Moving from Boston (Brookline/Newton) to Chicago - Need help with specific neighborhoods in Chicago (Evanston: apartments)

[faith2009]

Hi,

I am moving from Boston (where I have lived for many yrs) to Chicago and need some advice from you who are familiar with both cities.

I have been doing some research/homework on Chicago neighborhood. Here is my humble 2 cents and questions:

* Lincoln Park in Chicago is comparable to Back Bay or South End in Boston: vibrant, with great shops and stores, great for young professionals and families

* I am looking for a Brookline and/or Newton equivalent, safe areas with great schools, nice tree-lined streets, a little quieter than Back Bay/South End and etc. The closest I can compare to (again, based on some readings so far) is neighborhood such as: Andersonville. Is this a correct assessment?

* How would you compare Lincoln Square and Ravenswood, Ravenswood Manor to Lincoln Park or Andersonville? If you are familiar with Boston neighborhoods, can you help me to name some comparables to these areas? (i.e. Cambridge? Belmont? JP?)

* Among these, am also looking for areas with park or near the beach for nice jogging trails; preferable also areas with ample street parking nearby

* Last, I will be taking a trip to Chicago next week to start looking at apartments, any suggestions of neighborhoods to look/explore for a good jump start?


THANK YOU so much for your help in advance. I realize no matter how much research I do, it is always best to ask locals for insights. Thanks again in advance!

[knitgirl]

I'm not familiar with Boston (though I did just spend a great week on the Cape!), but I am fairly familiar with Andersonville and Lincoln Sq. I like both, they are both fairly lively neighborhoods with fun shops and restaurants. I actually lived for several years at Argyle and Wolcott before Lincoln Sq became cool. Most of the shops on that stretch of Lincoln were still german or austrian. Now there's much more of a mix. I also loved Ravenswood Manor when I lived in the city several years ago. At the time, it was a very quiet little enclave. I haven't been there in a while, but would expect it would still be pretty quiet, it's mainly single family homes and 2-3 flat apt buildings. The L runs at street level in the Manor. If I'd been able to afford to buy there, I would have.

[oakparkdude]

Lived 5 years in Boston and Somerville.

If you're looking for quality public schools equivalent to Newton and Brookline you'll have to look in the suburbs. The closest equivalent to those two are probably Evanston and Oak Park.

[Attrill]

I grew up in Boston and have been in Chicago for over 15 years. It is impossible to make direct comparisons between neighborhoods - Chicago is massive compared to Boston, and the suburbs that would be somewhat equivalent to Brookline or Newton are much further out (Wilmette, Winnetka or Highland Park are somewhat similar). Evanston public schools are more like Cambridge public schools than anything in the Boston area.

That said, Andersonville and Ravenswood are really nice areas. You need to check specific school districts to see which areas would work for you. Northside Parents Network is a very good resource for checking out schools. What grade levels are you looking at? That can make a huge difference. The better school districts tend to be on the North and Northwest sides, but between magnet schools and open enrollment schools there is a wide array of options.

[soulful]

Schools will be your stumbling block in Chicago. I would look at Evanston as you can have schools, lakefront, cool housing/vintage apts., great university in town on lakefront, and on the City of Chicago's "el" train red line (or you can even take the Metra suburban line right from downtown Evanston to the Loop). Evanston borders Chicago on the north lakefront.