Where are the artists living? (Chicago, Evanston: best suburbs, apartments, condos)

[NearWestSider]

Chet:

The Czechs, the Slovaks and the Moravians started out at Halsted and 22nd and ended up in Cicero and Berwyn.

The Mexicans started out at Halsted and 22nd and ended up in Cicero and Berwyn.

Now that the Artists and the Hipsters are at Halsted and 22nd, and we are *joking* about the inevitability of Cicero becoming "Bohemian" again.

JOKING!! Got it????

[chet everett]

Har,OK, joke!

You know, it COULD happen, just wouldn't waste too much time/moeny waiting for it...

The fate of a lot of "inner ring" burbs is not real good right now. You draw a map from {Schiller/Franklin/Melrose/Elmwood/Stone/Forest} Parks down thru the {May/Bell}Woods. Toss in Cicero, Stickney, Summit, Burbank and Oak Lawn then kind of make a turn to the SE along the expressway and shade over everything into NW Indiana. There are not enough "artists" that have ever lived in all of time to keep all those towns functional. Not saying that the wheels are going to come off like Detroit or Ohio, just that so very much of the manufacturing and warehousing that was THE bread and butter of that swath is not healthy. Those plants are often out of date, the workforce is aging and not being replaced by legal immigrants, the illegals from Mexico need more reason to stay...

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Cicero is not as bad as some people would like to think, but neither it is a place that has a particularly great employment base anymore.

How about Chicago's Loop for an employment (and College) base? About 15 minutes from Cicero on the Metra and Pink Line.

[mstengle]

What's gentrification?

[Avengerfire]

Google it. Jesus.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Har,OK, joke!

You draw a map from {Schiller/Franklin/Melrose/Elmwood/Stone/Forest} Parks down thru the {May/Bell}Woods. Toss in Cicero, Stickney, Summit, Burbank and Oak Lawn then kind of make a turn to the SE along the expressway and shade over everything into NW Indiana. There are not enough "artists" that have ever lived in all of time to keep all those towns functional.

Artists typically don't make a community or neighborhood functional all alone. They come in to a run down area, hip it up, and then more affluent young professionals come in in order to suck up their aura. That process snowballs and next thing you know you have a ton of fussy little fusion bistros and coffee shops and a lot of pissed off artists pointing fingers (and loading their supplies and artworks into moving vans due to high rents). That's a slight oversimplification but I think you see what I mean.

The inner-ring seems to be following a different pattern in that more young professional couples are moving in from the City looking for their first house (in Berwyn and Oak Lawn that's the case anyway, I don't think so much Cicero at this point). They're not ready for suburbia and still like the urban feel. There are also a lot of artists and musicians coming in but they're not the final demographic on the gentrification time line, if that makes sense. As an HR manager would probably put it, they're "Facilitators."

[Tuffs83]

Ok, you are an artist, you are in touch with your emotion and feelings. Go and search. Find a place that FEELS right and scope it out. Check it out throughout the night and day. Stalk it if you have to. Crimereports.com will give you the facts, but choose based off of these. Go with a place that you are comfortable and free of worry.

[AaronSpencer]

I'm an 18 year old artist, born and raised in a small town in West Virginia. I'm also multiracial, but race and diversity doesn't make a difference to me really. I'll be moving to Chicago early next year (2010). I have read a lot of different threads, but still haven't been able to choose a definite place that I want to move. I am wanting to find a studio apartment for around 600/month, and I'll be working at a retail store to pay the bills, while also selling artwork. I am mainly choosing between Wickerpark/Bucktown (because of its artsy sort of vibe, but I have also heard that it is dying down into a more yuppie neighborhood. Clarify that if you can.), Lincoln Park (because it's close to the beaches and downtown area, which I think would be nice), and Lincoln Square (for it's affordibility) I'm basically open to anywhere safe, with a lot to do. I have snakebites (facial piercings), but living in an area with other people with things like that doesn't really matter to me.I'll be living without a car, biking and using public transportation. My reasons for moving are mainly to have more opportunities, a more enjoyable place to live, and to live the "city life". Well that's about it, tell me which neighborhood you think would be best for me.

[brainiac138]

Oak Park and Evanston both have very nice art districts.

[Avengerfire]

All the places you mentioned are Chicago neighborhoods not suburbs.