Understanding Chicago's Near North neighborhoods & party scenes... a few questions! (Lincoln: apartments, lofts)
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So, just to make sure I have this straight before I start physically looking at different options... as although River North sounds attractive given what I desire in a first Chicago apt (luxury high rise, hot nightlife for those in their 20's, close proximity to the loop), I still want to keep all my options open.
-- Wrigleyville/Lake View - Mainly people in their young to late 20s.. sports/frat vibe @ at the bars
-- River North - Primarily clubs (I'm guessing house music dominates, maybe some dubstep), upscale/expensive bars and restaurants as well... mainly people in their mid 20s to mid 30s. No?
-- Lincoln Park - Somewhat like Lake View and Wrigleyville.. mainly or high number of DePaul students.. probably pretty good bang for your buck at the bars? Pretty "college" area..?
-- Gold Coast Nightlife/main demographics residing there- No idea.... Help me out with some solid info!
-- Streeterville Nightlife/main demographics residing there - No Idea... info please!
-- River West - I'm guessing much like River North, maybe a short walk to the upscale clubs and bars located in the heart of River North? No Idea!
-- ALSO, is Rush and Division located in Gold Coast, technically speaking?? What's the big deal with this area... pretty much a famous/well regarded Chicago bar scene?
-- One more thing -- What area/scene does the "Viagra Triangle" refer to? I find this amusing.
I've pretty much ruled out living in West Loop, Printer's Row, South Loop, Loop... thoughts? Just doesn't seem worth it JUST to live in a luxury high rise which I could easily accomplish further north and with more nightlife to boot.
Thanks so far for all the helpful advice... you guys have been more than helpful!
So, just to make sure I have this straight before I start physically looking at different options... as although River North sounds attractive given what I desire in a first Chicago apt (luxury high rise, hot nightlife for those in their 20's, close proximity to the loop), I still want to keep all my options open.
-- Wrigleyville/Lake View - Mainly people in their young to late 20s.. sports/frat vibe @ at the bars
-- River North - Primarily clubs (I'm guessing house music dominates, maybe some dubstep), upscale/expensive bars and restaurants as well... mainly people in their mid 20s to mid 30s. No?
-- Lincoln Park - Somewhat like Lake View and Wrigleyville.. mainly or high number of DePaul students.. probably pretty good bang for your buck at the bars? Pretty "college" area..?
-- Gold Coast Nightlife/main demographics residing there- No idea.... Help me out with some solid info!
-- Streeterville Nightlife/main demographics residing there - No Idea... info please!
-- River West - I'm guessing much like River North, maybe a short walk to the upscale clubs and bars located in the heart of River North? No Idea!
-- ALSO, is Rush and Division located in Gold Coast, technically speaking?? What's the big deal with this area... pretty much a famous/well regarded Chicago bar scene?
-- One more thing -- What area/scene does the "Viagra Triangle" refer to? I find this amusing.
I've pretty much ruled out living in West Loop, Printer's Row, South Loop, Loop... thoughts? Just doesn't seem worth it JUST to live in a luxury high rise which I could easily accomplish further north and with more nightlife to boot.
Thanks so far for all the helpful advice... you guys have been more than helpful!
- I wouldn't say River North is primarily clubs. There are a number of clubs there, but there's more bars (semi nice ones) than clubs. There's a lot of different places to drink there from bars to clubs, I'll put it that way.
- There's different areas of Lincoln Park, some nice bars, some college-esque ones. I'd say there's a number of frat-like ones like in Wrigleyville. Near DePaul it's mainly college kids or newly graduated kids, and as you go away from DePaul, you'll find it's more people who've been out of college at least for a few years, up into their 30s IMO.
- Gold Coast is a more "established" place. It's my neighborhood even though I'm still in my 20s, there's actually a number of people here in their 20s, but it's usually mid to late 20s and older. The people going to party here are either older or are after $$$. You find younger people, but they're more mature in mind. The area around the Viagra Triangle....well we name it that because of the number of rich bachelors over 40 frequenting these clubs. There's a lot of gold digging going on. You have your models, your good looking women who arne't as well off, and then suburbanites. It's actually amazing people watching in the summer sometimes. It's busy here all day..pretty much 10am-4am.
Unless you're a millionaire who drives a $125,000+ car, don't even try to pick up women at a majority of these places, but it's possible. You just have to know your audience. If you see a woman who looks like a model, unless you are too or you're rich, or have "ridiculous game"..again, don't try. You will find celebs hanging out here sometimes, especially if they want to get away from people sometimes. I have met Tyra Banks at Le Colonial before for example.
There are a few clubs around there frequented by younger people like Proof and Privet.
- Streeterville I'd say is more mid to upper 20s people..good jobs, etc. There isn't much going on there fr partying IMO.
- Rush and Division..well really just Division. Mostly crappy college-esque bars with tourists, suburbanites, and newly legals hanging out there. It's an experience, but most people cringe at this. If you like the crap college bars, then go there too.
- You didn't factor in Wicker Park or Ukrainian Village, which are west. The area around Damen, North, and Milwaukee has a ton of bars, and TONS of people out on the weekends and pretty much every night. A guy I work with just moved here 6 months ago, and pretty much exactly reminds me of you, and he went to Wicker Park for the first time the other weekend. He told me he was amazed he'd never even thought about going there, and how many people and bars/clubs there were.
Thanks for the in-depth, very detailed response. That's exactly what I was looking for.
In your 2 paragraphs referencing the Gold Coast & Viagra Triangle, are you mainly referring to just that one area of the GC or the entire neighborhood? Just curious. What streets/intersection(s)/ part of the GC constitutes the Viagra Triangle?
Yes you're right I didn't mention any areas rest of the river like Wicker Park or Ukranian Village. What are the demographics that dominate these neighborhoods. As far as nightlife, are both primarily dominated by bar scenes?
What neighborhood is Rush and division considered a part of?
Thanks for the in-depth, very detailed response. That's exactly what I was looking for.
In your 2 paragraphs referencing the Gold Coast & Viagra Triangle, are you mainly referring to just that one area of the GC or the entire neighborhood? Just curious. What streets/intersection(s)/ part of the GC constitutes the Viagra Triangle?
Yes you're right I didn't mention any areas rest of the river like Wicker Park or Ukranian Village. What are the demographics that dominate these neighborhoods. As far as nightlife, are both primarily dominated by bar scenes?
What neighborhood is Rush and division considered a part of?
Rush and Division is all Gold Coast. Technically speaking, Rush never meets with Division, State does. When they refer to it, it's really though the whole area of Division Street and then stuff on Rush Street. I'd say it really starts at Privet/The Drawing Room and then on north there..there's a Piano Bar (Jilly's), then you start hitting the triangle after that. Technically the triangle is the triangular area bounded by Bellevue, Rush, and State. Bars like The Hunt Club, Lux Bar, Tavern on Rush, Gibson's, Whiskey, etc...The "younger" bars in the area I'd say are maybe quarter of Hunt Club, Cedar Hotel (they have a good, huge front patio), Proof club, Blue Agave.
Wicker Park and UK Village is pretty much dominated by people 21-30 I'd say. Awhile ago it used to be a part part of town, then the hipsters moved in, then it started getting yuppified, so the hipsters moved out because it's too expensive for them, but it's still semi artistic and there's still some of those hangouts. It's certainly more artsy than Near North and Lincoln Park areas, but you will find pretty much every type of person out there.
There's clubs like Ohm and Debonair Social Club, extremely nice cocktail lounges like The Violet Hour, awesome 5am bars that play punk and death metal like Flat Iron Bar, and a lot of just "normal" bars still mixed with some "hipster"-ish ones. If you go on Damen avenue north of that whole intersection, you hit some really nice clothing boutiques, so it's an interesting place. There's even a Tequila bar, and a Barcade (i.e. a bar with almost 40 classic arcade games ..everything from Asteroid to Mortal Kombat to NBA Jam to The Simpsons) with cheap craft beer. Good places to eat too. There's concert venues like The Double Door and Subterranean and up the road is the Congress which attracts some decently big named artist. Near there are other clubs like Vlive. That's technically Logan Square, and while gentrifying and some nice parts, there's a few parts to stay away from too.
It's a cool area, and if you wanted an amazing duplex or something, modern..you would look there for example, but not really many/any high rises there, but it's a good place to party.
Based on what you seem to be interested in I think River North would be as good as anywhere for you to start out in. If you live towards the southern end of River North you can easily walk to Blue and Red line stops which will make it much easier for you to check out other neighborhoods like Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, etc.
Based on what you seem to be interested in I think River North would be as good as anywhere for you to start out in. If you live towards the southern end of River North you can easily walk to Blue and Red line stops which will make it much easier for you to check out other neighborhoods like Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, etc.
100% agree with this. Start looking in River North IMO..at the "worst" you could go to Gold Coast which isn't anything bad.
So, just to make sure I have this straight before I start physically looking at different options... as although River North sounds attractive given what I desire in a first Chicago apt (luxury high rise, hot nightlife for those in their 20's, close proximity to the loop), I still want to keep all my options open.
-- Wrigleyville/Lake View - Mainly people in their young to late 20s.. sports/frat vibe @ at the bars
-- River North - Primarily clubs (I'm guessing house music dominates, maybe some dubstep), upscale/expensive bars and restaurants as well... mainly people in their mid 20s to mid 30s. No?
-- Lincoln Park - Somewhat like Lake View and Wrigleyville.. mainly or high number of DePaul students.. probably pretty good bang for your buck at the bars? Pretty "college" area..?
-- Gold Coast Nightlife/main demographics residing there- No idea.... Help me out with some solid info!
-- Streeterville Nightlife/main demographics residing there - No Idea... info please!
-- River West - I'm guessing much like River North, maybe a short walk to the upscale clubs and bars located in the heart of River North? No Idea!
-- ALSO, is Rush and Division located in Gold Coast, technically speaking?? What's the big deal with this area... pretty much a famous/well regarded Chicago bar scene?
-- One more thing -- What area/scene does the "Viagra Triangle" refer to? I find this amusing.
I've pretty much ruled out living in West Loop, Printer's Row, South Loop, Loop... thoughts? Just doesn't seem worth it JUST to live in a luxury high rise which I could easily accomplish further north and with more nightlife to boot.
Thanks so far for all the helpful advice... you guys have been more than helpful!
Hey ChiTown,
I would say your perceptions are pretty acccurate, but here are my answers:
-Wrigleyville - Yes, a frat vibe, and very sports bar oriented. However, that is just one area of Lakeview, there are other areas that do not necessarily have that particular vibe.
Lincoln Park - a good mix of college students, along with some older folks who are able to afford expensive townhomes and condos. Not really "snobby" but here is where a lot of doctors and lawyers live.
Streeterville - lots of high rise apartments and condos, pretty much older folks (40's and up) live in this area. To me, it always feels like the people who partied in the 80's, now live here
Gold Coast - Oprah live here. pretty much an extension of Streeterville, lots of high rises, and older folks. But some younger folks are here as well and the famous "Rush and Division" and "Viagra Triangle" party districts are here. R/D was one of the original "get drunk till you pass out" districts back in the 50's and 60's (High heffner used to party here while he was launching Playboy magazine from his gold coast apartment), many of those original bars are still there operating, now it feels more like suburbanites, bachelorette parties, and tourists frequent this area. Viagra Triangle - another oarty till ya puke district, so named because the intersecting streets in the area form a "triangle" shape, and because there are a lot of older guys here (viagra) looking to be a sugar daddy to a 20's blonde supermodel with big breasts. This is pretty much the only area (outside of river north) where you will routinely see porsches and lambos being valet parked on friday and saturday nights.
River West - yes, something similar to River North, but this is more of warehouse/meatpacking district that has been converted to condos and lofts, with some manufacturing activity remaining. The area also has a lot of eclectic bars and restaurants (Randolph street here, is known as Restaurant Row).
I think you have a pretty good idea of these areas, but here is my 2 cents:
-- Wrigleyville/Lake View - Mainly people in their young to late 20s.. sports/frat vibe @ at the bars
Yeah, for the most part. However Lakeview is large and has different areas. What you described is Wrigleyville and central Lakeview. East Lakeview is Boystown, and obviously has a lot of gay nightlife. West of Southport things get a bit more mellow and it becomes more of a late 20s to 30s scene.
-- River North - Primarily clubs (I'm guessing house music dominates, maybe some dubstep), upscale/expensive bars and restaurants as well... mainly people in their mid 20s to mid 30s. No?
Yes, it's a trendy club/bar/dining area. All sorts of people from the city, suburbs, and out of town hang out there. There are clubs that play house and dubstep, but that sound does not dominate. Still lots of top 40, hip-hop, and some rock depending on where you go. Age range is from early 20s to 40s.
-- Lincoln Park - Somewhat like Lake View and Wrigleyville.. mainly or high number of DePaul students.. probably pretty good bang for your buck at the bars? Pretty "college" area..?
Yeah, pretty much. It's a bit of an older scene south of Armitage though.The area along Lincoln Ave tends to be pretty young. I wouldn't say it has cheap bars though.
-- Gold Coast Nightlife/main demographics residing there- No idea.... Help me out with some solid info!
The main party area is around State Street and Rush Street. Lots of cheesy bars that attract all sorts of people. Can be pretty low class or pretty upscale as you head down Rush Street. The neighborhood residents are of a wide range of ages.
-- Streeterville Nightlife/main demographics residing there - No Idea... info please!
Streeterville has no nightlife to speak of, but the residents are of a wide range of ages similar to the Gold Coast.
-- River West - I'm guessing much like River North, maybe a short walk to the upscale clubs and bars located in the heart of River North? No Idea!
Kind of like River North but more of a dining oriented scene. All sorts of ages around there.
-- ALSO, is Rush and Division located in Gold Coast, technically speaking?? What's the big deal with this area... pretty much a famous/well regarded Chicago bar scene? Yes, this is the Gold Coast. It's famous because it has been there forever, but it's not the best or most happening area by any means.
-- One more thing -- What area/scene does the "Viagra Triangle" refer to? I find this amusing.
It's the part of the Gold Coast scene along rush street near the triangle shaped park. Lots of older rich guys and gold diggers.
A few key omissions that you had left out:
Wicker Park/Bucktown - Big bar scene that has more of a hipster/alternative vibe. All sorts of places here from trendy lounges to grungy dive joints. Best nightlife area in Chicago IMHO. Mosty a mid 20s to mid 30s scene.
Logan Square - Kind of a continuation of Wicker Part, but not as happening and more hardcore hipster.
Old Town - Located between Lincoln Park and the Gold Coast. Tends to be yuppie but not as fratty as the areas to the north. Late 20s to late 30s scene for the most part.
I'd like to add that Lakeview and Lincoln Park are each much larger areas than Gold Coast, River North, Streeterville, and other small near north neighborhoods. Because of this, they have more bars/clubs and they are more spread out, with a handful of more concentrated nightlife areas.
It sounds like you've ruled out living anywhere but the heart of hotsh!t Chicago, which is great, but there is something to be said for a little peace and quiet. There are sirens and other sounds blaring at all times of the day, and live in the wrong area on the wrong floor and you'll get to hear drunk people roaming around late at night who don't let a few residential buildings nearby keep them from shouting at the top of their lungs at 4 AM. I'm exaggerating a bit, but still.
-- Wrigleyville/Lake View - Wrigleyville tends to not be age oriented as much, especially during cubs games. There are a lot of out of towners who go there regardless of age because it is an iconic area. I would say it isn't just 20 somethings.
-- River North - Expensive clubs and bars. Women are all mostly mid 20's but the men vary from low 20's to low 40's
-- Lincoln Park - Its pretty college yes. It is cheaper for drinks than wrigleyville and river north. The bars are usually packed with 20 something's
-- Gold Coast Nightlife/main demographics residing there- Older rich families mostly LIVE there. The bar scene in gold coast is full of an older crowd who again, has a lot of money.
-- Streeterville Nightlife/main demographics residing there - Similiar to Gold Coast. Older rich families live there but still has a decent bar scene.
-- River West - Very much like River North, but less bars! If you are paying River North prices in living, just live in River North.
-- One more thing -- What area/scene does the "Viagra Triangle" refer to? I find this amusing. Viagra triangle is located in Gold Coast. It is called this because the bars are full of a bunch of older men looking for young trophy wives and/or sugar babies to take home.
If I were you, I would choose between two things. Lincoln Park, or River North. IMO, its nicer living in LP because the girls aren't the gold digger type. I make very good money (upper 50K) and most of them wont even pay attention to me because I do not look old enough. I look young for my age and I am 24. If you want to impress with a lavish lifestyle, live in River North.
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