South of the LOOP (Chicago, Lincoln: apartment, transfer to, safest neighborhood)

[subodhlath]

Hi,

We are an Indian couple moving to Chicago in the first/second week of december. My office would be in 175 W. Jackson Boulevard. I have heard that the areas South of downtown are not very safe. Are neighborhoods in the Hyde Park/Kenwood areas safe? Also we are looking for a 1bedroom apartment in the range of USD 1,000 - 1,100 what are the good places where we could be able to get an apartment in that range. Lincoln Park, Lakeview, DePaul, Bucktown?

I think the same question has been asked multiple times by multiple people, but your responses would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Subodh Lath

[ChiNaan]

Hyde Park is one of the safest neighborhoods in the city. Kenwood is fine. The neighborhoods to the west and south of Hyde Park (Washington Park and Woodlawn) are not.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by subodhlath

Hi,

We are an Indian couple moving to Chicago in the first/second week of december. My office would be in 175 W. Jackson Boulevard. I have heard that the areas South of downtown are not very safe. Are neighborhoods in the Hyde Park/Kenwood areas safe? Also we are looking for a 1bedroom apartment in the range of USD 1,000 - 1,100 what are the good places where we could be able to get an apartment in that range. Lincoln Park, Lakeview, DePaul, Bucktown?

I think the same question has been asked multiple times by multiple people, but your responses would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Subodh Lath

See, most people who think they know about Chicago just generalize and say "The South Side is bad" which is not true. The advice you got is maybe half correct. There are a lot of bad neighborhoods, but there's a lot of fine neighborhoods down there. Hyde Park is pretty safe for the most part, and so is Kenwood. The problem for you is the fact that there's no CTA trains going through Hyde Park. You would have to deal with some buses. Some are express, but not all. Hyde Park is kind of on an island as far as CTA trains go.


DePaul is not a neighborhood - it's part of Lincoln Park. You aren't going to find much or anything at all in Bucktown in your range. Your range will be at the low end in Lincoln Park for a true one bedroom IMO. I think you can find it though.

Lakeview might be doable. I would check out the neighborhoods North Center, Ravenswood, or Lincoln Square. You are going to want to be near the Brown Line IMO. You can take it straight down to your work and it will make life easy. The cool thing about something like Lincoln Square is that from Western Avenue you can take a bus straight up to Little India in less than 15 minutes probably.

[subodhlath]

We were considering a neighborhood near the CTA so ideally based on the responses Hyde Park would not be ideal considering the travel by public transport to the LOOP on a daily basis. So what would be a good neighborhood with connectivity to the LOOP and within the budget? Andersonville? Lincoln Square? or any other area? Are suburbs connected well with the city and I would assume housing would be cheaper in the suburbs?

Thanks a lot for the responses, much appreciated.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by subodhlath

We were considering a neighborhood near the CTA so ideally based on the responses Hyde Park would not be ideal considering the travel by public transport to the LOOP on a daily basis. So what would be a good neighborhood with connectivity to the LOOP and within the budget? Andersonville? Lincoln Square? or any other area? Are suburbs connected well with the city and I would assume housing would be cheaper in the suburbs?

Thanks a lot for the responses, much appreciated.

Housing is not necessarily cheaper in the suburbs. You can often get more space for the same money, but you can't necessarily save money at the lower ends - you just get more space for the same money whether you need/want it or not.

Hyde Park is well-connected to the Loop for commuting purposes, it's just not particularly well-connected to the West Loop, and it's not well-connected to the "L".

Don't ignore the buses in Chicago - especially the express buses that run on Lake Shore Drive can be very convenient, as fast (or nearly so) as the "L", and some people actually prefer them to the "L". The bus system in Chicago is one of the best in the country, a fact easy to ignore since the "L" overshadows it. If you lived within a 5-minute walk of the Metra Electric stations in Hyde Park, you could be to the office in about 30 minutes. 5 minute walk to station, 15 minute train ride to Van Buren station, 10 minute walk to work. So maybe 35 minutes if you plan to get to the station a few minutes early. It'd be similar with the #6 express bus from north Hyde Park or Kenwood.

I'm not necessarily saying Hyde Park is ideal for you, but for commuting to the Loop it can work. I'd rule it out because there's so much on the North Side you'll probably want to see as newcomers and being in Hyde Park without a car will leave you feeling a bit disconnected from areas north of the Loop.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by subodhlath

We were considering a neighborhood near the CTA so ideally based on the responses Hyde Park would not be ideal considering the travel by public transport to the LOOP on a daily basis. So what would be a good neighborhood with connectivity to the LOOP and within the budget? Andersonville? Lincoln Square? or any other area? Are suburbs connected well with the city and I would assume housing would be cheaper in the suburbs?

Thanks a lot for the responses, much appreciated.

Andersonville is a good neighborhood, but technically the train doesn't go through there. It does go close though, but not directly through. A'ville is one of my favorite neighborhoods.

For where you're working though, anywhere on the Brown Line is best IMO. Lincoln Square if you can do it is good. The area is quiet but there's still stuff going on and restaurants/cafes/bars/shopes, etc. North Center a little south of there is good too and part of West Lakeview as well. Again, I'd stay on the Brown Line because that goes almost directly to your work. With the Red Line, you'd have to transfer to Brown. Not always a problem, but sometimes a hassle.

Ravenswood is near Lincoln Square too and on the Brown Line. I recommend that. The good thing is that even further north on the Brown Line is one of the most diverse areas in the US in Albany Park. A little NE of that is Devon which is little India. No train goes there, but it's an easy bus ride from Lincoln Square.


Most suburbs are cheaper, yes..not all are. You would be sacrificing the

[Irishtom29]

Lincoln Square is no good. The South Loop is nice; close to your job, good transportation, reasonable rents.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Lincoln Square is no good. The South Loop is nice; close to your job, good transportation, reasonable rents.

South Loop is pretty expensive these days, actually. You're definitely not going to find a true 1 BR there for $1,000-$1,100, and maybe not even a studio.

Also, out of curiosity, what makes you say Lincoln Square is no good? It has looked nice enough to me the times I've been there to go to shows at Old Town School.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Lincoln Square is no good. The South Loop is nice; close to your job, good transportation, reasonable rents.

The South Loop is boring as ****. It's like a slightly better version of Lakeshore East or Streeterville.

[Just1Fan]

Originally Posted by emathias

there's so much on the North Side you'll probably want to see

Like what? Please, be more specific.