36 y/o gbm relocating to chicago. (Oak Lawn, Oak Park: renting, credit issues, neighborhoods)

[mjtinmemphis]

I am a 36 year old professional gay black male relocating to Chicago from Memphis first part of June and am a little excited about living in such a big city.

I will be working in both Hillside and Oaklawn but prefer the urban lifestyle. I don’t have to live in a gayborhood but would like to live in a liberal area where there are plenty of shops and restaurants with an active urban scene. I will be relocating by myself so I want to be in an area where its easy to meet people. Ethnic diversity is a must!!! I don’t want to pay over 1k for a 1bedroom but would if I have to. I prefer renting from a private owner due to credit issues. I will be bringing my car but like the option of having access to good transit within walking distance. Safety is important but I realize that in most cases safety is a “lifestyle issue” instead of “where you live issue”.

I plan to visit Chicago in a few weeks to start shopping for a neighborhood. The question to people on the forum is where I start. It’s been 7 years since seeing some of the areas like Lincoln Park and Boystown. Are those areas still nice or should I look for another neighborhood?

I’ve dreamed of living in Chicago since college. I love the energy of the people and the Midwest attitude. I like the idea of living in a city where I could get Chinese at midnight on Tuesday at the same time the people are tolerant of differences. Is Chicago right for me? Am I reading into the hype too much? Please advise!!!

[oakparkdude]

Definitely check out those neighborhoods you mentioned. They're still nice, probably even nicer (ie pricier) than last time you were here.

Depending on how long a commute you can tolerate, you may want to consider Oak Park as well. Its a very urban suburb with a long tradition of being racially integrated and gay friendly. Not quite as lively as Boystown, but a lot shorter drive to Hillside and Oak Lawn, and also very close to the city.

[Chicago60614]

Check out Lakeview, it's nicer now than it was 7 years ago, but more crowded. It's a fairly white area, but there's still people of all walks of life, and I don't think of it as racist.

Otherwise check out Bucktown/Wicker Park

[soulful]

I live in East Lakeview (Boystown) and I don't think of it as racist. However, it is very white. In your post, you mentioned a desire to live in an ethnically diverse area. Edgewater and Uptown are very diverse and also a lot of gays live in these areas. Uptown is the area just north of East Lakeview. Uptown starts at Irving Park and goes north from there. Edgewater is the area roughly around Foster and Marine Dr/North Sheridan north of Foster and goes west over to Andersonville. Andersonville is yuppie gayish mixed and is on N Clark just north (and now south) of Foster.

[Avengerfire]

I think you would be better off in Oak Park as Sukwoo stated and also for the reasons he stated.

[mjtinmemphis]

Thanks to everyone that responded to my post. Its amaisinng the quality of people that responded to my post.