is lincoln park/gold coast a middle class neighborhood? (Chicago: middle-class, apartments)

[smallvillejane]

what are chicago's middle class neighborhoods? lincoln park, gold coast?

[tolovefromANFIELD]

sure, if by middle, you mean middle 5% of all top income earners in Chicago.

[smallvillejane]

but if you walk around in those places and ask people what they identify themselves as, they invariably tell you that they are "middle class"

Originally Posted by tolovefromANFIELD

sure, if by middle, you mean middle 5% of all top income earners in Chicago.

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by tolovefromANFIELD

sure, if by middle, you mean middle 5% of all top income earners in Chicago.

While this statement is true, I would definitely say that there are a lot of upper middle class people too.

[knitgirl]

Originally Posted by smallvillejane

but if you walk around in those places and ask people what they identify themselves as, they invariably tell you that they are "middle class"

If you walk around anywhere in America, most people will identify themselves as middle class no matter how much they make.

[smallvillejane]

Great! Now we all live in a classless society!

Originally Posted by knitgirl

If you walk around anywhere in America, most people will identify themselves as middle class no matter how much they make.

[MannheimMadman]

I've just now realized that this thread will not end well.

[PokerPlayer1]

It depends on how elastic your class definitions are, but based on most accepted accountings, the 'low end' of the Gold Coast is upper-middle class. There is obviously a smattering of outliers in either direction, but particularly in the case of the Gold Coast, the outliers trend to the higher side, as there are are bona-fide 'upper class' folk around. IIRC, Oprah as a big place there.

In Lincoln Park, it's still pretty upper-middle class, but with the addition of the occasional dual-income middle class types (including a few blue collar ones) who are sacrificing a bit in the way of lifestyle to live there.

[Lookout Kid]

The middle-class residents of Lincoln Park and the Gold Coast are the young people who are renting small apartments. There are thousands of DePaul students and entry-level earners in Lincoln Park. But anyone who owns property there is upper-middle to upper class, even if they don't choose to identify themselves as such.

[chitown85]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

The middle-class residents of Lincoln Park and the Gold Coast are the young people who are renting small apartments. There are thousands of DePaul students and entry-level earners in Lincoln Park. But anyone who owns property there is upper-middle to upper class, even if they don't choose to identify themselves as such.

Agree. The "middle class" residents are students renting those small apartments for unbelievably high sums from a combination of working part time and parental assistance. To own a property in those neighborhoods requires you to be wealthy.

Upper middle class neighborhoods would be Lakeview, Andersonville, and Wicker Park.

Middle class neighborhoods are Ukrainian Village, Edison Park, etc.