How long does it take to get used to Chicago? (Oakdale: condo, income)

[Visvaldis]

One great thing about Chicago is it keeps reinventing itself, neighborhoods change, and the dynamic continues, in spite of corruption and occasional scandals. I grew up in Logan Square, way back when Logan Square was the end of the line for the "L". It was a quiet, middle class neighborhood. Never did I think that someday it would be in the process of gentrification. I remember the neighborhood around Wrigley Field was pretty dumpy, and Ray's Bleachers was an ordinary, run down gin mill. I'm partial to the northside and only came to know what the southside is like while driving a cab. Back then Clybourn was a dead street of empty factories and warehouses, not a soul in sight. It was still possible to park on Lincoln Avenue at night to have a beer at The Volstead Act, later renamed Sterch's. Most of Lincoln Avenue was deserted. I also remember that the only area to get a genuine Mexican taco was in Pilsen. I wonder if anyone remembers the area on Madison, just west of the river, that was skid row; cheap flop-house hotels, vacant lots with broken glass and homeless men laying around. The city did a great job to fix up the whole area.

[wickedripeplum]

I can't resist adding to the pile on.

As a Boston native I developed an intense phobia in my youth of going places where I didn't have a defined exit strategy and especially of taking buses that I didn't know the route like the back of my hand.

Seriously Chicago is so easy. I had a little trouble at first with the grid system because I never had a concept that streets could have logic to them. But once you get a handle of the grid system it's nearly impossible to get really lost. Hell I accidentally got on the wrong metra train last month, ended up in a neighborhood I'd never been to before and was still able to get orient myself within a minute of finding an intersection. It goes without saying that this wasn't due to superior navigational skills. The grid system is your friend, learn it, love it. And the best part is, the learning, it's cake.

[j33]

Originally Posted by wickedripeplum

I never had a concept that streets could have logic to them. .

Spoken like a true Bostonian. My cousin who lives just outside the city proper jokes that the streets were originally the paths of drunken cows.

[wickedripeplum]

My cousin who lives just outside the city proper jokes that the streets were originally the paths of drunken cows.

Hee, a nice twist on an old favorite. The cow path thing that people flog is a myth. The street design is the natural result of an unplanned city formed on a tiny oddly shaped landmass. And add in that they celebrated about every twenty years of the 19th century by bulldozing the hills into ponds, swamps, and harbor, you get a street layout that's possibly not the most straightforward.

[MassVt]

.. I live in Cambridge, just north of Boston, but I work in the city. This city is a motorist's nightmare. I always tell visitors to leave the car at the hotel, or better yet, don't bother renting a car at the airport. It will only add to your woes, both directionally and financially. Walk, use the subway, or take an occasional taxi, but don't expect to drive to the front door of every attraction you want to visit. This city is circular, with MANY one-way streets, and parking is scarce and extremely expensive. This is the kind of old-fashioned, European-based city that is meant to be explored on foot, not a creation of the automobile like Dallas or Phoenix.

Sadly, not everyone listens.

[southwest1230]

You might want to worry more about the crime per getting lost in Chicago..you can turn the wrong corner and wind up driving around the projects.....not fun at 2 in the morning. Its not a city to drive around discovering with a guidebook, unless you really know the decent parts.......literally finding something is easy, as the folks have mentioned....just
make sure you know where the really bad areas are......prob 65-70% of the city consists of some really awful hoods...trust me.

[southwest1230]

I walked to United Center from the Sears Tower where I work two times last year for the bull's playoffs.......a shocker, isn't it? I remember when it was shaky to just drive
and park near the old stadium without gettting the windshield broken, which actually did happen once. Hope Louisville is treating you well, and looks like collge basketball season at the U of L should keep you busy if you are into sports....peace

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

That stretch from the loop to the United Center isn't so bad. It's if you go in any OTHER direction from the United Center...

There's a peninsula of kinda sorta safe from the loop to the center.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

That stretch from the loop to the United Center isn't so bad. It's if you go in any OTHER direction from the United Center...

There's a peninsula of kinda sorta safe from the loop to the center.

Actually, with the exception of a few intersections, the area around the UC is generally pretty nice. North of it is mainly manufacturing until you get to Grand, which I believe is then WestTown? South of the Eisenhower you've got the Med District, UIC/Univ Village and TriTaylor. West of it the projects were torn down by Western, and lots of new condo's going up.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

Actually, with the exception of a few intersections, the area around the UC is generally pretty nice. North of it is mainly manufacturing until you get to Grand, which I believe is then WestTown? South of the Eisenhower you've got the Med District, UIC/Univ Village and TriTaylor. West of it the projects were torn down by Western, and lots of new condo's going up.

A lot of those new condos to the west are still low-income housing, and the area around there is still a little active.