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I agree. Arlington and Glenview have action, but probably already too built up to be transformed into genuine hipsturbias. Definitely could be future residential areas for yuppies though. Highwood/Ft Sheridan is an area that I think has potential, old architecture, ethnic (Mexican and Italian) establishments, 2 Metra stations. And I definitely could see places like Berwyn or Cicero being "discovered" by the hip crowd, and their close proximity to downtown definitely helps.
But it will take forever to get to that point. I think before that happens, places like Avondale, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Bronzeville, Irving Park, Portage Park, Albany Park, Belmont-Cragin, McKinley Park, etc will have to go through the process of gentrification and invasion of hipsters.
That probably won't happen in our lifetimes. There are still way too many Chicago neighborhoods that are rip for that gentrification and hipster invasion before we see it hitting the suburbs.
I agree. Arlington and Glenview have action, but probably already too built up to be transformed into genuine hipsturbias. Definitely could be future residential areas for yuppies though. Highwood/Ft Sheridan is an area that I think has potential, old architecture, ethnic (Mexican and Italian) establishments, 2 Metra stations. And I definitely could see places like Berwyn or Cicero being "discovered" by the hip crowd, and their close proximity to downtown definitely helps.
Berwyn has always been a stop for young families and who want more space than the city offers, I dont see that changing. They usually leave once their kids reach middle school though (unless they have cash for and dont mind Catholic schools), and at that point youre pretty much jumping into the suburban rabbithole. I think its probably important to define "young", but somewhere like that I see as attracting more 30's, and up. Basically the people who have moved on from Logan and Wicker and actually want to own a house and no longer need constant nightlife. Not the kids who are hitting up warehouse shows every weekend, working service industry jobs, and biking everywhere (basically the cliche modern demographic that has come to defin the speartip of modern gentrification). Berwyn will always be hampered by its lack of CTA access too, and gentrification in the modern era has largely followed rapid transit lines. Metras fine, but its limited schedule and suburban/worker bee reputation dosent really appeal to the same crowd.
Cicero probably has a bit more potential in that regard (berwyns already pretty established as it is), but honestly its going to be a while before I see that sort of thing happening, there are a lot of areas within the city proper where it will happen first. Even Bronzeville which is right in the shadow of downtown has barely begun its comeback, to say nothing of East Garfield Park or Austin or Little Village, all of which have good L access and cheap real estate. Which is not to say prices wont rise elsewhere, but a Logan Square type situation is basically a once in a real estate cycle phenomenon, if that.
Last edited by via chicago; 07-07-2016 at 01:57 PM..
Cicero probably has a bit more potential in that regard, but honestly its going to be a while before I see that sort of thing happening, there are a lot of areas within the city proper where it will happen first. Even Bronzeville which is right in the shadow of downtown has barely begun its comeback, to say nothing of East Garfield Park or Austin or Little Village, all of which have good L access and cheap real estate.
The last three areas lack some of the factors needed to kick-start gentrification. Namely, proximity to pre-existing nice areas: you have miles of rundown buildings and unsafe streets before you get to anywhere nice. (Little Village borders Pilsen, but the latter is still too gritty to be nice.) They do have pull-in factors, like beautiful parks for playing hacky sack and practicing yoga (throwing in hipster stereotypes here), but they're outweighed by lack of safety at night, and we know how hipsters like their nightlife. And the Blue and Green Lines have a bad reputation, as most of their West Side span runs through unsafe areas, which reduces the public transit appeal.
Cicero is a different animal. It's adjacent to nice areas (Riverside), and it has good public transit (Metra and Pink Line). But still, it's too bland and suburban to attract the classic hipsters, despite having a normal street grid. Namely, it's got chain stores instead of quirky shops, and the wacky car spire was torn down to make room for more parking. If anything, it may leapfrog the hipster stage and go straight to yuppie. And because suburban schools tend to be better, it'll change from yuppie to family exponentially quicker than gentrifying Chicago neighborhoods ever will.
As for places like Glenview and Arlington Heights, it may go down the path I haven't formally studied. They'll be changing from bland family suburbs to yuppie meccas. Reverse gentrification (not the same as decay), if you will. But until more public transit is put in (late-running Pace buses, perhaps?), and more independent small businesses are allowed to open, they'll never fully appeal to the young, quirky crowd.
The last three areas lack some of the factors needed to kick-start gentrification. Namely, proximity to pre-existing nice areas: you have miles of rundown buildings and unsafe streets before you get to anywhere nice. (Little Village borders Pilsen, but the latter is still too gritty to be nice.) They do have pull-in factors, like beautiful parks for playing hacky sack and practicing yoga (throwing in hipster stereotypes here), but they're outweighed by lack of safety at night, and we know how hipsters like their nightlife. And the Blue and Green Lines have a bad reputation, as most of their West Side span runs through unsafe areas, which reduces the public transit appeal.
Cicero is a different animal. It's adjacent to nice areas (Riverside), and it has good public transit (Metra and Pink Line). But still, it's too bland and suburban to attract the classic hipsters, despite having a normal street grid. Namely, it's got chain stores instead of quirky shops, and the wacky car spire was torn down to make room for more parking. If anything, it may leapfrog the hipster stage and go straight to yuppie. And because suburban schools tend to be better, it'll change from yuppie to family exponentially quicker than gentrifying Chicago neighborhoods ever will.
Well, I guess we're in agreement as Im basically saying the inner burbs are attracting a different demographic. That said, Im not sure Morton East/West are magically going to change anytime soon.
As far city neighborhoods, Logan Square was gritty before it wasnt too and was pretty barren and scary to be in certain parts of it during the mid-00's, especially at night. It didnt just magically transform into a yuppie playground overnight, it was small incremental changes that over time added up. I remember when the Burlington bar opened in 2007...there were plenty of people going to shows and drinking out there, despite the fact it was more or less isolated on west fullerton and big time development had yet to reach the area (its still pretty quiet after hours out that way). The Empty Bottle was putting shows on at random empty mansions along the Boulevard. There were pop up concerts on the square. Old industrial buildings served as practice spaces for bands. Eventually a cocktail bar opens here or there. Before you know it a hip restaurant gets well reviewed and draws people in from elsewhere. I guess what Im saying is plenty of people were willing to venture into the area at night despite the fact that it was less safe then than it is today. If you were young and aware of the changes happening it was obvious where things were headed. If you were in Lincoln Park and had never been to LS in your life, you'd probably turn your nose up when hearing about in it 2007 because it was "unsafe and dirty and why would i want to go there". which worked just fine for the people who wanted nothing to do with the lincoln park/lakeview scenes.
All it takes is one new restaurant or bar these days to locate somewhere to draw people in who would otherwise never visit, and suddenly everyone says "hey, the houses here are pretty nice and cheap, its not as bad as i thought". its already happening to an extent with Lagunitas having located in Lawndale. and Goose Island has an aging room in EGP and occasionally throws events. 42 Grams opened in what many people consider an ugly/undesirable part of Uptown. In time, it will happen the same way. And so it goes.
Last edited by via chicago; 07-07-2016 at 04:00 PM..
Not really. The thing with Chicago is that all the hip and cool areas are in the core or outter core in the city. And unlike places like Miami, NYC, Boston, LA, DC, Chicago's core is relatively far away from the suburbs/outside towns and cities. So if you are in the hip areas of Chicago you are far away from the suburbs. If you are in the suburbs you are far away from the hip areas hence why there aren't any suburbs becoming hipster. To get to the suburbs you essentially have to go through lots of parts of the city that get more and more run-of-the mill, get more suburban, and less hip until and then you finally hit the suburbs. So with that being said there really isn't any suburb that is a hip at all or at the moment that is attracting hipsters.
The closest thing might be Oak Park and Evanston. But I wouldn't classify them as hip, but they have the most going on in regards to suburbs, and unless you are looking for an edgy, artsy, real hip place to live, Oak Park and Evanston should offer enough to entertain you in regards to shopping, dining, drinking, etc.
I have hear a lot of young people are moving to Berwyn, because it's pretty affordable and pretty urban for a suburb.
Oak Park and much of Evanston are upper-Bohemian, which could easily start a word war about the use of hip, hep, hepcat, hippie, hipster, Bohemian, boho, bobo, and beatnik. The upper Bohemians of Oak Park and Evanston tend to be graduate school educated, working in academia, government, and nonprofits. These are not cheap places (nor are they godawful expensive).
But it will take forever to get to that point. I think before that happens, places like Avondale, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Bronzeville, Irving Park, Portage Park, Albany Park, Belmont-Cragin, McKinley Park, etc will have to go through the process of gentrification and invasion of hipsters.
That probably won't happen in our lifetimes. There are still way too many Chicago neighborhoods that are rip for that gentrification and hipster invasion before we see it hitting the suburbs.
What you are suggesting would be nice but it implies a massive supply of people with at least a little money who don't mind terrible schools. Of course, a boom in private schools would help, but we haven't seen that outside of traditional moneyed areas like Lincoln Park.
As to your concern about a mixed race couple, I wouldn't worry.
It doesn't register in people's minds in Chicago. To even say that most are or or not mixed race would indicate that people give it a thought.
I'm German / Scottish. In my time in Chicago I have had girlfriends from Honduras, Japan (2) , Germany, African, Swiss, Taiwan, and French / Italian.
I only mention the last one being French/Italian because my parents thought she was too 'ethnic' when I married her.
But it will take forever to get to that point. I think before that happens, places like Avondale, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Bronzeville, Irving Park, Portage Park, Albany Park, Belmont-Cragin, McKinley Park, etc will have to go through the process of gentrification and invasion of hipsters.
That probably won't happen in our lifetimes. There are still way too many Chicago neighborhoods that are rip for that gentrification and hipster invasion before we see it hitting the suburbs.
For some reason people think there are an endless amount of hipsters, and they will gentrify anything and anywhere. There are MAYBE, at most, a couple hundred thousand people who would fit the "hipster" classification in Chicagoland, and the number probably isn't growing, given the city/region population decline.
The idea that hipsters will march in and "colonize" all the South/West Side badlands is completely delusional. Even in NYC, with like 10x as many hipsters, the VAST majority of the city is untouched by hipsterdom. Chicago needs immigrants in these rundown hoods, or they will stay rundown. Hipsters won't save Englewood and Garfield Park.
Even in places where people claim are super-hipsterized (places like Pilsen, Humboldt Park), if you go there, you see the hipster presence is largely inconsequential to the neighborhood. It's a minor presence, with marginal impacts. The vast majority of people don't care about hipster stuff and are just working class folks oblivious to a few skinny white folks from Indiana looking for cheap rent.
Heck, even Logan Square isn't THAT hipsterized. It's mostly working class minorities, who probably don't even know their neighborhood is considered "cool". They probably think it's dumpy and crime ridden, and can't wait to move to the burbs.
For some reason people think there are an endless amount of hipsters, and they will gentrify anything and anywhere. There are MAYBE, at most, a couple hundred thousand people who would fit the "hipster" classification in Chicagoland, and the number probably isn't growing, given the city/region population decline.
The idea that hipsters will march in and "colonize" all the South/West Side badlands is completely delusional. Even in NYC, with like 10x as many hipsters, the VAST majority of the city is untouched by hipsterdom. Chicago needs immigrants in these rundown hoods, or they will stay rundown. Hipsters won't save Englewood and Garfield Park.
Even in places where people claim are super-hipsterized (places like Pilsen, Humboldt Park), if you go there, you see the hipster presence is largely inconsequential to the neighborhood. It's a minor presence, with marginal impacts. The vast majority of people don't care about hipster stuff and are just working class folks oblivious to a few skinny white folks from Indiana looking for cheap rent.
Heck, even Logan Square isn't THAT hipsterized. It's mostly working class minorities, who probably don't even know their neighborhood is considered "cool". They probably think it's dumpy and crime ridden, and can't wait to move to the burbs.
When was the last time you were in Logan Square?
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