Which part of downtown for intern? Loop vs GC (Chicago: real estate, renting)

[chicagoguy91]

Hi ,

I am going to be interning downtown this summer and am trying to finalize a place to live (relatively soon).

I am having trouble deciding which would suit me best.

These are the places Im looking at if anyone knows anything about them
777 S State St
1111 N Dearborn St
1133 N Dearborn St

^all addresses are within 2 mi of work (Willis Tower)

About me:
- like to live a fast-paced, upbeat lifestyle (work hard play hard)
- 22 yo male
- enjoy meeting new people (around my age)
- workout-aholic

Concerns:
- Gold coast is an older crowd (avg age 40?) but is a nicer area?
- is there things to do after 5pm in these areas? after 10pm?
- I read somewhere living in the loop is not the best idea
- which area is more "progressive" / upbeat ?

thanks!

[Vlajos]

between the two, Gold Coast

[chicagobear]

Gold Coast would be much better. River North is just south where there is lots going on.

[eating while walking]

Originally Posted by chicagoguy91

- like to live a fast-paced, upbeat lifestyle (work hard play hard)
- 22 yo male
- enjoy meeting new people (around my age)
- workout-aholic

Neither are good for what you want. The Loop is filled with office workers during the day and turns into a ghost town at night. Gold Coast is very pretty neighborhood with some lively nightlife, but the crowd skews older.

This is a cliched and unoriginal suggestion but my friends who fit your demographic are happy in Lincoln Park/Lakeview/Wicker Park.

[emathias]

I fell in love with Chicago when I was an intern renting a room that had no air conditioning or ceiling fans (and it was the summer of 1995, the deadliest heat wave in a century) in a building that backed up to Metra tracks on a block with a roaming wild skunk, from a slightly crazy recently divorced guy in Rogers Park, who rented a third room to a guy who stole my laptop (it was insured, though), and where my favorite place for dinner frequently had cockroaches on the walls.

Writing it down like that makes it sounds absolutely horrible, but it was an absolutely magical summer and really was when I fell in love with this city and the people in it.

In other words, where you live doesn't matter that much compared to what you make of it. Find a horrible but horribly cheap place to live, buy cheap food, see good music, talk to girls, talk to boys, talk to bartenders, talk to business owners, travel to parts of the city people say are dangerous if there's something that you want to see there. And work your ass off at the internship. Do that and you'll end up learning a helluva lot more than you would just sticking to the pretty things.

And, lest you think that experience ruined my life, I own a home in River North, have a well-paying, secure job, am partnered to a wonderfully talented musician who also has a doctorate, I have a masters of my own from a famous Boston-area university, and have a deep love and knowledge of this city despite having grown up on the West Coast. Sometimes paying for the "best" in your early years just means excluding a lot of other stuff and missing out on some awesome opportunities.

[chicagoguy91]

Yeah a lot of people seem to suggest that for my demographic. I have a good friend in Lincoln park (steal 500$/mo/person 2bdr). I guess I'm just concerned about transportation if I live out there. Gold Coast/loop, I could just walk and a cheap cab in inclimate weather. If Gold Coast is more lively/social, I think I'd be inclined more towards that atmosphere, especially if all the action is just south. I have very limited knowledge on the real estate downtown. I just went with what I found and the 777 s state loop apt was suggested to me by my employer. I don't have to stay where I am. I mean I have feet, I can walk. If there are more lively nearby neighborhoods, such as river north to Gold Coast, that's definitely fine by me. Remember I'm only there for the summer so I want to get the most of it to a point where I have enough experience to decide whether or not I would want to live there after college.

[chicagoguy91]

Originally Posted by emathias

I fell in love with Chicago when I was an intern renting a room that had no air conditioning or ceiling fans (and it was the summer of 1995, the deadliest heat wave in a century) in a building that backed up to Metra tracks on a block with a roaming wild skunk, from a slightly crazy recently divorced guy in Rogers Park, who rented a third room to a guy who stole my laptop, and where my favorite place for dinner frequently had cockroaches on the walls.

Writing it down like that makes it sounds absolutely horrible, but it was an absolutely magical summer and really was when I fell in love with this city and the people in it.

In other words, where you live doesn't matter that much compared to what you make of it.

That's awesome. And I completely agree. It's what you make of it.

I understand that either place may not have the exact action I'm looking for in itself, but I view the apt as just a place to sleep which happens to be in the middle of a giant playground called chicago. So whichever is closer to the fun im lookng for is the preferable option.

[chicagoguy91]

The loop being dead in the after hours is very unappealable to me though :/

[JacksonPanther]

Go with the South Loop option. There are tons of young people living in that "2 East 8th street" building, as well as the two buildings at 12th (Roosevelt) and Michigan. Lots of college kids at the Robert Morris and Depaul downtown campuses. And you are extremely close to the lakefront, with super easy access. So lots of opportunities to meet up with other fitness-oriented people.

[marothisu]

I live in the Gold Coast and the average age depends on where you go. In reality in many areas, the average age is closer to say 30+, and in some small areas it might even be more like 24+. There are a number of people in their 20s in my building actually in the Gold Coast and my friend who lives at 1100 N Dearborn has a number too.

Between the two I would choose Gold Coast, easily. I have friends who live right near the two places you are looking at and there are some people in their 20s in that immediate area. It's really a mix in the area now but people are usually 24+, but anybody thinks Gold Coast is just a bunch of older people doesn't really know anything about the area.



A question would be: why not other areas? For someone of your age, an area like Lincoln Park would be better?