Buying a place and moving soon... (Chicago, Avon: home, neighborhoods, university)

[phillybhatesme]

OK SO...HERE'S THE EARTH. ROUUUNNNDDDDD!

And I need some help finding a spot on that earth. Thanks in advance for any replies; every thread I've come across from these forums based my current needs and previous searches based on different needs have been helpful. I appreciate any information and replies - thanks in advance.

I'm shopping for a 1-2 bedroom in Chicago for two people and two cats (31/27 for the humans). We, the humans, need walkability in the neighborhood with lots of restaurants and bars. I'm sure this desire comes up a lot with new Chicago inhabitants and this sort of thing gets discussed here a lot, but I wanted some opinions on my specific situation.

I work at home and will continue to work at home when we move.
My girlfriend will need employment. She's been a bartender for three years and should easily slot in at a bar given their needs. This might be easier said than done, but ideally this is what works for her. She has worked in two gay bars and feels comfortable there. Coincidentally a lot of the places we've been seeing online have been in Lakeview.

I would like some input specifically about neighborhoods. I believe there is a lot more going on in the North Side and that's seemed to be where we're drawn. We visited in January and started looking two years ago.

In our searches though, our realtor brought up Hyde Park. From the quick research I've done, Hyde Park isn't as lively as some of the North Side neighborhoods and doesn't seem ideal unless you're working with the University of Chicago. Is Hyde Park walkable? Are there a bunch of restaurants and bars?

In addition to Lakeview, I've been told to check out Wicker Park/Bucktown, Logal Square, and Humboltd Park.

Am I missing anything?
Is Hyde Park not what I'm looking for?
I'll try and reply to this tonight if there are additional questions.

Money is obviously an object. We're not looking at places higher than 160k.

Thanks again,

phillybâ„¢

[phillybhatesme]

I ask mainly because all of the places we've seen in Hyde Park are bigger, less expensive, and a lot more fun!

[NealIRC]

Boystown (the gay neighborhood) is in Lakeview.

[phillybhatesme]

Yeah. I realize that. We don't need to live in the gay area, but I wonder if finding work would be easier for my girlfriend.

[knitgirl]

Your price range really limits you. I would never recommend that people who have never lived somewhere buy immediately. You need time to figure out which areas you really like long term. Hyde Park is definitely not as happening as Lakeview, but it has improved over the last few years.

[phillybhatesme]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

Your price range really limits you. I would never recommend that people who have never lived somewhere buy immediately. You need time to figure out which areas you really like long term. Hyde Park is definitely not as happening as Lakeview, but it has improved over the last few years.

Thanks for the input. Everything I've read recently has basically been about the same thing. Nothing in the South will be as lively as the North Side.

[OyCrumbler]

Not as lively, but how lively is it? Is there a pretty decent range of shops and restaurants within Hyde Park and nearby neighborhoods or is it very limited (sure, more limited than on the North Side, but what are some highlights)? I looked around a bit with yelp and saw that there was pretty wide selection of things that seemed to have opened in and around Hyde Park in the last five years which seems pretty heartening.

[phillybhatesme]

Cool. Thanks. I definitely want to poke around Hyde Park and see if I like it.

[phillybhatesme]

Checked out Hyde Park and loved it. How convenient.

[emathias]

Hyde Park is relatively nice. It is quite distant from most of the other parts of the city you may want to take advantage of, though.

Another alternative would be Avondale. You could find a part walkable to much of Logan Square and near the Blue Line for easy access to both O'Hare and Bucktown/Wicker Park and the Loop, and near Belmont for an easy bus ride to Boystown. For someone buying, Avondale is also definitely on the upswing, so your investment is likely to appreciate in value better than some neighborhoods.