What area are these stops off the blue line known as and are they diverse? (Chicago: 2013)

[nj21]

I am currently staying in Des Plaines - which is very far - from downtown.

But it's about the same NYC/NJ commute that I am used to so it's no big deal.

I just came back from taking a practice run of my commute to work from the Rosemont station and while on the blueline I noticed two stops that had some really nice buildings with large windows (which is what I am looking for).

The two stops were Damen and Western. What is the area for these stops known as? Is it somewhat like Edgewater?

I visited both Edgewater and Lakeview on Saturday to view some apartments and both seem like bike-friendly communities. I prefer Edgewater over Lakeview though because I also have a car and parking seemed very expensive in Lakeview, but I could park on the street in Edgewater and I loved the treelined streets. Edgewater was also very suburban to me - and coming from right outside of NYC, it seemed more like home to me.

So, with all of that being said - could someone tell me the name of the area in which those stops are located? And what are some good websites to view nice apartments? I've tried Rent.com, but I don't really like what they have. Should I try Trulia?

Thanks!

[Drover]

The Western stop (the one you saw anyway -- there are two on the Blue Line) is in Bucktown. The Damen stop is in Wicker Park. They are neighboring areas that are often conflated together as a contiguous residential and nightlife area. Edgewater is in a different part of town entirely.

Are they diverse? I guess it depends on who you ask and what your frame of reference is. These are neighborhoods that used to be fairly rough but are now in the terminal stages of gentrification. There are still some reminders and outbursts of "roughness" every now and again particularly in Wicker Park. But they're quite a bit more homogenized than they were a decade or so ago and are still becoming more rather than less so.

[chicagobear]

The Division, Damen, Western, California and Logan Square Blue Line stops run along Milwaukee Avenue from Ukrainian Village through Wicker Park and Bucktown to Logan Square. They're sort of gentrified hipster areas that resemble parts of Brooklyn. The areas used to be rough but now quite nice for the most part and an easy commute to downtown.

[nj21]

Thanks! I'm going to look more into these areas.

Now that you mention the gentrification of the area - I did notice a mix of both old & new buildings.

[marothisu]

I'm a fan of Wicker Park. Yeah I understand that people like it more before it gentrified, but it's still good IMO. In my opinion, yes it is diverse - at least for nightlife (when I'm there). I see all types of races when I go out there and different types of people (punks, some yuppie looking people, hipster looking people, more artistic people, etc). I like the nightlife there a good amount and IMO it's a great area. There are some dives, a few real fancy places, some hip places, an arcade bar, a few clubs, a few music venues of differing genres, etc. Bucktown is more gentrified IMO although there are a good number of dive bars mixed in still too if you know where to look.

Western stop is at THE very edge of Bucktown too and the other side of the street you are in Logan Square (although technically speaking, Bucktown is in the Logan Square community area - don't worry, i won't confuse you any more). Logan Square is a little more hipster, slightly gentrifying. There are some great restaurants off the Logan Square stop actually, including a Michelin rated restaurant (Longman & Eagle - Logan Square - Chicago, IL) and actually, a large handful of bars/restaurants are opening within the next few months between/around the Western, Logan Square, and California blue line stops (my friend is opening one even!). The area is pretty hot for people opening businesses there and I know there are some recent residential projects in the area. There are some real nice houses, condos, etc in these areas actually. The nicest place I've ever been to in Chicago was actually in Ukrainian Village (south of Wicker Park).

[Attrill]

I've lived between the California and Western stops for about 10 years and the area has been fine and safe for all of that time. It's been taking off for the last few years with the opening of places like Revolution Brewing, Cole's, 90 Miles to Cuba, Chilapan, The Whistler, Township, and others. The area already had a number of solid places like Margies, Arturo's, Lazo's, Bob Inn, Fireside Bowl, and Green Eye. The Logan Square Farmer's Market has also been running a winter market at the Congress Theater which is a great thing.

As Marothisu mentioned there's a lot of new places set to open - there are some good articles here and here about what's going on in the area. It's actually getting a little crazy.