College grad moving in summer/fall, Ukrainian Village? (Chicago, Lincoln: neighborhoods, living in)

[Michael Scott]

Hello all,

You will likely see a number of posts from me in the coming months. I will be moving to chicago in late summer/early fall, around July/August/September, thankfully have a job lined up and everything. I'm trying to narrow down my neighborhood selection. I've come down to (probably the norm of) near northside/goldcoast, south lakeview (don't really like the wrigglyville area), lincoln park, oldtown, and maybe bucktown/wickerpark area. I want to be around young people/professionals such as myself but I also am not into the "get plastered every single night/weekend" scene. I enjoy that regularly, but not exclusively. There are certainly many other activities I enjoy.

Anyway, I have an opportunity via a friend of a friend essentially to get a place in UK, a 2bdr (which I certainly dont need) for under 1000 a month. The thing is while saving money obviously sounds great, I kinda had my heart set on one of the "typical" northside neighborhoods. During my internship, I sort of settled for the lower cost area of Lincoln Square/Ravenswood and I think it made my experience less enjoyable. I was an hour commute (about 10-15 by bus then 30-35 by train) from the loop, lincoln park, and basically anywhere I would want to go. I kinda wanted to avoid this situation again, but I'm fairly ignorant to the UK area so I figured I'd ask around here. The place is around W. Chicago ave and N. Rockwell st., can anyone provide some insight on this area? One thing I will say about anywhere I live is that I will need parking. Even though I may sometimes work at the office in the loop, we typically go to client sites which could (very likely) be in the suburbs.

Thanks for all your help!

[jwaiter]

Chicago & Rockwell is Humboldt Park, not Uk Village. But, it is the nicer part of Humboldt Park as high rents in Uk Vllg proper push people into the easern HP area. It's an OK area, I kind of like it over there.

[Michael Scott]

Originally Posted by jwaiter

Chicago & Rockwell is Humboldt Park, not Uk Village. But, it is the nicer part of Humboldt Park as high rents in Uk Vllg proper push people into the easern HP area. It's an OK area, I kind of like it over there.

Ah ok, thank you for that clarification. Thats another problem I run into with my ignorance of the area. Someone will say its Area X and it ends up actually being Area Y. Thats part of what happened over the summer. I was told Lincoln Square when in reality it was just about Ravenswood. Very very north.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Michael Scott

Ah ok, thank you for that clarification. Thats another problem I run into with my ignorance of the area. Someone will say its Area X and it ends up actually being Area Y. Thats part of what happened over the summer. I was told Lincoln Square when in reality it was just about Ravenswood. Very very north.

LOL could be a lot worse than "Oh crap you told me it was this but it's Ravenswood." People do this to sell it - Ukrainian Village right now has a hotter and safer connotation than Humboldt Park, so they will say it that way.

I mean, if you're wanting to go to Lincoln Park, then living in Ukrainian Village isn't going to make it better if you're taking public transit. I still have no idea how it would take you 30+ minutes to get from Ravenswood to Lincoln Park, but if you are wanting to hang out on the north side, then I think your travel times from an area like UK Village are going to be worse than where you were before (unless you're just going to the Loop, then that can be pretty fast).

[Michael Scott]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I still have no idea how it would take you 30+ minutes to get from Ravenswood to Lincoln Park

Honestly, I'm not sure either, but it would take me forever. Maybe not quite THAT long to Lincoln Park but easily 45 mins total.

But anyway, yes I agree that if thats my biggest problem, it wasnt bad. But being new to the city and being a 45 min commute to anywhere my coworkers hung out got frustrating. Point being I just want to make sure I have a FIRM understanding of where I'll actually be this time

[via chicago]

Technically, Lincoln Square is a "community area" that includes other neighborhoods, Ravenswood being one. So I dont think they were being totally disingenuous selling it to you as that. Its really only a difference of a couple L stops (Montrose vs Western), unless you were living way further north on Ravensood Ave. I perceive Lincoln Square and Ravenswood being about equi-distance north...Lincoln Square is just a bit further west.

[Lookout Kid]

I would pick Lincoln Square over Ukranian Village any day... Unless you were very close to Division Street and could walk to the Blue Line.

[Michael Scott]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I would pick Lincoln Square over Ukranian Village any day... Unless you were very close to Division Street and could walk to the Blue Line.

Thank you for your input. Honestly I think I will likely turn this place down. I think ultimately I'll be happier in the north side neighborhoods (GC, river north, LP, LV, etc) even though they will be pricier. If I could get a decent studio for about 1,000 with either street parking or something similar, I'd be very satisfied. Am I delusional? From my research it seems like its possible..

[glass_of_merlot]

Originally Posted by Michael Scott

Hello all,

You will likely see a number of posts from me in the coming months. I will be moving to chicago in late summer/early fall, around July/August/September, thankfully have a job lined up and everything. I'm trying to narrow down my neighborhood selection. I've come down to (probably the norm of) near northside/goldcoast, south lakeview (don't really like the wrigglyville area), lincoln park, oldtown, and maybe bucktown/wickerpark area. I want to be around young people/professionals such as myself but I also am not into the "get plastered every single night/weekend" scene. I enjoy that regularly, but not exclusively. There are certainly many other activities I enjoy.

Anyway, I have an opportunity via a friend of a friend essentially to get a place in UK, a 2bdr (which I certainly dont need) for under 1000 a month. The thing is while saving money obviously sounds great, I kinda had my heart set on one of the "typical" northside neighborhoods. During my internship, I sort of settled for the lower cost area of Lincoln Square/Ravenswood and I think it made my experience less enjoyable. I was an hour commute (about 10-15 by bus then 30-35 by train) from the loop, lincoln park, and basically anywhere I would want to go. I kinda wanted to avoid this situation again, but I'm fairly ignorant to the UK area so I figured I'd ask around here. The place is around W. Chicago ave and N. Rockwell st., can anyone provide some insight on this area? One thing I will say about anywhere I live is that I will need parking. Even though I may sometimes work at the office in the loop, we typically go to client sites which could (very likely) be in the suburbs.

Thanks for all your help!

How are you an hour commute from anywhere you wanted to go when you stayed at Lincoln Square or Ravenswood??