Division St. shenanigans (Chicago: lease, condo, hotel)

[JBradson]

My wife and I (mid thirties two kids under 4) are relocating to Chicago and we are looking at signing a lease on a place in one of the row houses on E. Division slightly east of Astor. Will the bars be an issue? We walked by at about 9pm on a Saturday and the crowd seemed a little....juvenile. This was the week before Christmas. Is this typical? I don't mind walking by them but would rather not deal with doorbell ringing at 4am or having to hose various bodily fluids off my sidewalk. I was a young, immature frat boy too about a decade and a half ago so I know what that crowd is capable of. The bars are west of State so they shouldn't be walking our way but you never know. We like they home, street and neighborhood otherwise. Thanks for the feedback.

[marothisu]

Edit: Read your location wrong the first time, but my answer doesn't change too much:

I think you are thinking and worrying about the juvenile part too much. First off, the crowd stays west of State St because there is pretty much nothing east of it for entertainment and really no restaurants, stores, etc. Purely residential for the most part. While the people drinking there can be loud and juvenile (not everyone is for the record) and the bars stay open until 4am and 5am on Saturdays, they are still respectful of the neighbors. I've never seen or heard of anyone ringing the doors of anyone. They might be acting more juvenile, but they are not mindless teenagers either.

As far as the noise goes, I think it dissipates the further east on the street you go, but the one thing to worry about is that street gets pretty busy during the warm months and possibly even busier than what you saw it as (not sure - I wasn't around at Christmas time). There can be a lot of people outdoors (but they won't be coming to your door). The area just south of there that forms a triangle is a hot area too, and most notably in the summer. The crowd is older and more mature, but when it's nice out, there are people hanging out in the plaza until 2am and conversing. The area can be a place to be seen. It's called the Viagra Triangle for all the wealthy 40+ year old bachelors hanging out in the area and the younger women trying to get with them. There will be people going through the area sometimes with louder motorcycles and sports cars (i.e. Lamborghinis, Ferraris, etc) at night especially on the weekends. Not constantly, but it's not uncommon to see at all.

So, my suggestion would be to look at least a block north of Division Street if you are at all worried about noise, because amazingly the noise from all these areas cannot be heard from there at street level, or not that much. As far as kids acting stupid at your residence, I wouldn't worry about that.

[JBradson]

Originally Posted by marothisu

You are thinking and worrying about it way too much. I hope you realize there are many millionaires in that exact area you are looking in who could live anywhere, and numerous people over the age of 40 and 50 in that area too (and not exactly really rare to see someone over the age of 70 in that area too). The people drinking there are not mindless teenagers. While they are juvenile and can be loud, they're still respectful of the actual neighbors. They also probably know better than to ring the door of a semi powerful CEO too. Even the first time the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, there was a BIG celebration on Division Street that night. People were going around in their cars honking horns, but almost nobody went north of Division St into where you will be (I walked north a few blocks to check out the noise cancellation I'll talk about later in this post).

This crowd does NOT go that far north of Division much, if ever, because there's almost nothing up there for them. There are two bars directly north of Division, and then a small and more quiet (but can be fun) piano lounge a few hundred feet. After that, there's almost nothing except a trendy lounge at a hotel there (Pump Room - quite nice actually), but it is a more mature crowd and usually older. Never loud, except maybe the hum of a Lamborghini engine every once in awhile.

You will also not hear any of the noise from your row home. The trees in the area act as a natural sound barrier and by the time you hit Astor, you really can't hear anything. I actually showed my Aunt and Uncle this when they were visiting from out of town once and they were amazed by how in the matter of a block or 1.5 blocks, you literally couldn't hear any of the noise from Division. It might be different if you were in an upper floor of a high rise, but you haven't much to worry about with a row home.

Thanks. Not trying to over think things just making sure before we sign a lease. A year is a long time to be miserable.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by JBradson

Thanks. Not trying to over think things just making sure before we sign a lease. A year is a long time to be miserable.

Yep. I edited my post above because I misinterpreted your location the first time. My answer doesn't change much, but it does change a little and you should take note. I am a a resident of the overall area, though more in the southern end of the Gold Coast. I am in the area you mention quite a bit, especially when it gets warmer out. I am not a big fan of Division St (though there is a legitimate small dance club there now), so I know all about your worries.

The area is a definite late night area, but you shouldn't be too worried about the actual people ringing your doorbell or robbing you thing. The most to be worried about would be noise, and really it probably depends on how far east this place is. Chicago at the street level can be amazing with noise because you can have a loud, busy area in one area, and then 1.5 blocks later on a more residential street, the trees can block the noise out very well and you won't hear much. Not too sure about the noise at night east of State though when it's busy but I'm sure it's lesser than if you were standing just west of State.

[chicagobear]

I live very close to there and wouldn't think twice about signing a lease. It is a great location with tons of amenities close by.

[JBradson]

Thanks for your update. Without posting the exact address on the internet it is between 45-65 E. Division on the south side of the street. It is just east of Astor.

I'm not concerned about the road noise. We couldn't hear much of anything when we were inside at about 3pm and there was a fair amount of traffic. Add two kids and a dog and I doubt we will notice much of the noise. My only concern was with the possibility of dealing with drunks regularly. Not worried about being robbed just the obnoxious behavior of those intoxicated. I noticed the bars are open until 4am/5am and I'm not looking to deal with that. If it stays west of State St. then we are good.

[chet everett]

Personally I would make an effort to scout out things like bus stops, parking restriction and even the propensity of cabs to make pick-ups on my corner if I had young children and did not want to be disturbed by rowdy drunks.

While there are probably fewer actual drinking establishments east of State St if folks are fumbling around for a parking spot, waiting on a bus or piling into a cab that is going to make a lot of ruckus...

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by JBradson

Thanks for your update. Without posting the exact address on the internet it is between 45-65 E. Division on the south side of the street. It is just east of Astor.

I'm not concerned about the road noise. We couldn't hear much of anything when we were inside at about 3pm and there was a fair amount of traffic. Add two kids and a dog and I doubt we will notice much of the noise. My only concern was with the possibility of dealing with drunks regularly. Not worried about being robbed just the obnoxious behavior of those intoxicated. I noticed the bars are open until 4am/5am and I'm not looking to deal with that. If it stays west of State St. then we are good.

Gotcha. There is crowd noise in the area, especially in the summer, and it persists into the early morning due to the late closing times. The crowd definitely stays west of State though. There's really nothing to see East of it. They will go south on State street though, but not east. Really wouldn't worry about people doing stupid stuff around your property. They really have no reason to be there even though it's really close.

The Viagra Triangle area is good though in the summer. Just in general if you like people watching, it's great. The plaza in the middle serves up coffee, tea, gelato, etc complete with a little water fountain until pretty late (like 2am on weekends) and that area is very, very vibrant even during the day in the summer. A lot of residents just go out there to relax and converse. One of the more European areas of Chicago. There's also another area like it south, but not as busy (Chestnut, Rush, and Wabash). There is a tea house in the middle and a lot of outdoor seating. A number of people relaxing outside, good people watching because the area gets foot traffic, and they regularly have free music (usually acoustic type of stuff or one man jazz shows) there. There is even a piano stationed outside that anybody can play on.

[Peer79]

It is mostly quiet there, but on occasion the drunks will noisily venture east on Division in the warm months. A lot of people use the LSD underpass on Division to access Oak St. Beach. More annoying to me are the loud ambulances and firetrucks sometimes blaring at full volume at any hour of the night down LSD (Lake Shore Drive). Overall, it is not deal breaker to me, but it would depend on your tolerance for noise.

My father, who is a crotchety senior citizen, gets pretty annoyed by the people on the street. We have a second residence at the condo building just down the street. Literally a few places down from where you are considering. Overall, it is a tremendous area full of amenities. I was not aware that those homes were being rented out.

[SAGAstory]

Maybe you should find somewhere else to move, juveniles belong in jail and the way the police lock up they wouldn't have them in bars. Division really has the quietest bars in Chicago to be Ho est, it wouldn't be the best place to stay. Why not further north?