Neighborhood for semi retired 47 year olds? (Chicago, Evanston: to rent, condo, townhouse)

[damba]

Originally Posted by Littlekings

I saw another post about Evanston. What about a place there right by a train stop so Chicago is just a train ride away? Does it's more inner city areas have enough to compare to an Andersonville or Bucktown or Douglas Park area?

While Evanston is an incredible place, it might not be what you are after. There really isn’t a huge ‘inner city’ area inside Evanston. Most of the trappings/amenities are focused in or adjacent to the nicer areas/downtown Evanston. Best handled in a separate thread in the Chicago suburbs sub-forum.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Littlekings

I like independently owned businesses. I hate chains and big box stores. We enjoy theater, dinner out (I'll try any ethnic eats), live music, and a cocktail. I prefer a neighborhood bar that has been there for 50 years vs. the hot new shiny place.
I'm excited to be in a city where a bike is actually useful and I can exist without a car most of the time.
We hike regularly and do go to the gym to stay fit.
I don't want rowdy or crazy loud neighbors but I do want activity and people out and about. We seem to identify with 20/30 somethings that are in between party stage and settling down with a family.
I try to play guitar, I enjoy making my own (bad) wine and we try to be regular readers.
I've spent the past 20 years working too much and driving, doing laundry and dishes for my kids, I need to find more to do for me! I figure a city like Chicago is a good place to look.

Based on this info, I’d recommend Bucktown, Lakeview (away from Wrigley, maybe near Southport but west of it), North Center, Lincoln Park (away from DePaul), Lincoln Square or West Loop.

[reneeh63]

Originally Posted by Littlekings

I don’t want to be with old farts either. Part of what I like about the areas I’ve visited is the youth and mix of people. I’ve stayed in Wicker Park and explored Old Town and Lincoln Park as well as more touristy areas.

Then why does it matter that you are "semi-retired"? Just bragging? Seriously.... You're too old for Boystown, so that's out for you.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

Based on this info, I’d recommend Bucktown, Lakeview (away from Wrigley, maybe near Southport but west of it), North Center, Lincoln Park (away from DePaul), Lincoln Square or West Loop.

Lakeview east of Broadway might possibly work, too. Maybe something in a Lake Shore Drive highrise?

[HumboldtBottle]

Originally Posted by OKParker

$88k is incredibly reasonable in ANY area of chicago.

I'm not sure what "incredibly reasonable" means, but that would be well below the average household incomes in places like Lincoln Park or Gold Coast, for example.

I would agree that $88k is a generally *comfortable* income for *most* areas of Chicago (especially if that's post tax income and/or you don't have a car), but I wouldn't call it "incredibly" anything for "ANY area of chicago."

As a fellow 40-something with a similar income I would recommend places like East Humboldt Park, Ukrainian Village, maybe some outer areas of Logan Square or Bucktown, and increasingly Pilsen or Bridgeport if you want to have something more than a dingy "garden level" (basement) studio and still have plenty of money to go out and have fun, take vacations, etc. I wouldn't mess with places like Wicker Park or Lincoln Park unless I wanted to live in a really gross place or spend entirely too much of my income on rent just to brag about being in a high-rent neighborhood. Also, those places are pretty much full of 20-something Chads and Trixies (or whatever they're called these days)-- Bros whose idea of culture is vomiting at a sports bar while watching a Big 10 football game.

[johngolf]

I would give Oak Park a look at.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by Littlekings

I saw another post about Evanston. What about a place there right by a train stop so Chicago is just a train ride away? Does it's more inner city areas have enough to compare to an Andersonville or Bucktown or Douglas Park area?

Evanston is great, but... it is more family oriented and it's also a college town, so lots of college kids are there when Northwestern is open. There are plenty of places in Evanston close to the train stations. Evanston has 3 commuter rail stops and 6 *el* stops and also has plenty of buses. It takes about 1.5 hours on commuter rail depending on what time and which station. I lived near the Central Street *el* station and while you can take the purple line all the way to the loop during rush hour, you do have to change to the red line in non-rush hours which adds to the amount of time it takes.

https://www.apartments.com/condos/evanston-il/

There are many restaurants of all kinds in downtown Evanston. There are also two Ys (YMCA and YWCA) and quite a few nice parks within easy walking distance. Of course, I am a walker and biker and could walk from my home in north Evanston to just about any area of town. The beaches are also nice. It does cost some money during the beach season, but imo, it's not too expensive. There is a dog park as well. And you are not far from the Bahai Temple in Wilmette. My walking club used to walk from Dempster and the Lake to the Bahai every Sunday (about 3.5 miles) and back (but you could take the *el* back from Linden if you did not want to walk back).

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by HumboldtBottle

Bros whose idea of culture is vomiting at a sports bar while watching a Big 10 football game.

Now that's funny.

[Kmanshouse]

Wow, it almost sounds like I posted this. Same age, similar situation. Around 100K should be fine if you don't have a lot of bills/debt. Our salary is much higher but we have a LOT of bills....so we could be ending up around the same financial spot. We are aiming to move to the city in 2019.

Lincoln Square: my wife and I love this area, but it is maybe a bit quiet given what you are looking for. Great mix of ages, mellow, but plenty of low-key establishments to check out. The SW edge of this is Welles Park, which is choc full of families.

North Center: Very nice neighborhood just south of Lincoln Square. Can't really go wrong here. Depending on where you are, it can be quieter or very busy.

Roscoe Village: I've always felt it's very similar to Lincoln Square, but for some reason the population is way more leaning to very young families. Stroller-land of Chicago. Given your age/desires, this area may feel too tame and 20 years ago for you. But it's a pretty spot and very safe.

Bucktown: smaller neighborhood, plenty of nightlife and shopping, near the highway. It's a pretty small target area but could work for you.

Wicker Park: Love this area during the day, hate it at night. Not because it's dangerous per se, but it just feels seedy and goes way, way younger than our age group. It's perfect for a 27 year old, artsy bohemia type, that still likes a nice cocktail once in awhile. I've spent a fair amount of time in this area and the night/day dichotomy is very strong here. Streets that are charming, active and friendly during the day just have a different, negative vibe at night (IMO).

West Lakeview: This is a new target area for us. West of Southport as previously mentioned is much better. Southport itself is lovely, tons of high end shopping and bars. East of there is too young/frat/Cub.

West Loop: My wife and I are pretty priced out of this area now, especially given the size apartment we need. The stretch of restaurants on Fulton and Randolph are unmatched in the city except for maybe River North. It can be VERY crowded during dinner/night time, and it's been frustrating at times dealing with that. But an awesome location.

Lincoln Park: Where "post-college" meets upper crust. Trends young, but it's undeniably a very desirable neighborhood. Agree with staying away from DePaul, where everyone will be less than half your age.

Old Town/Triangle: Definitely check out this area. Near the lake, comedy clubs, some great streets north of North Ave. It can be a bit bro-ey at times, but there is a mix of old/young here.

Andersonville: Great area, just too north for me. Clark Street is a bustling stretch of shops/bars/etc that has a quaint feel to it. Very gay friendly area, but fine for straight folks. I do like this area, just wish it wasn't so far north, and I'm not inclined to take the Red Line every day.

West Town: This is a hot area between West Loop and Wicker Park. It's in gentrification mode. Prices are going up, but I've been turned off due to some recent crimes in this area. My guess is that it will either continue to be a tad rougher or it will gentrify to the point of being price prohibitive.

[Vlajos]

^ great suggestions