Chicago - Tell me the Good, Bad, Ugly

Chicagoland is a mighty big place. It just might help a little if you said where you were thinking about moving to?

First you need to tell us what part you are thinking of moving to. Downtown, Lincoln Park? Away from downtown but in the city? The suburbs? North, South, West?

There a lots of answers, but you need to narrow it down a bit.

Chicagoan wrote:

First you need to tell us what part you are thinking of moving to. ... The suburbs? North, South, West?

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East?

Tom Skilling wrote:

East?

Benton Harbor, MI ?

Probably in the Lincoln Park or Lakeview area wherever the 20 somethings are. I don't want to live in an area that has people in their mid-30s or 40s since I'm fresh out of college. I probably won't be able to afford having a car because I heard parking is expensive.

How much rent can you afford?

Why live in Lakeview or Lincoln Park? You're just paying for the name of the neighborhood, I would suggest looking at Northcenter, Ravenswood, Lincoln Square area. That's where I am...it's a little more affordable, quieter at night, which is nice. If you want to go party those other neighborhoods you mentioned are only a few el stops away or a short bike ride in the summer.

If you want to still live like you're in college I would suggest Wrigleyville with all the other drunken 30 year old frat guys

There are a lot of dumb ass blonds in lincoln park and lakeview.

Beware of the Trixie - Average looking, below-averge, or ugly ass looking dumb blonds who work for some marketing firm in the downtown loop area. They drive jettas, sip on their mocha frappacinos and think they are cool. Their main objective is to gold dig and hubby hunt so they don't have to work anymore.

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I grew up in Northbrook (suburb to the NW). Great forest preserve horse trails nearby. The forest preserves (and trails) pretty much surround Chicago to the west - through Deerfield, east Northbrook & Glenview, Wheeling (Torres brothers went to h.s. there), and southward to Elk Grove and York (home of the best cross country team in the state)

you should go live down by university of chicago. that place is crawling with hot chicks, and it's a lot cheaper.

I've heard they have a marathon there every October. A bit warm this year, if I recall correctly.

chicago bound wrote:

Probably in the Lincoln Park or Lakeview area wherever the 20 somethings are. I don't want to live in an area that has people in their mid-30s or 40s since I'm fresh out of college. I probably won't be able to afford having a car because I heard parking is expensive.

Parking? It's not expensive...there just isn't any of it.

And I was gonna see if you wanted to hit up my cougar of a wife, but right up until the mid-30's comment...so forget it, you can go bang DePaul chicks at Bamboo Bernie's.

I once considered moving to Chicago and this is what I found out via various online resources and friends:

Live in the far western 'burbs. It's cheaper and if you work downtown you can just ride the L or Metra in.

If you're going to live anywhere remotely close to downtown (say within 10 miles) you're going to be living in a hi-rise. I've never been too fond of hi-rises.

That being said, living in the 'burbs means a lot of families. If you want something affordable near young people you're probably going to get some old apartment near a noisy L train.

Alan

Regarding owning a car: In Chicago it's not really necessary. You can take the El pretty much anywhere you want to go. If you can't get there by trains or busses or just don't want to you can always join a car-sharing service like I-Go cars or Zipcars. These are great, my wife and I are part of I-Go cars. They have cars all over the city and you pay an hourly rate, no insurance, and they have a card for gas when you need to get gas.

I really don't understand people who live in a city with public transportation and refuse to use it. Why drive if you don't have to? And yes I do understand having to get places in a hurry, so I do believe there are reasons to drive, just not everywhere!

You know Alan, another poster put it perfectly last week.

You always make these long seemingly intelligent posts and they look good, right up until the part you realize that you have no clue of what the f*** you are talking about.

Don't listen to this idiot.

There are plenty of 2-3 level apartment buildings right around downtown, which I certainly wouldn't consider hi-rises. I live in Roger's park and there are tons of quality houses and apartments- and unless you live directly up against an L track you barely even notice the noise.

Chi-town runner wrote:

unless you live directly up against an L track you barely even notice the noise.

Agreed, I live MAYBE 100m from an el station and you wouldn't even notice.