WANTED: Chicago's version of LA's Miracle Mile (Lincoln, Roscoe: homes, neighborhoods)

[King0fthehill]

Anybody been to LA or know this neighborhood well? If not I'll try and describe it to you.

It's lively, eclectic bohemian enclave encompassing many smaller neighborhoods and is characterized by an endless supply of 1920's Spanish Revival architecture (and a less visible, but equally appealing Art Deco presence), this neighborhood has cultivated a diverse, urban and even mysterious (long accepting of off the beaten track & artsy-types + gays) being.

I enjoy living in this neighborhood because of the diversity, the people's willingness to try new things, foliage, density/architecture and the fact that it had good amenities (great culinary options!). Most important is that it is close to everything! You're never more than 20 minutes from anywhere (5 minutes to Beverly Hills, 10 minutes to Hollywood, 15-20 minutes to Downtown)

Transit will also play a role in this search, I'd like to be in a transit-friendly neighborhood.

Rent isn't a real pressing issue as I'm probably moving with a friend and will likely have a nice-sized budget.

Here are some pictures of it:

[Ron.]

I guess I really don't understand your question. Are looking for a neighborhood with similar architecture or devirsity, etc.... Please explain.

Have you ever visited Chicago before? It does not sound like you have.

Also, when it comes to questions like yours I almost always avoid them mainly because I understand what type of area you're looking for but what gets me is you;re moving to a new city but you're still in search of things from your old city. LA is LA. Chicago is Chicago. Whatever you do, DO NOT move here(on any other city) and start comparing it to the city you came from. Once you leave LA.......LEAVE IT BEHIND!!

At least in terms of comparing things. A city is like a person, they are unique and each offers different things and some things similar.

I'll let others chime in own what areas to move into but please whatever you do..........DO NOT compare one city to another. You'll always find something that is "not right" about the new city. It's not so much that it's not right, it's that you can't look forward long enough to see it's beauty.


Welcome......

[welder]

Id rather take Chicago's version of the "MAG MILE", than LA's

[Lookout Kid]

Those pictures are more suburban-looking than what you'll find in most inner-Chicago neighborhoods. But I think you might like Wicker Park based on your stated preference for an "bohemian" area with good dining and shopping options on public transit. Do a search on Wicker Park and/or Bucktown. Gay life in Chicago (male) is centered in "Boystown", which is an enclave in the East Lakeview neighborhood. Also a fun area to live, but not that diverse.

If you're looking for Spanish Mission architecture, Chicago is NOT the place. We have a few examples of homes of that style from the 1920s in certain older suburbs, but they tend to look out of place. Chicago's 1920's housing tends to be more in the vein of Arts and Crafts, Queen Anne, Beaux Arts, Romanesque, or Prarie Style.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by welder

Id rather take Chicago's version of the "MAG MILE", than LA's

Yeah, Chicago has the world-famous "Magnificent Mile", which seems to be an entirely different thing from L.A.'s "Miracle Mile".

[King0fthehill]

I wasn't looking for Spanish Mission architecture-I used it in my pictures to describe/show what the nabe looks like.

And I'm not looking for another Miracle Mile per se, I'm looking for a hip, bohemian, eclectic nabe with good dining and transit options...in Chicago .

That's all really.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by King0fthehill

I wasn't looking for Spanish Mission architecture-I used it in my pictures to describe/show what the nabe looks like.

And I'm not looking for another Miracle Mile per se, I'm looking for a hip, bohemian, eclectic nabe with good dining and transit options...in Chicago .

That's all really.

Not all of these are "eclectic", but they are all hip, urban neighborhoods with good dining and transit options:

Wicker Park
Bucktown
Lakeview
Lincoln Park
Roscoe Village
Lincoln Square
Andersonville
River North
River West
West Loop
South Loop

And less "hip" neighborhoods with good dining and transit options:

Gold Coast
Old Town
More family-oriented parts of the neighborhoods listed above

Note that most Chicago neighborhoods will have better transit options than what you would find in L.A.

[sharkylittleton]

Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Lakeview (Belmont & Clark area) are Chicago's stake in neighborhood counterculturalism. These areas tend to be alternative and artsy, with the Chicago urban twist. I'd compare our artsy neighborhoods to LA's Los Feliz & Silverlake area, but just much much larger. But by bohemian if you mean LA's Melrose area... the people here are not as eccentric for the most part.

[Lookout Kid]

The true bohemian neighborhoods are now probably Ukranian Village, Logan Square, East Humboldt Park, and East Pilsen. But most of these neighborhoods are either lacking in good dining or transportation options. They all have some really great ethnic dining and a smattering of hipster hangouts, but the concentration is pretty low.

[sharkylittleton]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

The true bohemian neighborhoods are now probably Ukranian Village, Logan Square, East Humboldt Park, and East Pilsen. But most of these neighborhoods are either lacking in good dining or transportation options. They all have some really great ethnic dining and a smattering of hipster hangouts, but the concentration is pretty low.

Yeah it's hard to say that Wicker Park and Bucktown is still a "bohemian" area with big business coming in and how the place fills up with yuppies on the weekends... the area is truest to form on weekdays atleast as it stands now. If the OP is referencing Melrose Ave, he's going to have a hard time finding that in Chicago. The only other comparable neighborhood I've seen like that is Little Five Points in Atlanta.