Young family, loop(south/west), lincoln/gold coast? (Chicago, Golden: condos, neighborhoods)

[AArch]

Originally Posted by JTW2013

Revisiting this one - you're going to need to start thinking further North. Most non-native folks have this idea in their mind of living right around the Loop or Lincoln Park, etc, i.e. the trendy, expensive Northside neighborhoods. If you intend to use the public schools that's the only way to go, IMHO. But if you are open to private schools, you can go further north. I'd suggest looking in the far north neighborhoods although Id never recommend buying there. Rogers Park (farthest Northside neighborhood) has 3 great schools; Rogers Park MontessoriRogers Park Montessori School - Serving the needs of the child., the Chicago Waldorf School Chicago Waldorf School and Sacred Heart Sacred Heart Schools. None of these schools are cheap but they are more reasonable than the private schools closer to the Loop.

Look at the far north neighborhoods along the Red Line (Rogers Park, Edgewater, Uptown). Rents will be more reasonable and you could take the Red Line to the Loop for work. These neighborhoods get a bad rap. There certainly aren't Lincoln Park. There is real urban grit there which scares some people. But don't buy the fearmongers who will tell you that you will definitely become a crime victim if you move that far North. Just like in any urban environment (even in Lincoln Park) you have to watch your surroundings, especially at night. You'll be close to the lake. There are plenty of playgrounds for your daughter. And most importantly you'll be close to the good private school options I mention above.

This might be a good option for someone brand new to Chicago. Rogers Park Chicago Apartments | The Morgan at Loyola Station in Chicago, IL 60626 You can certainly find something cheaper in the neighborhood but that's hard to do from out of town.

I actually like the sound of this: close to lake/good school(liked the montessori)/red line. If we went back down to 1500(maybe stretch back to 2k)ish the private tuition wouldn't be a problem and would I'm guessing it'd be better than even the best CPS options. On nice days I could just ride along the lake instead of worrying about drivers on their phones. I assume there's a bike/shared path along the lake front?

[jonnynonos]

Yes there's a path.

Parts of those neighborhoods can be pretty scuzzy, frankly.

Some parts not.

But don't think the rents are lower just because their farther away from the city center.

[knitgirl]

Lincoln Square or Ravenswood which are on the brown line (which to me is a much nicer line than the red) are very family friendly. I used to live there and it really wasn't on most people's radar 20 yrs ago. I was just down there yesterday meeting a friend at the Old Town School of Folk Music and there were tons of families out enjoying the relatively cooler weather. There are lots of restaurants and cute shops on the stretch between Montrose and Lawrence. There's also a nice branch of the library on that stretch and a big park at the corner of Montrose and Lincoln. I'd move back there in a minute if I weren't underwater on my home in the burbs.

[chet everett]

Yep, Lincoln Square is a really cute area that many families(and even folks that just want more space for a fairer price than in Lincoln Park) find quite desirable. That said, those qualities mean that rents are anything but more affordable than spots closer to the center of Chicago's business district. And while Brown Line access to the Loop is pretty good (and I agree that in some ways it is nicer than the often Cub-fan clogged Red Line) one still does not have any clear shot to bicycling to the Loop without encountering some rather "big city" traffic issues...

[AArch]

Small update. Interview on Friday seemed to go well, got some nice responses from my thank you emails and supposed to hear something back from them today.

I decided to head out with the family for the weekend so we could all look around. We stayed in the near north side at a place near Huron and LaSalle and had fun exploring a few neighborhoods.

Near North: just walking around the hotel, found this to be fun but definitely leaning towards singles getting off work.

West loop: We walked from the loop along randolph/madison and adams all the way out to Ogden. I've heard this place is mostly slanted towards young bachelor pads, but the little Mary Bartelme park was absolutely packed with families/expensive strollers and a nice mix of indian/asian/white people. Also found a private montessori that looks nice (Intercultural Montessori Language School) that has a japanese language immersion program that would be a huge plus. Also was reading about Skinner opening up to local attendees, but it seems like would be/are still 2 separate tracks 1 for students who tested in and one for locals. Places like this seemed nice, but we were just walking by, didn't make any appointments to see anything: 817 West Washington Boulevard #101, Chicago IL - Trulia . Nice access to groceries and schools.

Wicker/Bucktown/Logan Square: On our last day we made an appointment with a real estate agent and looked at a few places. Dropped off our bags at Union Station and walked out along Milwaukee. We were interested in this place 2645 West Thomas Street #2, Chicago IL - Trulia but the neighborhood didn't seem so great. Ended up here later: 3312 West Diversey Avenue #1N, Chicago IL - Trulia and the place seemed really nice, but the schools seem not so good and I couldn't even find any good private schools nearby.


Looking at rentals it seems like we get a lot less for our money in terms of monthly payments. We've been in graduate/married student housing for the past year, and a badly managed high rise for students for 3 years before that. When I was looking at high-rises in the loop/north side that matched our budget, all the negative reviews read like I had written them, so not really considering those options anymore. Thinking it may be time to move into our own place.

We plan on heading out and looking at some burbs (OP/Berwyn) as well as looking at the more typical LP/Lake View and maybe Irving Park areas on our next visit. Also thought about looking at Hyde Park's golden rectangle but seems like we'd be boxed in by the surrounding neighborhoods.

[marothisu]

Good update. The West Loop is a little more diverse than people think. A few things.

1) 2645 W Thomas is not Wicker Park, Bucktown, or Logan Square. It's general West Town near Humboldt Park which is considered an eh neighborhood. That area is OK but definitely not a must be area for a family. Wicker Park is a much better neighborhood than that, but also more expensive. The area this is in may very well be good in 10 years type of thing, but for now it's just so so.

2) I would take high rise reviews with a grain of salt. This is something I have learned. If you really think about it, if there's 15 reviews for a 30 story building with 300 units in it...that's 15 reviews for 300 units multiplied by how many people have lived in each over a certain amount of time. IMO they don't always represent a good sample of the overall opinions. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

3) You should be checking out the area of Lincoln Square/Ravenswood next time you're here along with Lakeview and Lincoln Park, and for that fact maybe even North Center too. The quality of life here is great though single family homes are a little more expensive (condos may not be terrible and rent is pretty good for the area, which is very safe) and the primary schools are mainly good (the 2nd best HS in the state is not far away although it's selective enrollment and not easy to get into). Lincoln Square is semi diverse (~20% Hispanic and ~11% Asian) and near Albany Park which is also fairly diverse (50% Hispanic, 15% Asian, 30% White).

4) The area 3312 W Diversey in is pretty decent. Kind of up and coming for families it seems.

[AArch]

Originally Posted by marothisu

1) 2645 W Thomas is not Wicker Park, Bucktown, or Logan Square. It's general West Town near Humboldt Park which is considered an eh neighborhood.

Yeah, I just wanted to check out the place as it was quite cheap, and I actually just finished a master's in architecture so that building held some interest. If I was single would probably grab it but not with kid.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by AArch

Yeah, I just wanted to check out the place as it was quite cheap, and I actually just finished a master's in architecture so that building held some interest. If I was single would probably grab it but not with kid.

Totally, and that's cool about the architecture thing. Guess you are coming to a good city, perhaps, for that. There is a lot of construction/architecture in certain areas of town like that too. The 3312 W Diversey one was cool too. You'll see these types of places in areas like Lakeview, Lincoln Park, North Center, etc etc too. I like that about Chicago - there is in some areas a lot of modern architecture right next to old stuff. It is in some areas pretty common to tear down an old place and build a brand new one like this in its place.

[chet everett]

Hope things work out for the OP, friends that are licensed architects with all kinds of good experience remain some of the hardest hit by shifts in the cycle of boom/ bust development... If the land a job here I hope it will give then the secuirty to acheive their goals. Really brutal that some very accomplished professionals I know have not held positions commensurate with their education and experience for more than five years in some cases...

[AArch]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Hope things work out for the OP, friends that are licensed architects with all kinds of good experience remain some of the hardest hit by shifts in the cycle of boom/ bust development... If the land a job here I hope it will give then the secuirty to acheive their goals. Really brutal that some very accomplished professionals I know have not held positions commensurate with their education and experience for more than five years in some cases...

I've shifted out of architecture and into more general design, and taught myself programming (C++/Python/Haskell) for exactly some of the reason you've listed.