and grocery stores.

Not sure I would recommend Chinatown in this sort of situation. Though things are less costly to rent there so too is the mix of people / stores still focused on traditional immigrants and "adventurous" diners...

The relative development patterns in other parts of Chicago, notably the section of Uptown near Arygle known for its Asian restaurants or even the quieter areas a bit west of there near the Ravenswood Mariano store, is a bit less "uniform" and depending on parents perception of "safe for late night grocery walks" might be worth a look...

[Gemini1963]

I think they should take a look at Hyde Park. I do not think that they can do the late-night grocery shopping (alone? walking?) and necessarily feel safe coming home, but that might be a stretch almost anywhere in the city. (Maybe I am too cautious.) But Hyde Park offers easy access to downtown, and is quite walkable and interesting in the daytime. And there are lots of events over at the University of Chicago if lectures and the arts are interesting to them. And then there is also easy access to the Lake, which is wonderful. I think it would be a great place to spend some retirement years and enjoy the city.