Relocating to Chicago Neighborhood (near El)

[rahmana92]

This is all awesome stuff, I have a lot to consider! One question I wanted to answer: I would say under a half hour commute each way would be best. And the posters above are correct, I would love to be able to walk around near my apartment and have fun things to do while he's at work. I don't want to feel dependent or cooped in if that makes any sense.

I looked at Google Street view of Wicker Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, and Bridgeport. They seem kind of similar to me (street with a row of shops). Printer's Row seems more city like but with less actual shops. I may be looking at the wrong areas though.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by rahmana92

This is all awesome stuff, I have a lot to consider! One question I wanted to answer: I would say under a half hour commute each way would be best. And the posters above are correct, I would love to be able to walk around near my apartment and have fun things to do while he's at work. I don't want to feel dependent or cooped in if that makes any sense.

I looked at Google Street view of Wicker Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, and Bridgeport. They seem kind of similar to me (street with a row of shops). Printer's Row seems more city like but with less actual shops. I may be looking at the wrong areas though.

Printer's Row is basically an extension of the Loop (central business district) but just slightly less dense. It gets a bit quieter after people go home from work. It will likely have the least character of all the neighborhoods you're considering.


Wicker Park probably has the most things to do. It's a neighborhood with a lot of young professionals.


Logan Square is probably second but is still a bit in transition.


Pilsen is transitioning from a more Hispanic neighborhood to artists and some young professionals but is still some years behind Logan Square.


Bridgeport has some young professionals, some spillover of the Asian population from Chinatown to the north, some people that have been in the neighborhood a few generations, and some city workers required to live in the city limits for residency. The White Sox play there as well (technically Armour Square, but many people consider that Bridgeport).

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by rahmana92

This is all awesome stuff, I have a lot to consider! One question I wanted to answer: I would say under a half hour commute each way would be best. And the posters above are correct, I would love to be able to walk around near my apartment and have fun things to do while he's at work. I don't want to feel dependent or cooped in if that makes any sense.

I looked at Google Street view of Wicker Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, and Bridgeport. They seem kind of similar to me (street with a row of shops). Printer's Row seems more city like but with less actual shops. I may be looking at the wrong areas though.

Printer's Row is literally a prototype for converting industrial / commercial part of the city into residential. There are a decent number of restaurants, plenty of dry cleaners, convenience stores and all the other spots frequented by folks during the week / weekend but as for more extensive shopping that is mostly served by the traditional State St corridor and the more recent development along Canal St and nearer to University Village along Roosevelt and Halsted.

The contrast to places like Pilsen, Bridgeport, Wicker Park, and Logan Square is due to those areas always being focused on serving their residents. As there have been shifts toward more affluent residents those place are more about traditional gentrification rather than "urban re-use".

The thing to consider as well is that University Village is kind of blended -- the mostly stable TriTaylor area has evolved in ways that hard to even call gentrification, with many nicer places still having generation continuity. The areas closer to the campus and along Halsted are easier to call "urban renewal 5.0" -- after harsh efforts in the 60s to bulldoze the area and build UIC as "fortress" with a space-age detachment from the previous community there was a long period of decline. The bits of pieces of authentic urban street life, especially the old swap meets / flea markets that were part of the Blues Brothers movies were moved out during Daley's reign. The scale of the replacement developments were more along the types of things that have been successful in Lakeview, though more homogenized and often attached to sweetheart deals to insiders. This has not given the areas the charm / vitality of Lincoln Park or Wicker Park, but it is probably easier to attract folks familiar with traditional college campus towns...

From my perspective if I was working from home and could live walking distance / bus ride away from college where spouse was employed I would jump at it -- meet for lunch, walk home together, hang out at Gina's for Italian Lemonade in the summer, grab an Al's beef whenever would all be great!

[jrs2]

Logan square would be great for you guys! Proximity to blue line stops, thriving young professional scene, and a whole bunch of amenities. If you like to get out and walk a lot, very little compares to the awesome boulevard system running through the neighborhood, and the 606 is also great.. Farmers markets in the summer, and there always seems to be something happening at the square. It isn't necessarily cheap, but you will probably find better deals than in WP or Lakeview. It is also pretty safe, especially if you choose to live on the eastern side(past kimball) of the hood.

[beaniemac]

Originally Posted by rahmana92

Hi all,

Thank you so much for your replies. They are very informative. I'll start looking into these neighborhoods. There seem to be a lot of options I never considered!

I may have misrepresented how important the connection to the airport was. We just like to travel for fun and thought it was a nice perk how easy the connection to OHare is.

We're both young professionals in our 20's and wanted to be in a place with easy access to his work and other areas. One thing I fear is getting bored after I finish work and he's still at the University. I'd like an area where I can walk outside and walk to nice and fun areas (or take a subway).

Since there are so many options, how would you all narrow them down? They all seem like they could work. Another area we heard about is Printer's Row - are you all familiar with the area?

do you have to fly out of ohare? if midway is an option, you can live in a neighborhood near the orange line. which is a MUCH shorter ride than going all the way out to ohare.

[rahmana92]

Another question I had is about the sales tax. I saw it was over 10%. How bad is this really? Since I did see that Illinois state tax was quite a bit lower than my current state (North Carolina).

Another thing, is there a way I can get an idea of how bad the winters really are?

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by rahmana92

Another question I had is about the sales tax. I saw it was over 10%. How bad is this really? Since I did see that Illinois state tax was quite a bit lower than my current state (North Carolina).

Another thing, is there a way I can get an idea of how bad the winters really are?

It is 10% in Cook County. I don't believe everything is taxed at 10%, some are less. There's an additional tax on alcohol. If you need to make any big purchases (other than a car, you pay sales tax based on where you live), another county to buy anything or want to save a little head to DuPage. Depending on the town it'll range from 7% to 8% I believe. I'm not sure about the other collar counties, but I'm pretty sure they're lower than Cook.


There was a thread in either the Chicago city or suburbs forum in the last few weeks on winters. It's tough to predict. Expect at least some cold and snow. We had no measurable snow in January or February this year since they started measuring or since 100 years ago or so (someone please correct me). There were a few inches of snow and some days below zero degrees in December. I'd expect between 30-60 inches of snow on average with a handful of couple inch snowstorms and a couple over 6 inches. Streets get plowed and salted regularly, and typically things don't shut down unless there's several inches of snow.

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by urbanchillage

Bridgeport offers:

History, culture, great ethnic restaurants that are affordable
One of the safest neighborhoods in the city
Low cost of living
Quick access to Midway via the Orange Line or Stevensen expressway (not so much to O'hare - although I commute there a few times a week and it's really not so bad)
Great walkability
2 stops from the Loop, quick access to UIC via car or bus

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone about Bridgeport, otherwise prices will climb.

[OyCrumbler]

University Village / Little Italy seems like a pretty solid choice. Get bikes and/or Divvy memberships so you can explore the other neighborhoods nearby. UIC is a major university and likely puts on a lot of events and lectures

[jjjttt]

West Loop, Wicker Park, and Logan Square are absolutely your best options, especially for walking around by yourself and being entertained and having numerous options.