23 year old female spending 7 days in Chicago...ALONE (Cortland: neighborhood, DMV)

[dewthedru]

Just watch out for the zombie hordes and the monkey-sized spiders that will eat your.....of course it's fine! This is Chicago, not Beirut!

Find a cheap place near the loop
Plan to walk or take public transportation
Don't walk around at night with headphones in while staring at your phone
Don't flash your cash
Time your trip to coincide with a festival or free concert downtown
Relax and enjoy one of the most beautiful and safe downtowns our country has to offer...especially in the summer.

[Eliza5]

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

Welp, it's hard to argue with that. Good assessment. About the crazies, that is.

I think she can enjoy chicago just fine provided she has a good amount of life experience to already lean on. She has to realize that every man she meets in chicago that realizes she is from out of town just wants to get in her pants or use her and consume her in more ways than one. If she's down for some intense sexual experiences or goes into it knowing what she wants and what her boundaries are, then she will be perfectly fine. The city is big and prides itself on safety in the loop. I would strongly suggest that she doesn't visit some beatnik/hippie bar in the outskirts of the city with that guitar of hers. She should stay within a 1 mile radius of the loop as neighborhoods quickly change.

I think that if she limits herself to a 1 mile radius of the loop, that will severely limit her Chicago experience. She's 23, young, and wants to do open mics and meet new and interesting people. I'm not sure if that can be achieved by limiting herself to a 1 mile radius of the loop. What about the Wicker Park and Bucktown areas? Those areas seem to be what she's looking for, from what I can tell. They're definitely not within 1 mile of the loop. Instead, what she'll most likely find in the loop are older professionals and the occasional bum. Not terribly exciting. I agree that she should stay in the loop for lodging/hostel/whatever, but to get to the fun, she'll need to take public transit to another area of the city (Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square, Lakeview, etc).

[odannyboi]

Originally Posted by ren&stimpy

OK, straight to the details:

Long story short, I've saved up enough money ($1,500) to spend a week in Chicago, but the saddest, most pathetic part of it all is that I don't have any friends to go with me. Why? Because I've pretty much been a loner all my life & I can't seem to attract people....but that's a different story.
Do you think I'm just making a ridiculously DUMB mistake by even thinking about taking this trip alone?

More details:
- I want to make this trip for the summer
- I plan on driving there from Detroit
- I'm going to stay @ the Comfort Inn
- I'm pretty fearful about doing this because I've never been out on my own, but at least I have street smarts!!

Please give me your honest opinions and/or advice

ren/stimpy: If I had $1500 to spend on a trip, I wouldn't do it in Chicago. I'd spend it on Southern California. I went to Southern Cal alone, but I knew 1 person down there as well as made a couple of friends via linkedin and another forum (for schools). It was awesome. You probably won't meet too many people here since Chicagoans are pretty closed off. Nobody says hi to strangers. After traveling to Miami, ATL, Arizona, San Diego, LA, and OC in the past 6 months, I realized how closed off midwestern people are.

Did you just want to hang out for a week or did you plan on looking for a place to possibly move? Again, 1500 in Chicago isn't going to be worth it. I know someone else offered, but if you want to someone to show you around I can maybe do a day or few hours (trust me, I was like you.. in a shell and I'm trying to change it.. but I'm 27). I can shoot you my facebook page that I barely go to (pm me if so). I totally disagree about guys trying to be friendly to younger females just to "get in their pants." I'm pretty good looking (I've been told) with good looking single female friends and I don't try to get into their pants. Heck, the person I knew in SD was a good looking girl and we were out alone at her place and at night for dinner and I didn't try any funny business. But I am not gay either (not that there is anything wrong with that).

But all in all, my opinion would be to go somewhere exotic with that kind of cash. Don't be afraid of going alone.. i prefer it since I like to do my own thing (going in groups is TERRIBLE, especially if you have an alpha male in your group).

But, if you are setting your sights on Chicago, then I would suggest Wicker Park and Bucktown. There are also hipster areas in the near southside (back of the yards has some artsy hipsters moving in). And where there are hipsters, there are acoustic guitars and open mics... and lots of skinny jeans.

[Isotope-C14]

Originally Posted by ren&stimpy

OK, straight to the details:

Long story short, I've saved up enough money ($1,500) to spend a week in Chicago, but the saddest, most pathetic part of it all is that I don't have any friends to go with me. Why? Because I've pretty much been a loner all my life & I can't seem to attract people....but that's a different story.

I'm a guitarist & I plan on bringing my acoustic guitar with me & 1 bookbag with clothes and stuff. I want to do open mics and just have fun meeting people. Do you think I'm just making a ridiculously DUMB mistake by even thinking about taking this trip alone?

More details:
- I want to make this trip for the summer
- I plan on driving there from Detroit
- I'm going to stay @ the Comfort Inn
- I'm pretty fearful about doing this because I've never been out on my own, but at least I have street smarts!!

Please give me your honest opinions and/or advice

You will have a great time, depending on what you like, make sure you hit the wicker park "six corners" intersection.

Big Star on Damen is an excellent bar, I always have fun there, though it seems to me to be a 28+ demographic.
Debonair on Milwaukee can be fun, on weeknights they sometimes have some peculiar burlesque shows and can be fairly countercultural
The flat Iron is two doors south I think, and they have pool tables and lots of current music, most with a punk flair.
Estelles on North has some good beer specials on Tuesday, but it gets TOTALLY packed before 10 on that night.
Nick's on Milwaukee is a 5am bar that can be fun. I've shown up there and randomly they've had blues/jazz bands.

Now if you get north of the six corners, at Damen and Dickens, there is a bar called Danny's tavern, there's a schlitz neon outside the door, and it's on Dickens, they are packed on Tueday/Wednesday/Thursday with very eclectic music nights, excellent place.

Bar called "The Underground" has all kinds of bands, every night of the week. I wouldn't take my guitar in there though. This is east of the six corners by a ways and north of north ave by two blocks.

All the above bars I've listed, have either $2 or $3 drinks, of some type, which can help avoid a big dent in the $1500.

goroo | RTA, CTA, Metra, Pace, Driving and Biking Directions | Better Directions, Better Trip Planner.

^^^ Use this website, and get a CTA 7-day pass. There is no need to drive, though if you are inclined to stay out too late, you might end up needing a cab once in a while.

Look on meetup dot com, there are plenty of groups that might be having meeting on that day. On that site there is everything from techo/trance meetup groups to knitting groups.

Good luck!

[ToriaT]

I disagree to stay in the loop. I think you will find it interesting but will be missing out on a lot to see if you confine yourself there. Do the research on the city and what the safe areas are so you can see some of the neighborhoods. If you are into music you might want to visit some places that have kindred spirits. Why not research something like Old Town School of Folk music which are not in dangerous areas and have people and performances that might be of interest. Do the research so you know where to go and get around. You can find out a lot of info on this board.

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by odannyboi

You probably won't meet too many people here since Chicagoans are pretty closed off. Nobody says hi to strangers. After traveling to Miami, ATL, Arizona, San Diego, LA, and OC in the past 6 months, I realized how closed off midwestern people are.

Oh here we go again.

[eureka1]

Disagree entirely. This has not been my experience.

[ren&stimpy]

I'm kinda pressed for time right now (almost late for work!) but I do wanna say thanks for the answer & if anyone wants to add more of their own advice, please do so. I'll have to take a moment out & respond to these later because I'm running late!

[SmartGXL]

What I would do, is rent a hotel (or hostel) downtown, and spend the first day or two walking around, exploring the Loop and River North, and then use the CTA pass (or take a cab) to travel to the various neighborhoods for the rest of the week.

Like others said, check out Wicker Park/Bucktown, as well as Lakeview. I would also use google to try to find Open Mic nights. Honestly, I havew not seen these advertised in a while, so there may not actually be any in those neighborhoods going on. I do know that there is a monthly event called CAKE, held at the Red Line Tap, which is on the far north side of the city. They usually have independent artists of different genres (rock, poetry slams, etc) at this event and so I think that if you find out when this will be held, contact the organizers and see if you can be in the show, then plan your trip around that and other Open Mic nights that might be happening.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by odannyboi

...
You probably won't meet too many people here since Chicagoans are pretty closed off. Nobody says hi to strangers. After traveling to Miami, ATL, Arizona, San Diego, LA, and OC in the past 6 months, I realized how closed off midwestern people are.
...

To correct this, "nobody says hi to strangers who look like they want to be left alone or who are regulars that talk to no one."

I'm not the most outgoing person, am totally average in looks, but I can't even count the number of times I've had great conversations with random people in bars in Chicago. Chicagoans are friendly, and it doesn't take much effort to strike up a conversation and, often, a friend. I've gotten free food and drinks from people in bars - other patrons, not the bar itself - just by somethign as simple as asking what it is they're eating or even just saying it looked delicious.

Is everyone in Chicago friendly? I'm sure they're not, but don't let odannyboi's dour attitude disuade you. Making conversation, contacts and friends in Chicago is not difficult if you're capable of even just basic conversation.