Where to live when working at U.C.? (Chicago, Bridgeport: to rent, home)

[wondersteph]

Hi all,


I'm a frecnh girl who will move in a few months in Chicago with my boyfriend
I will work at the University of Chicago (postdoc position). I am currently having a look in the different neighborhoods we could live and well, I can't decide what would be the best for us.
for the moment I dont know where my boyfriend will work, he's looking for a postdoc too, so it could at the UC too, or..maybe any other campus.


Here some of our requisits and "habits":

We do not plan to have a car in the first few months
We would rather like to use a bike and/or public transport (here we are used to a 30/40min public transportation time)
We'd like to have some groceries on our way back home or close to our place (we are french and we like to cook, rather than buying prepared-meals)
We like anyway to go to restaurant to have diner sometimes (once or twice a week, and not only on week-end) so I would appreciate to have some places around and feel "safe" while walking
on week-ends we like to go to theatre, not every week-end but quite often
we are also used to rent dvd during the week
we are quite peacefull persons and we do not really go out very often in bars, we prefer a nice diner at home for instance with friends than hanging out all night

our "selected" neighborhoods till now are:

- lincoln park / depaul (yeah I know it's not a surprise everyone wants to leave there if I well understand), but I dont know if it's really what we are looking for

- hyde park for the convenient of the location, but I'm wondering if I could find what I'm looking for (restaurant, groceries,..) and if this area was not too "empty" by night ( I mean by that, that a lot of people are working here during the day, but I was wondering if it was not too "empty" once everybody go home), I really do not have any idea, so please let me know how you see this neighborhood

-bridgeport, for the (maybe) cheaper side, the proximity with the university and I also heard some areas here are quite nice (restaurants, bar, etc), but I dont know anything about the public transportation from here to the university...


any suggestions are really welcome!!!

Stephanie

[chet everett]

PLENTY of resturants in HPm and grocery store, HP does not empty out, as it is PRIMARILY a residential neighborhood. When most people from the major employer (the UofC and Hospital) "go home" it is to someplace IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD...

Nothing wrong with LP, but it is not an easy commute to HP, as you have to go through the Loop and/or central downtown, which is quite crowded...

Who told there are "quite nice" bars and resturants in Bridgeport? I love my tacos and ribs and beer specials, but somehow I don't see this as typical Francophile fare...

Originally Posted by wondersteph

Hi all,


I'm a frecnh girl who will move in a few months in Chicago with my boyfriend
I will work at the University of Chicago (postdoc position). I am currently having a look in the different neighborhoods we could live and well, I can't decide what would be the best for us.
for the moment I dont know where my boyfriend will work, he's looking for a postdoc too, so it could at the UC too, or..maybe any other campus.


Here some of our requisits and "habits":

We do not plan to have a car in the first few months
We would rather like to use a bike and/or public transport (here we are used to a 30/40min public transportation time)
We'd like to have some groceries on our way back home or close to our place (we are french and we like to cook, rather than buying prepared-meals)
We like anyway to go to restaurant to have diner sometimes (once or twice a week, and not only on week-end) so I would appreciate to have some places around and feel "safe" while walking
on week-ends we like to go to theatre, not every week-end but quite often
we are also used to rent dvd during the week
we are quite peacefull persons and we do not really go out very often in bars, we prefer a nice diner at home for instance with friends than hanging out all night

our "selected" neighborhoods till now are:

- lincoln park / depaul (yeah I know it's not a surprise everyone wants to leave there if I well understand), but I dont know if it's really what we are looking for

- hyde park for the convenient of the location, but I'm wondering if I could find what I'm looking for (restaurant, groceries,..) and if this area was not too "empty" by night ( I mean by that, that a lot of people are working here during the day, but I was wondering if it was not too "empty" once everybody go home), I really do not have any idea, so please let me know how you see this neighborhood

-bridgeport, for the (maybe) cheaper side, the proximity with the university and I also heard some areas here are quite nice (restaurants, bar, etc), but I dont know anything about the public transportation from here to the university...


any suggestions are really welcome!!!

Stephanie

[jessiegirl_98]

What is your price range and for how many bedrooms? This is the most important factor in our suggestions to come....

[wondersteph]

thank's for ur answers

concerning "quite nice bars" in bridgeport, I just need to know if there is some nice area with restaurants, nothing fancy, just good food, the typical place u want to have when u do not feel like cooking at home and u decide to go out, right arond the corner, walking distance

yeah right, prices, I guess around 1000-1300$ for a 2 bedrooms would be perfect (depending of the utilities included etc.), in fact 1 bedroom would be ok as far it's big, I'm tired of my tiny-dark-expensive flat here in barcelona and I dream of large space ;-)
that's why I think maybe hyde park and bridgeport would fit better that lincoln park, specially bridgeport where maybe we could find a 2 bright bedrooms for a reasonable price
how is the public transportation in bridgeport?

thank's!!!

[chet everett]

The options in restaurants in Bridgeport are really limited to sports fans and other "big eating" Chicago types, I have really never seen the same crowd their that I do in Hyde Park. Very different kinds of clientèle...
The same can be said for the tenants/landlords VERY different crowd in HP vs Bridgeport. I would really think you would have a much nicer experience near the University.

Most places in Hyde Park are not small at all, in fact there are quite a few bigger places that are somewhat popular for a group of undergrads from UofC to split up with 3+ roommates. The undergrads at the University are generally far more mature than even the college grads in the Lakeview/LP neighborhood and make for a very pleasant atmosphere.

Your price range sounds about right, and if your bf should find a spot at UIC or the downtown campuses of NU, DePaul, Loyola or the other schools the commute north from UofC is far more pleasant than trekking all the way through the center of the business district...

[wondersteph]

many thanks for urs answers, it helps a lot!
can't wait to see all of it!

[Lookout Kid]

Cross Bridgeport off your list. It's not what you're looking for!

If I were you, I'd live in Hyde Park. A second choice would be the South Loop, but that's considerably more expensive these days. If you live on the North Side your commute will be hell.

[Manigault]

There's no reason for you not to live in Hyde Park. However, the TV trucks in the area now are beginning to get on my nerves.

[Avengerfire]

Ha Ha.

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Ha Ha.

You can laugh, but the camera trucks are out here 24-7.

There's a lot of support in Hyde Park for folks studying or working at UC. You can do the neighborhood without a car and the university is well-known for hooking up post-docs with some type of work while they study. What's not to like?