What are the neighborhoods in the city? (Chicago, Berwyn: condo, townhome)

[Laters]

My wife and I might be moving to Chicago real soon. We want to live in the city and enjoy what it has to offer. What are the cool/safe areas to start looking in?

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Laters

My wife and I might be moving to Chicago real soon. We want to live in the city and enjoy what it has to offer. What are the cool/safe areas to start looking in?

The tried and true cool/safe areas are Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Bucktown and Wicker Park. The first two are very yuppified, the last two a little more artsy and gritty. All four are very expensive and rather homogonous in terms of demographics (i.e. mostly young white professionals). Ravenswood, Andersonville, River North and Old Town are also respected. But unless you're extremely well off, you probably won't be able to afford a house in any of these areas. You'll be living in a condo or maybe a townhome if you want to live around the old Cabrini Green.

The South and West Loop are a bit cheaper and offer good amenities and great access to downtown (you're right on it). But there's so much building and conversions, appreciation may be limited, at least for awhile. Then there's the "up and coming" crowd of neighborhoods such as Uptown, Humbolt Park (er, West Bucktown), Logan Square, Albany Park, Near West Side, and others. You'll save money but whether they'll take off remains to be seen.

The above are all North Side neighborhoods. There has been a bit of development on the South Side and there are many neighborhoods with promise (South Shore, Kenwood/Oakland, Pilsen, Tri-Taylor, etc.). But at the moment, the neighborhoods south of the Eisenhower are not a common destination for first time Chicagoans.

If you want a house, and can't afford the upper brackets, you're generally limited the the far west side. Galewood, Jefferson Park, Montclare and Belmont Central are all nice -- especially if you like 1920s Chicago Bungalows. Of course, at this point, you're so far from downtown, you may as well look at Berwyn, Oak Park, or Forest Park. These suburbs are actually much closer to downtown Chicago than the Northwest side neighborhoods, and offer much better access via highways and trains.

[adastra]

If you're willing to make a bit of a commute, the Far North Side neighborhoods like Rogers Park, Edgewater, and Andersonville offer good deals while being (relatively) safe and fun. These neighborhoods are about a half hour to forty minutes from the Loop by train and a little less by car (depending on traffic). You won't be as close to the beating heart of the city, but these are still affordable neighborhoods with a lot of single-family homes surrounding functioning commerical strips. There's some crime, but they're generally safer than neighborhoods like Uptown, Humboldt, and the Near West Side.

Also, Rogers Park and Edgewater are among the most racially and culturally mixed neighborhoods in the city. They're a good mix of homeowners and new immigrants from all over the world.

[Laters]

i'm thinking of east village/UK village or logan square. i will be working in downtown chicago. is public transportation a problem from these areas?

[Libertine]

Both of those areas of town are on the Blue Line and are great locations for public transit and probably one of the reasons people started moving there in the first place. Logan Square is about 15 minutes further from downtown than East Village (which is roughly 10 minutes from downtown), but both are great public transit areas.

[Laters]

Great. Thanks for the feeback.