Questions about River North! Woohoo! (Chicago, Lincoln: rent, crime, houses)

[Now What]

Hello!

I want to first say that the people on the Chicago forum are great - better than any other city on here, IMO. I don't currently live in Chicago, but will be moving back, as I only lived there for two years. Thank you for making me feel welcome on your forum, Chicagoans. I adore your city and you all fit the awesome attitude in people that makes this city so incredible! I appreciate you and am sorry if this seems corny!

On to my question! I moved from Chicago about 4 years ago and hope to return in one year. The company that I have my eye on (a competitor of my current company) is in River North. I visited a lot of neighborhoods in Chicago while there, but only spent brief times in this one. I was looking to possibly rent in this are and wanted your opinion on if it will fit my priorities:

Good walkability
Plenty of GOOD, non-chain restaurants (I love the food in the city and hope RN stacks up)
Nice places to run, ride a bike, dog friendly parks and paths
Diversity!! (not just by race, but in interests, backgrounds, music, etc.)
Safe (don't need Shaumburg safe, but safe enough for people w/street smarts)
A fair amount of nightlife for somebody in their low 30's
Good public transportation

I think you get the idea. I'm recently single with a dog, a young(ish?) professional that likes people from all different backgrounds, original and diverse food and a fairly active lifestyle.

Does this seem like a good hood for me or any other not too far away suggestions??

Thanks again, you guys are the best!

[marothisu]

Good Walkability - Yes of course..very good.

Food - River North definitely has a lot of good food. There are some chains in some areas (mainly for tourists), but it's not that much. The one caveat here is that while there are some normally priced/cheap eats in River North, a lot of it is a little above average in cost. That being said, River North is one of the parts of town (but not the only one) where people open up new restaurants and bars. It will probably (hopefully) get even more.

Run/Bike/Dog Friendly Parks - For this, River North is pretty close to the lake with the whole 18 mile bike/running/whatever path on it. Of course, running on the sidewalk or biking on the street is fine. Parks for dogs is lacking, but if you go north to the Gold Coast area, there are parks like Washington Square Park OR if you want a bigger one, then Grant Park/Millennium Park area.

Diversity - Definitely not extremely diverse in River North, but there is some diversity definitely.

Safe - Yes, very safe.

Nightlife - There is a lot of nightlife. Lot of bars and clubs, lounges, piano bars, etc. It's not all for young people. Actually at the places in River North, I'd say the average demographic is actually around 24-35 on average (not everywhere). Some places are definitely older, some are younger. You also have Gold Coast to the north for that.

Good Public Transit - Yes, many buses and the red line goes through River North.



Based on your criteria, I'd say the only thing to worry about is dog friendly parks in the area. Other than that, depending on if you can afford it or not, I'd say that it fits what you want.

However, I'd say there are other neighborhoods that fit your needs. I think it depends on what kind of place you want too. The other areas I'd look into would be some areas of Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Lakeview, North Center, Lincoln Square, etc. Lincoln Square and North Center are a little further away, but I think they would fit the bill as well.

[trig]

I have lived in River North for 2.5 years. It is a great neighborhood - quiet but with a good vitality. There are some really excellent restaurants here. As far as dog parks, there are a few of those. The Red, Purple, and Brown lines go thru RN.
I am actually a Realtor, so if I can help you find a rental, reach out to me!

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Good Public Transit - Yes, many buses and the red line goes through River North.

Somehow I forgot Purple and Brown. Green, Orange, Pink, and Blue are also not far away.

[chicagobear]

Being able to walk to work is a great thing. River North/Gold Coast are what urban living is all about.

[emathias]

I've lived in River North for 9 years.

Originally Posted by Now What

...
Good walkability
Plenty of GOOD, non-chain restaurants (I love the food in the city and hope RN stacks up)
Nice places to run, ride a bike, dog friendly parks and paths
Diversity!! (not just by race, but in interests, backgrounds, music, etc.)
Safe (don't need Shaumburg safe, but safe enough for people w/street smarts)
A fair amount of nightlife for somebody in their low 30's
Good public transportation

River North is very walkable and becoming more walkable every year.

River North has a lot of restaurants, but because of the demand - you have tourists and residents and business people and club-goers and theatre-goers all wanting to eat there - the prices are definitely higher than in some of the other neighborhoods. But you can get good Indian food, excellent Mexican food, excellent Japanese food, excellent high-end fine dining, good number of Michelin-stared places with one Michelin 2-star restaurant, 2 Michelin 1-star restaurants in River North proper, and 2 more just a few blocks outside the borders, excellent gastro-pub food, some very good French food, the best steakhouses, some excellent Italian food, some interesting Chinese places, some good pan-asian places, plus a number of smaller, neighborhoody places to get things like Persian food, Thai food, sandwiches, lounges with good food, at least a couple really good wine bars, and other places. There are other neighborhoods with good selection, too, but I'm not sure many of them can match the depth and breadth of River North's food offerings. But in all seriousness, you could easily spend a couple thousand dollars a month on food without even trying very hard, especially if you like wine or cocktails with dinner.

River North is short of park space - there's just no getting around that - there is some, but relative to other neighborhoods, it's not as green. But, it does have an under-used but nice riverfront path on the western edge, and it's not that far from the lakefront walking/jogging/biking path that runs the entire length of the city's lakefront. There is a dog park on the western edge of the neighborhood, along the River.

River North is traditionally the biggest nightlife neighborhood. Wicker Park, Uptown and Lakeview also have a good amount of nightlife, but River North has a lot of clubs and lounges, and is usually where celebrities, when they're in Chicago, hit the nightlife.

River North is expensive. That tends to mean it's more white than some areas, but it still is fairly diverse. The South Loop is more diverse, but River North is fairly diverse. A lot of foreign nationals live in River North. There are a lot of rich people, but there are also still a number of artists who've stuck around since it was a warehouse district. There are also a few SRO properties, so you'll see the extreme poor end sometimes, too. It's not the first place to spring to mind when someone says "diverse," but it's not really homogeneous, either. It doesn't have a huge variety of music - there's the House of Blues, a couple piano bars, a jazz club and there might still be a blues club left, but Wicker Park and Lakeview have more small-to-mid-sized venue music show variety than River North does.

It's quite safe. Even statistically just using the local population it's pretty safe and once you account for the fact that the population of visitors often widely eclipses the population of actual residents and consider how that impacts crime stats, it's really a very safe area.

As far as transit goes, the only place in Chicago with better transit is the Loop. The Red and the Brown/Purple Lines have 2 stops each in River North. There are a number of backbone bus routes that run both north-south and east-west through River North. Cabs are extremely easy to hail on the street - I've never had to actually call for one. And you're just across the river from the Orange, Green, Pink and Blue Lines, and about an $8 cab ride from Union, Ogilvey, and Millennium commuter train stations. Depending on where in River North you area, you could also be just a few minutes walk from all the express buses that run on Michigan Ave. And if you insist on driving, the neighborhood is well-served by major streets and avenues and has the Ohio ramp that connects it directly to the Kennedy 90/94 expressway.

Seriously, outside of Manhattan, there are few places in the United States that could compete with, let alone exceed, the transit connections available in River North. They puts you in easy range of Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and beyond going north, the Ukranian Village going west, Chinatown and the Loop to the south, and not that much harder to get to places like Pilsen and Wicker Park and Logan Square and Lincoln Square on the northwest.

Originally Posted by Now What

I think you get the idea. I'm recently single with a dog, a young(ish?) professional that likes people from all different backgrounds, original and diverse food and a fairly active lifestyle.

Does this seem like a good hood for me or any other not too far away suggestions??
...

If you can swing the rent, the cost of food (and other things - the rent is higher, and so is just about anything else you'll want to buy within the neighborhood), and don't mind sacrificing on either the park space or proximity to Michigan Avenue a bit, I think you'd like it. The "sacrifice" I mention because the best park in River North is on the western edge, and Michigan Ave is the eastern edge. They're about a 15-20 minute walk apart, so you can either live in the middle and have ok access to both, or live closer to one or the other and have great access to one and acceptable but not as convenient access to the other - your choice.

[Now What]

Thank you guys a million for the feedback on this post! I appreciate all of the detail and you guys spoke to each of my inquiries! I'm going to be there to visit in a few weeks and will look for the things you mentioned!

And restaurants or anything in particular I should be sure to check out?

You're right, finances are something that I will need to consider when looking for a place.

Trig - would love to contact you when the time gets closer!

Thanks again to all! Chicagoans are the best - I hope to be your neighbor really soon!

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Now What

And restaurants or anything in particular I should be sure to check out?

Sure. What kind of food are you looking for and what type of budget for a meal?

[gomexico]

Good walkability
Plenty of GOOD, non-chain restaurants (I love the food in the city and hope RN stacks up)
Nice places to run, ride a bike, dog friendly parks and paths
Diversity!! (not just by race, but in interests, backgrounds, music, etc.)
Safe (don't need Shaumburg safe, but safe enough for people w/street smarts)
A fair amount of nightlife for somebody in their low 30's
Good public transportation

Postive comments about each of the above. It has 'em all.