Lakeview vs. Lincoln Park (In Terms of High-Rises) (Irving, Sheridan: apartment, rental)

[kamjah]

so my future roommate and i are looking for a 2BR (and most likely 2BA) to live in north of the loop where we both work. we are both 23 fresh out of college young working professionals. the most we are looking to pay for a 2BR is around 1800 (preferably with some utlities included).

one thing we both really want from the city living experience is a modern highrise with a view of the lake/skyline. so we started by looking in lincoln park, and a lot of the buildings we looked at (around diversey and sheridan where they seemed to be concentrated) seemed to be older, expensive, or both.

the reason we wanted to stay around lincoln park was to minimize the commute and stay in a good neighborhood with a crowd to match our demographic. but yesterday i calculated times from as far north as irving park and belmont, and the times were similar due to express bus. so i started looking up lakeview apts, and i found a really nice patch of modern highrises around belmont harbor on belmont and on irving parking.

earlier today, i read a thread on here comparing lincoln park to lakeview and people were saying that the two are pretty much indistinguishable. from my research though, it seems like up in lakeview east we can get way better quality highrise apts for the same price as lower quality ones in lincoln park. are we just not looking at the right places in LP for high rises? or am i correct in my findings?

to anyone who lives in, or has experience living around the above mentioned area, how did you like the neighborhood? i figure it's pretty much walking distance from lincoln park and wrigleyville so we'll be fine. but it would be nice to be right around some stuff to do as well.

[alwaystraveling25]

Originally Posted by kamjah

so my future roommate and i are looking for a 2BR (and most likely 2BA) to live in north of the loop where we both work. we are both 23 fresh out of college young working professionals. the most we are looking to pay for a 2BR is around 1800 (preferably with some utlities included).

one thing we both really want from the city living experience is a modern highrise with a view of the lake/skyline. so we started by looking in lincoln park, and a lot of the buildings we looked at (around diversey and sheridan where they seemed to be concentrated) seemed to be older, expensive, or both.

the reason we wanted to stay around lincoln park was to minimize the commute and stay in a good neighborhood with a crowd to match our demographic. but yesterday i calculated times from as far north as irving park and belmont, and the times were similar due to express bus. so i started looking up lakeview apts, and i found a really nice patch of modern highrises around belmont harbor on belmont and on irving parking.

earlier today, i read a thread on here comparing lincoln park to lakeview and people were saying that the two are pretty much indistinguishable. from my research though, it seems like up in lakeview east we can get way better quality highrise apts for the same price as lower quality ones in lincoln park. are we just not looking at the right places in LP for high rises? or am i correct in my findings?

to anyone who lives in, or has experience living around the above mentioned area, how did you like the neighborhood? i figure it's pretty much walking distance from lincoln park and wrigleyville so we'll be fine. but it would be nice to be right around some stuff to do as well.

They are going to be similar, but you will always pay more in Lincoln Park then Lakeview. I think Lakeview East is great, I Used to live there (now live in Wrigleyville). I hope you and your roommate are not homophobic, since there is a decent amount of gay men who live in East Lakeview. It is not overwhelming, but there are a lot more there then in Lincoln Park. It shouldn't be an issue...I lived there (I am a gay man) and about half the people were straight and half were gay.

[Lookout Kid]

Lincoln Park is still nicer than Lake View. It's just a prettier neighborhood, for the most part.

Here's where you'll run into problems with your search. Most of the high-rises on the North Side away from downtown are older buildings, and the ones that are rental buidlings will not usually have updated units. Condos are more likely to be updated, and you may be able to find one to rent.

Most of the newer high-rises are downtown or directly adjacent to downtown--particularly in the River North, Streeterville, and South Loop neighborhoods. If you want to be in a new building, I'd look there.

[kamjah]

Originally Posted by alwaystraveling25

They are going to be similar, but you will always pay more in Lincoln Park then Lakeview. I think Lakeview East is great, I Used to live there (now live in Wrigleyville). I hope you and your roommate are not homophobic, since there is a decent amount of gay men who live in East Lakeview. It is not overwhelming, but there are a lot more there then in Lincoln Park. It shouldn't be an issue...I lived there (I am a gay man) and about half the people were straight and half were gay.

i don't have a problem with gay guys. i don't think my roommate does either.

do you have any other recommendations for where to look for modern highrises? in LP, we looked north and south of diversey between sheridan and clark and only came up with one building we liked. (600 W. Diversey Lincoln Park Plaza), but the reviews we found on apartmentratings.com were pretty daunting.

our main priority for our place is close to transportation to the loop, and modern (ish). i've noticed that the highrises dissapear the further west you go, so i'd assume we wont find any west of halsted?

[kamjah]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Lincoln Park is still nicer than Lake View. It's just a prettier neighborhood, for the most part.

Here's where you'll run into problems with your search. Most of the high-rises on the North Side away from downtown are older buildings, and the ones that are rental buidlings will not usually have updated units. Condos are more likely to be updated, and you may be able to find one to rent.

Most of the newer high-rises are downtown or directly adjacent to downtown--particularly in the River North, Streeterville, and South Loop neighborhoods. If you want to be in a new building, I'd look there.

yeah, we were looking into streeterville/goldcoast/rivernorth etc. and we definitly saw some sweet places. but our concern was the neighborhood and cost. from my understanding, those places have an older/richer crowd and two 23 year olds may have trouble fitting in or finding things to do. i think a neighborhood like lincoln park is more our scene.

that's why when we found lincoln park plaza we were super excited. because it pretty much fit all of our requirements. but as i said above, the reviews were.... awful. it's definitely a maybe on our list, but we wanna keep our options open.

any info on what type of neighborhood belmont/lakeshore or irving park/lakeshore is in terms of stuff to do for fun?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by kamjah

any info on what type of neighborhood belmont/lakeshore or irving park/lakeshore is in terms of stuff to do for fun?

There's a lot more to do near Belmont and Lake Shore. Though you can walk from Irving Park and Lake Shore west to Wrigleyville bars. It's just quite a hike. I live near Irving Park and Lake Shore now, and we typically have to go south or west quite a ways to get to any sort of fun commercial strip.

[WGFTS]

Hey,

I responded to one of your other posts, but let me vouch for Lincoln Park vs. Lakeview.

Lakeview is a great area (east Lakeview) and I could wake up every morning and jog by the lake to train for the marathon. It is also a stones throw away from North Avenue Beach, the Zoo and great restaurants and bars.

Lincoln Park is AWESOME too. My favorite area in the city is Halsted & Armitage - so many great shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, there aren't a ton of highrise buildings there which I like better for their safety and security. Whatever you do, avoid getting a garden unit. Otherwise you should be fine, but may find yourself paying more money for a crumby refurbished house rather than a nice sleek highrise unit.

As for the three areas you mention:

1) Clark & Diversey

This is my favorite area. You are 2 blocks from the lake, 3 blocks from the El. There is a nice shopping center right there and living here, you'll have the benefit of not having to find parking in this great area. Definitely the #1.

2) Sheridan / Belmont

This area is great too. Belmont is a very fun street with great restaurants. You're a little further from the bar area but very close to Belmont Harbor which is very pretty. Much more residential, a little less action-packed.

3) Sheridan / Irving

I still follow the rule "don't go north of Irving." However, I dated a girl who lived at Buena & Irving and I must admit its not that bad. However, watch out for the undesirable folks from Uptown who hang around in this area. You're much more remote, a lot further from the action and will pretty much have one direction to head: South.

[5Lakes]

There are some condo buildings south of Armitage along Clark that you may want to check out. Maybe go to the building lobbies and see if there are any places in those buildings for rent. A friend of mine lives in one of those and the unit is modern with a balcony and a skyline view.

[JBVirtuoso]

Since this is a year old, I really hope the OP has figured all this out by now.

[linicx]

We hope so, too, but updated information is aways welcomed regardless of how old the thread. Neighborhoods change and so does the available housing stock.