Job offer at UChicago. Where to live? (Evanston, Washington: hardwood floors, fit in)

[cyclistOnMove]

Hello,

I'm a Californian who has been living in Durham, NC for the past two years. I just got a job offer at UChicago. I'm also a cycling enthusiast (sometimes race, enjoy hard training). Durham has been great for cycling, with large areas of sparsely populated road, and I must admit I am a bit concerned about the cycling prospects in a dense city.

I am hoping to find an apartment (in the $2k range), which is close to UChicago, in a decent neighborhood, and also a place from which I can get a good ride in the early morning.

Does this trifecta exist?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

[sfcambridge]

What kind of apartment are you looking for? A vintage beautiful Hyde Park (where UofC is...) gem with hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, built in bookcases and fireplace? Or a modern highrise closer to downtown overlooking the lake? Because these are both easily affordable options for you at your price point, and both would leave you very close to lovely cycling along the lake.

I'd stay in Hyde Park for at least your first year until you get to know the city and get settled in, or a little further North in the South Loop/Printer's Row or maybe Gold Coast if you are set on a downtown highrise.

What kind of neighborhood do you like to live in?

[jonnynonos]

Depending on how long you want to commute to work every day, you could live anywhere near the Lake Front from Hyde Park north to Evanston.

The South Loop might be a nice starting point. I personally would probably look downtown to start off, get to know the city a bit, then make the decision.

There is a 17 mile lakefront path from Evanston to 71st St. (I think those are the borders) you can bike on.

But, as you might guess, it's pretty densely trafficked.

At most hours it would be inappropriate to treat it as your own personal velodrome.

If you get up early enough, though, or go late enough, you could probably have it open enough to go close to maximum speed without too much concern.

Of course some people go max speed during prime hours, dodging people left and right, which is nuts, and IMO extremely dangerous.

Beyond that, yeah, you pretty much have to get out of the city, or at least out of the densely populated neighborhoods.

I ride all the time but not training, just casually, so I can't tell you where the routes are that serious bikers take to practice on, but rest assured they are out there. If you google it you should find no shortage of maps and routes and groups.

People go to Wisconsin, for example, all the time.

[cyclistOnMove]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

What kind of apartment are you looking for? A vintage beautiful Hyde Park (where UofC is...) gem with hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, built in bookcases and fireplace? Or a modern highrise closer to downtown overlooking the lake? Because these are both easily affordable options for you at your price point, and both would leave you very close to lovely cycling along the lake.

I'd stay in Hyde Park for at least your first year until you get to know the city and get settled in, or a little further North in the South Loop/Printer's Row or maybe Gold Coast if you are set on a downtown highrise.

What kind of neighborhood do you like to live in?

Yes. Hardwood and vaulted celiings would be preferable to a downtown highrise. I also plan on getting a dog, so living a few minutes from work will make this more feasible.

I would like a safe neighborhood from which I can step out the door and ride. When I took the taxi from MDW, a number of the neighborhoods looked more run-down than what I see in Durham. I would like to get through my daily routine while avoiding the stereotypical danger spots.

Thanks for your advice - I'll try searching Hyde Park first.

[cyclistOnMove]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

Depending on how long you want to commute to work every day, you could live anywhere near the Lake Front from Hyde Park north to Evanston.

The South Loop might be a nice starting point. I personally would probably look downtown to start off, get to know the city a bit, then make the decision.

There is a 17 mile lakefront path from Evanston to 71st St. (I think those are the borders) you can bike on.

But, as you might guess, it's pretty densely trafficked.

At most hours it would be inappropriate to treat it as your own personal velodrome.

If you get up early enough, though, or go late enough, you could probably have it open enough to go close to maximum speed without too much concern.

Of course some people go max speed during prime hours, dodging people left and right, which is nuts, and IMO extremely dangerous.

Beyond that, yeah, you pretty much have to get out of the city, or at least out of the densely populated neighborhoods.

I ride all the time but not training, just casually, so I can't tell you where the routes are that serious bikers take to practice on, but rest assured they are out there. If you google it you should find no shortage of maps and routes and groups.

People go to Wisconsin, for example, all the time.

Thanks for the input!

I definitely don't want to create a hazard by riding fast on a crowded lake path. I may have to become a very early riser.

I'm hoping to keep my commute under 10min, and also to avoid highway traffic, which I'm guessing is not possible if I lived downtown.

[lycos679]

Originally Posted by cyclistOnMove

Yes. Hardwood and vaulted celiings would be preferable to a downtown highrise. I also plan on getting a dog, so living a few minutes from work will make this more feasible.

I would like a safe neighborhood from which I can step out the door and ride. When I took the taxi from MDW, a number of the neighborhoods looked more run-down than what I see in Durham. I would like to get through my daily routine while avoiding the stereotypical danger spots.

Thanks for your advice - I'll try searching Hyde Park first.

I second Hyde park. It's safe, cheap, you can find a place within steps of the University, and parking isn't bad either if you want to keep your car.

UofC is a good school, I just graduated from there.

[marothisu]

Just live in Hyde Park. It's not the most exciting neighborhood, but it's a decent place. It's right near the lake which has a 17 mile bike/running/walking path along it and connects to multiple beaches too. Many, many people ride their bikes along it and they aren't all just leisure riders.

The public transit options to downtown and other popular neighborhoods aren't as good as other neighborhoods, but still exists. The two city train lines that run near Hyde Park go through some shadier neighborhoods (Washington Park and Woodlawn). At least if you wanted to do the 24/7 line (Red line) a bus runs along 55th street all night which connects the Red line to points along 55th in Hyde Park. You may or may not find the people riding at a late/early hour to be a bit shady looking, but I'll bet you that you'll be left alone almost always. During the day there are other bus routes that run into the night (I think one stops running around midnight or a little after) and there is the Metra (commuter rail) which has stops in Hyde Park on the eastern portion that run to Millennium Park until about midnight once an hour or so.

You won't find a ton of nightlife, though there are some decent food options and restaurants there. A few of them have opened this year including one literally the other night from some guys who own a Michelin starred restaurant (Longman & Eagle) in another part of town. Looks like they'll have live music there and not just local acts. I'm looking at the schedule and it looks as if one of the most influential bassists (Stanley Clarke) ever is playing there in October. Music | Promontory

The area is building two large apartment/condo projects as we speak so it may attract some more of this type of thing to the area. Also, there is a pretty new Velodrome a few miles south of there that is pretty close to one of those Metra stops (87th St): chicagovelocampus.com |

[jonnynonos]

"Many, many people ride their bikes along it and they aren't all just leisure riders."

There are also serious accidents you don't hear about. I know of two people who almost died from accidents caused by people flying down the lake front path.

As someone who nearly lives on a bike, my opinion is that the path is not appropriate at peak hours for high speed training. In fact I think it should be illegal.

It's a path for walkers, joggers, little old ladies on walkers, babies in strollers and people on rollerblades, and if it's remotely nice out you're going to have people walking six wide eating ice cream, wrong or not.

Frankly blasting down the lake front at 25 mph when it's anything but sparsely populated is moronic.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

"Many, many people ride their bikes along it and they aren't all just leisure riders."

There are also serious accidents you don't hear about. I know of two people who almost died from accidents caused by people flying down the lake front path.

As someone who nearly lives on a bike, my opinion is that the path is not appropriate at peak hours for high speed training. In fact I think it should be illegal.

It's a path for walkers, joggers, little old ladies on walkers, babies in strollers and people on rollerblades, and if it's remotely nice out you're going to have people walking six wide eating ice cream, wrong or not.

Frankly blasting down the lake front at 25 mph when it's anything but sparsely populated is moronic.

Great - I never said anything about the hours one should ride on it. You are implying way too much from me giving basic information about the path itself. It's a 17 mile path, and people ride on it. Your information is great, no doubt, but you are basically saying things I never said anything about.

And the south side path after awhile is far less crowded than on the north side. The north side path during a weekend day in the summer, yeah don't do it obviously. Earlier in the morning or more on the south side of things - better. I have friends who are serious cyclists who ride south instead of north for that.

[chet everett]

The OP would be wise focus on a nice apartment in Hyde Park. The stated budget should allow them a decent range of options. It should also be possible to ride a bike to work from most any safe area that is patrolled by campus security in 10 minutes or less...

Competitive cycling such that you'd be in regional criteriums is going to require pretty serious training and that may want to consider other factors. There are options for group rides that may start in Chicago or suburbs but it may not be wise / practical. It may be better to plan on using the commuter rail links to get to rides or driving an auto to the start of the ride. There is also the opportunity to take advantage of the new velodrome that is not too far from UofC. ABOUT | chicagovelocampus.com
Chicago has some negatives that effect all bicycle riders in the region. We are a northern city with fickle weather -- one day it may be humid / stormy, the next so much cooler as to risk muscle craps from the wind. Winters maybe worse, with some years having extreme cold / snow. Even if we have some winter days that are dry / relatively warm the limited hours of daylight and location very close to eastern edge of the central time zone make a rigorous outdoor regiment of training very hard to fit into a normal day. A solidly built apartment with a spare room for a set of rollers may be the only way to maintain riding fitness ...