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Old 09-01-2008, 03:09 PM
mls mls started this thread
 
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I am moving from Boston (grew up in Indy) and coming back to the midwest. Ideally I would be moving to Denver or somewhere near the mountains as I am an avid hiker, but may be offered a job in Chicago that would be dumb to turn down. I love Chicago, but my major hangup is that there are not many hiking options. I would be working downtown. Is there any neighborhood where the artsy outdoorsy people live. Willing to take the train in.
Thanks
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Old 09-01-2008, 03:39 PM
 
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Artsy people and outdoorsy people are generally separate groups of people in my experience. The artsy hipster set tends to cling to certain neighborhoods like Wicker Park, Bucktown, Ukranian Village, East Pilsen, and Logan Square. Outdoorsy types would be found all over the city, though bikers often like to live near the lakeshore trail.
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Old 09-01-2008, 05:59 PM
 
Location: Wheaton, Illinois
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When I lived in Uptown I noticed a lot of people living outdoors.
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Old 09-01-2008, 09:07 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Irishtom29 View Post
When I lived in Uptown I noticed a lot of people living outdoors.
Ha! That's a different kind of "outdoorsy" I think! Too funny. The tent cities have largely disappeared within the last few years, thankfully.
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Old 09-01-2008, 09:16 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mls View Post
I am moving from Boston (grew up in Indy) and coming back to the midwest. Ideally I would be moving to Denver or somewhere near the mountains as I am an avid hiker, but may be offered a job in Chicago that would be dumb to turn down. I love Chicago, but my major hangup is that there are not many hiking options. I would be working downtown. Is there any neighborhood where the artsy outdoorsy people live. Willing to take the train in.
Thanks
Overall, Chicago is not exactly the haven for outdoorsy people, you do have to look around and find organizations to belong to. When I was a kid I was in scouts, as an adult I'm with a hiking club.

Outdoorsy people tend to be somewhat scattered like Lookout Kid mentioned. However I would say places like Oak Park, and probably Evanston have the kind of outdoorsy/back to nature people your looking for. As far as city proper it seems like Lincoln Square and even Hyde Park/U of C has a lot of people that are like this too.

On the edge of Chicagoland such as the Chaing O' Lakes area of NW Lake County has an outdoorsy/Wisconsin like vibe to it.

I have to say though the scarcity of outdoorsy culture is making me yearn to hopefully move to Madison, WI next year. Its only two hours away from friends and family, but is so much more of a hiking and biking culture there. Oh, I can't wait, I hope I get into the grad program!!
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Old 09-01-2008, 09:43 PM
 
Location: Chicago - Logan Square
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What exactly do you mean by outdoorsy? I think outdoorsy is more of a city based thing - i.e. living in a city surrounded by parkland like Portland, Boulder, Tucson, etc.

I moved from Boston to Chicago 15 years ago and guess I would be considered "outdoorsy". I worked for the AMC in the White Mt.s in NH for 4 years, and currently hike, ski, and kayak on a fairly regular basis. I don't think there is any neighborhood in Chicago that is centered around outdoors activities. Your best bet would be to look for an "arty" neighborhood and then figure out what outdoorsy activities can work for you locally (that's how I got into kayaking) as well as thinking about flying to get to destinations instead of driving (it takes me as long to fly to Colorado as it did to drive from Boston to northern New Hampshire).

There are quite a few artsy neighborhoods - West Town, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Pilsen, and Logan Square would be the main ones to look into.
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Old 09-01-2008, 09:46 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Tex?Il? View Post
I have to say though the scarcity of outdoorsy culture is making me yearn to hopefully move to Madison, WI next year. Its only two hours away from friends and family, but is so much more of a hiking and biking culture there. Oh, I can't wait, I hope I get into the grad program!!
That's my hometown, and I think you'd really like it there.
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Old 09-02-2008, 06:48 AM
mls mls started this thread
 
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Thanks for all the help!! I knew Chicago wasn't so outdoorsy, but I was hoping there might be a nature preserve or something I could live near. When I lived in Boston I used to drive up to the White Mountains to go hiking fairly regularly, and my favorite thing is to sit out on a quiet porch and paint!! So that is how I mix artsy and outdoorsy. Guess it comes down to job vs. city.

Thanks again fro all the help!
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Old 09-02-2008, 06:56 AM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
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Well, there are a ton of forest preserves everywhere but probably not what you are looking for. as for painting..why not at the lakefront?? It's about as scenic as you can get.
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Old 09-02-2008, 07:55 AM
 
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Originally Posted by mls View Post
Thanks for all the help!! I knew Chicago wasn't so outdoorsy, but I was hoping there might be a nature preserve or something I could live near.
Look up the Cook County Forest Preserves online for a map. Also, the Chicago Botanical Gardens (and Skokie Lagoons) are beautiful places to escape to.
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