Old Irving Park Area...A few questions... (Chicago, Lincoln: affordable apartments, rental)

[Naya01]

Hey people,

I'm moving back to my love...Chicago! However, I have just a few questions if someone can share insiders knowledge with me. I'm not familiar with the Northwest side at all and i've fallen in love with an apartment that i'm going to see in person next weekend. It's located in the neighborhood Old Irving Park. I've been in the area before but only briefly. As i've never lived on the Northwest side i'm not too familiar with it.

Anyways....the apartment is by Kilbourn and Irving Park Rd. I am 21 yrs old and Afro-Latina but most people will assume I'm a "mixed" African American girl by looking at me and my boyfriend is 23 yrs old and English. We're moving with our Bengal cat and Chihuahua puppy. I know Chicago areas are known for being segregated and some areas are more friendly towards pets than others. Would this neighborhood be a good fit? I used to stay in Lincoln Park and i'm looking for something with a Northeast side feel. I loved it over there.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!!!!

Naya

[Drover]

I live in Irving Park neighborhood so I'm in a pretty good position to give you insider information.

First, the bad news: it is nothing like Lincoln Park. This is not a hipster neighborhood. There are no martini bars, trendy restaurants, night clubs, chic cafes, indie bookstores, or much of anything else that makes Lincoln Park what it is. This is strictly a no-frills neighborhood.

Next, the good news: since this is a no-frills neighborhood, you can usually get a decent apartment at a no-frills rental rate. Since you don't have a bunch of yuppies climbing over each other to live here, rents are much more reasonable. It's also much less densely populated meaning it's generally quieter and easier to find a spot to park your car. Furthermore, you're only a short bus or train ride from numerous nightlife neighborhoods. You're a 15 minute Blue Line ride from Bucktown/Wicker Park. You're a 10 minute Blue Line ride from Logan Square. You're a 10-15 minute bus ride from Lincoln Square, and from there, another 5 minute Brown Line ride to Lakeview or 15 minute Brown Line ride to Lincoln Park. In fact the reason I chose this neighborhood was that it was far enough away from the hot spots that I could get some peace and quiet, pay an affordable rent and always have room on the street for my car, yet close enough to many hot spots that I can get there in short notice. This is also a rather safe area by urban standards. Our whole police district had two murders last year, while others had dozens.

Finally, the ethnic issue. If you look passably Hispanic (say, if you look like Gina Torres), then you'll blend right in. If you look more black than Hispanic, you'll stand out a bit. There aren't many blacks up in this corner of town. For the most part that won't be a problem. People tend to be live and let live around here. The one exception might be the Polish part of the area, concentrated along Milwaukee Avenue and points west. And when I say the neighborhood is Polish, I don't mean they're 2nd generation Polish whose grandparents moved here to escape WWII. I mean Poles who just arrived here from Warsaw, like, last weekend. And attitudes are very different over in that corner of the world. To be blunt, they are some of the most racist mofos I have ever seen. They won't start trouble with you but don't expect smiles and courtesy from them either.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the 'hood!

[Naya01]

Thanks. That was very helpful indeed!!!!!

I saw you mentioned Logan Square....how is that area? I've seen some very affordable apartments over there as well.

Again thanks for all the honest information!

[Drover]

Logan Square is hit-or-miss. The central feature of the neighborhood is Logan Boulevard. Logan Boulevard is a pretty grand affair. Great big beautiful preserved old homes along Logan Boulevard. That grandiosity affects much of the surrounding area for the better. The closer you are to Logan Boulevard, the better. It gets particularly dicey as you head north toward Belmont Avenue. The area around Kedzie and Belmont is not a good scene. It gets a little iffy south of Fullerton as well.

The attractive part of Logan Square has some nice little shops and restaurants, and the core of it is notably more gentrified than Irving Park and/or Old Irving Park. But it's more of a boutique-restaurant area than a bar-and-nightlife area. Nonetheless, you're a lot closer to Bucktown/Wicker Park -- which is an even better version of Lincoln Park (IMO anyway) -- about 2 stops away along the Blue Line. So the bottom line is, Logan Square is a pretty mixed bag, but you should be fine if you stay south of Diversey and north of Fullerton.

[Attrill]

I think Drover's reply is a pretty good overview of Logan Square - there some areas that are a little sketchy but I think the southeast corner of Logan Square is not bad at all (basically the area around the Congress Theater and Palmer Square). 5 or 10 years ago Palmer Square was dominated by gangs, but now it's full of yuppies with their dogs. Once you get south of Armitage or west of Kedzie things start to get sketchy, and you need to look at everything block by block.

[Drover]

Incidentally, I was just inside the Congress Theater about a month ago. What a pit. And I thought the Riv was in bad shape...

[MigsHiggins]

How is the area around St. Louis and Elston?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by MigsHiggins

How is the area around St. Louis and Elston?

Eh -- it's OK. Not great, not terrible. I wouldn't mind living there.

[MigsHiggins]

Originally Posted by Drover

Eh -- it's OK. Not great, not terrible. I wouldn't mind living there.

Could you elaborate?

[Drover]

OK.... there's a little bit of gang activity there but you're not likely to notice it or be personally impacted by it unless you start sh*t with them. The housing is basic, the quality of life is basic, the neighborhood amenities are basic.... it's just a very basic neighborhood. Nothing specifically to recommend for or against it.