Trying to Adapt: New York Transplant (Chicago, Clinton: apartment, to buy, theater)

[soulful]

You can find all the things you seek in the Chicago area. Just not in one place You might need to travel about a bit...Andersonville, parts of Lakeview (Belmont/Clark), a little of Old Town, Wicker Park, Hyde Park, Rogers Park. I know it is a drag not having it all in one neighborhood.

Actually, I think Evanston might work well for you in terms of an intellectual community. And the Metra trains leave from downtown Evanston to Chicago or you can take the El.

Good luck and welcome to the Midwest

[Chicago60614]

At the end of the day you just happened to move to a totally wrong neighborhood for what you're looking for. You can find most of what you want in a number of Chicago areas, but definitely not the west loop. It's fine and all, but it's totally new and still needs to find an identity.

[nJohn]

Originally Posted by maclock

I'd go nuts living amongst a bunch of Mother Jones reading idealists.

Meh. I prefer Harper's Magazine.

[slow_nerve_action]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

Maybe Lincoln Square?

Maybe if they said the part of Brooklyn they are from was Park Slope....I love it up here in Lincoln Square, but we are the land of $1000 strollers, multi-lingual nannies, and "put a bird on it" boutiques.

Original Poster probably should try Rogers Park if they want the Ft. Greene vibe. Hyde Park is nice, but its just a different (and more abject) type of segregation than the rest of the city.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by nowincal11

River West is very new with an industrial background. The amenities of the buildings are spectacular, but like you said, the neighborhood is not walkable simply because the neighborhood is mostly comprised of enormous residential structures and old/abandoned industrial plants.

Yeah, I'm guessing you didn't get to visit before your company set you up - I think you'd have realized pretty quick that River West is too newly residential to really have much of what you're looking for.

Originally Posted by nowincal11

Chicago is also very segregated. The downtown areas (of which I include River West) are virtually all white yuppie. Even young professional Blacks and Hispanics tend to stick to their own neighborhoods. Years ago, the Chicago Tribune did a study and found with overwhelming accuracy that they could predict where a late 20 something would live simply based on his or her race and socioeconomic status.

I emphasize years ago, because too many people are stuck in the past. Yes, Chicago still has segregation, but it is reducing. Between 2000 and 2010, there was a substantial increase in neighborhoods becoming more mixed. But it's actually improved quite a lot. If you look at a demographic map of New York, plenty of the hippest areas in New York are majority-white by a wide margin. In that regard, Chicago and New York aren't really that different. The biggest difference, really, is that New York is bigger so it has more of everything, including more areas that are very diverse.

NowInCal: I really fail to see the point of this being thrown at every new residents - are you TRYING to reinforce neighborhood segregation? Are you trying to scare people (needlessly)? Are you just obsessed with race?

Originally Posted by nowincal11

The more walkable areas of Chicago (i.e. those with more street traffic) are Wicker Park and the Gold Coast.

And Old Town and East Lakeview and the eastern part of Lincoln Park and Chinatown and River North and University Village.

Still pretty walkable but less dense are Lincoln Square, Andersonville, West Lakeview, Bucktown, Ukrainian Village, eastern parts of Hyde Park, Pilsen, Printers Row, Logan Square, Rogers Park, Edgewater, Little Village, South Shore and Uptown.

Originally Posted by nowincal11

...
I never was a fan of the giant residential complexes in River West and River North because they seem so empty and far from everything, even if said things are not far away. Compared to those buildings, the street traffic is weirdly minimal.

When's the last time you were in River North? It's not really comparable to River West - it has a good 20-30 years of a development headstart on River West.

Originally Posted by nowincal11

I don't think Hyde Park resembles Brooklyn too much either. Brooklyn is more mom and pop, but familial mom and pop whereas Hyde Park business owners are not as tied to the community (in my opinion).
...

I think this is completely true. Hyde Park has about half the density of Brooklyn, and much of the density that does exist is in the eastern half closest to the Lake. There are parts of Chicago that are a little like Brooklyn, but Hyde Park isn't one of them. That said, it does have a higher-than-average density of graduate degrees, and is at least somewhat more diverse than most other higher-income parts of Chicago.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by williepotatoes

Unfortunately, I don't think that you will find exactly what you are looking for here. There are plenty of people here who fit your description of intellectual and artsy, but they are generally spread out over a large swath of territory, from Howard street to Hyde Park. There are no great clusters or concentrations where they rule the streets.

Yeah, what he said.

[nowincal11]

Originally Posted by emathias

Yeah, I'm guessing you didn't get to visit before your company set you up - I think you'd have realized pretty quick that River West is too newly residential to really have much of what you're looking for.



I emphasize years ago, because too many people are stuck in the past. Yes, Chicago still has segregation, but it is reducing. Between 2000 and 2010, there was a substantial increase in neighborhoods becoming more mixed. But it's actually improved quite a lot. If you look at a demographic map of New York, plenty of the hippest areas in New York are majority-white by a wide margin. In that regard, Chicago and New York aren't really that different. The biggest difference, really, is that New York is bigger so it has more of everything, including more areas that are very diverse.

NowInCal: I really fail to see the point of this being thrown at every new residents - are you TRYING to reinforce neighborhood segregation? Are you trying to scare people (needlessly)? Are you just obsessed with race?



And Old Town and East Lakeview and the eastern part of Lincoln Park and Chinatown and River North and University Village.

Still pretty walkable but less dense are Lincoln Square, Andersonville, West Lakeview, Bucktown, Ukrainian Village, eastern parts of Hyde Park, Pilsen, Printers Row, Logan Square, Rogers Park, Edgewater, Little Village, South Shore and Uptown.



When's the last time you were in River North? It's not really comparable to River West - it has a good 20-30 years of a development headstart on River West.



I think this is completely true. Hyde Park has about half the density of Brooklyn, and much of the density that does exist is in the eastern half closest to the Lake. There are parts of Chicago that are a little like Brooklyn, but Hyde Park isn't one of them. That said, it does have a higher-than-average density of graduate degrees, and is at least somewhat more diverse than most other higher-income parts of Chicago.

I make the comment because it's true. Even look at the census tracts. It's not like I'm skewing facts. I've lived in a few different major cities and Chicago really is one where you might not have any social interaction with individuals of a different race, or in some cases, ethnicity.

So when the OP said she felt that way, I affirmed that feeling to let her know that she is not alone or ridiculous for thinking that.

[EastBoundandDownChick]

Originally Posted by thePR

It's funny that you say that about segregation:

The 10 most segregated urban areas in America | Slide Show - Salon.com

Excellent link, thanks for providing it. It shows what anyone who has lived in NYC already knows- it is incredibly segregated. It is just the 'limo liberal' P.C. environment that makes it kind of a taboo subject. I call it what it really is, hypocrisy. These are the kinds of people who preach love and tolerance, then go home to their 80%+ white neighborhoods where they live in $3,000 a month apartments. And read Mother Jones LOL. I guess they consider it integrated simply because they ride the subway with all races. True integration means actually living side-by-side, not just brushing elbows on your workday commute. NYC is guilty of the very worst kind of racism in my opinion, quiet racism. Other cities are guilty of it as well. But NYC is the absolute worst. So all of this talk about integration by the OP to me just reads as a longing to be around a certain brand of liberal that isn't as readily available in Chicago. Sometimes the best thing for a person's growth is being removed from comfort. You can't expect NYC culture in a place that isn't NYC. I would suggest to the OP that this is something to embrace, not be upset about. If you can understand the way the heart of the country thinks you are far ahead of most of the people I met living in Manhattan. If nothing else, you will be at an advantage over these individuals in that regard.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by thePR

It's funny that you say that about segregation:

The 10 most segregated urban areas in America | Slide Show - Salon.com

Sure, but New Yorks census tracts, due to its population density are far smaller than all the other metro areas. So yes, the segregation is there, but if census tracts are all very small, then you would have more regular interaction since you only have to walk a couple blocks to get to the other census tracts.

If you look at those maps, it seems like you have to go WAY far out from Manhattan to see larger clusters of dark blue (very white-non-hispanic) whereas in Chicago you don't have to go nearly as far.

Then you have the LA map, which only has dark blue areas in a few super rich areas far, far into the hills. Hardly any dark blue.

At least to me, other than the fact that the Chicago map has more widespread hispanic population clusters, (and more blue by the downtown (more white "yuppies) Chicagos map looks far more like Milwaukee, Detroit, and Cleveland.

[aragx6]

River West would bore me to tears too OP. I'm sure your apartment is real pretty, but that rarely a happy transplant makes.

Realistically you're not likely to find exactly what you're looking for in this city, just as I couldn't perfectly replicate my experience in Wicker Park anywhere in New York. But if you get out of one of the city's most white-washed 'hoods and into its great, vibrant, walkable, historic neighborhoods I think you'll likely find yourself growing much happier. All the neighborhood suggestions here are good ones -- just spend weekends (while they're still super nice) exploring them all. That exploring is what I find most enjoyable about a new place.

ETA: And honestly? I'd probably buy a beater or get a ZipCar membership. It's kinda nice to live in a place where you can get around a bit by car. You might be surprised how well you like it.