Wicker Park or Logan Square? (Chicago, Lincoln: best neighborhood, 2014, neighborhoods)

[romnation]

Trying to decide between these areas. 22 year old white male. Which area do you think is best for someone in my age group seeking an area with a trendy vibe, lots of local business/restaurants, and non-commercialized. I've heard Logan Square is a bit older, is this true? Will I be one of the younger ones in the area? Maybe I'd be better suited to an area like Lincoln Park? I dunno, LP just feels to commercialized and lacking diversity to me. What do you guys think?

[Aleking]

Logan, definitely Logan
And none of these places are diverse but no one really cares about that as much as they pretend to.

[MarkHafeli]

I'm a bit biased, but as a resident of Logan Square for the last 5 years, I say Logan Square. Here's why:

Beautiful boulevards (Logan, Humboldt, Kedzie), amazing restaurants (Lula, Longman & Eagle, Scofflaw, Revolution, Buona Terra just to name a few), bars, the monument/roundabout, access to blue line and O'Hare, lives like the city and the suburbs at the same time, Logan Theater, Intelligentsia, Coles, Farmer's Market and much more. Logan Square is the best neighborhood in Chicago hands-down. Live in it now before it becomes Lincoln Park and Bucktown.

[BRU67]

Logan's more up and coming, more and more up the further east you go. Wicker Park's been fully gentrified for over a decade and will feel more affluent and less youthful I guess.

[nearnorth]

Another vote for Logan Square, especially for a 22-year-old. I would only go to Wicker Park these days if you're looking for more of an affluent yuppie kind of scene. Same with Lincoln Park.

LS is more diverse than WP, but becoming whiter all the time, from what I can see. If you want diversity over the long haul I probably wouldn't go to either of those neighborhoods.

[Attrill]

Definitely Logan Square. WP is OK, and certainly has more bars and restaurants, but about half of the ones in WP are pretty generic and not worth bothering with.

In terms of age there are plenty of people in their early 20's in Logan Square. I think the difference is that WP has more younger people acting young in bars (i.e. "Woo-hoo! Look at me I can drink!!").

[marothisu]

Either one. Logan Square is more up and coming. WP is more gentrified but there are still spots which don't feel exactly like it. I find overall that LS is more "chill" but I enjoy both areas.

[Chicago87]

I like the Wicker Park area better.

[It'sAutomatic]

Wicker Park is kind of past its prime. Logan Square is getting there, too. Humboldt Park perhaps?

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by It'sAutomatic

Wicker Park is kind of past its prime. Logan Square is getting there, too. Humboldt Park perhaps?

Good point, I'm thinking Hermosa might be good.