bgdesign Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 So my wife got a promotion and we are moving from Michigan to Chicago. She'll be working downtown on Franklin. Need a good/fun neighborhood that she can take the train to work, any suggestions? Know of any places around you that I should look at? We know Bucktown/Logan Square/Old Town/Wrigleyville.......anywhere else I should look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smailtronic Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 What price range are you looking at? If she wants to minimize train transfers, look off the brown/orange/pink/purple lines, as they stop on the Franklin side of the loop. But it's easy enough to transfer from the Blue or Red lines too. The #11 bus also runs down Franklin, but the CTA is going to break it up, so you won't necessarily be able to take it all the way downtown from its current neighborhood route. Are you looking for fun party neighborhood, or a stay a while and grow-up sort of neighborhood? There are some nice neighborhoods out on the Brown line, Southport, North Center, etc. Lakeview is also a fun area. Wrigleyville is douchebag central. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdesign Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 Fun going out neighborhoods. Most stuff I've been finding is on the Brown line. We're bar not club people. Just want a good neighborhood, not somewhere our apartment is the only thing there. I'll check out Southport and North Center. Probably less than $1000 if I can. We'll be paying for our current house too, so I don't want to go overboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnstiles Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Ravenswood is on the north side, it's really nice, I lived there for 4 years. It's close to the Damen Brown Line and close to the Aragon and the Riviera. There's not a lot of nightlife but you're really close to Wrigleyville and Andersonville and paying less than if you lived in a 'cooler' area. Ravenswood is like a suburb within the city. It's awesome. Best Wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdesign Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Ravenswood is on the north side, it's really nice, I lived there for 4 years. It's close to the Damen Brown Line and close to the Aragon and the Riviera. There's not a lot of nightlife but you're really close to Wrigleyville and Andersonville and paying less than if you lived in a 'cooler' area. Ravenswood is like a suburb within the city. It's awesome. Best Wishes. Thanks, I'll look into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjustinxschwierx Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 i live in Lincoln Square and it's great, comparable to Ravenswood, as they're neighboring neighborhoods. Good rule of thumb is the 'hoods following the Brown Line are generally nicer, quiet, clean and safe. Logan Square, while gentrifying is still somewhat of a shit-hole. expect to get robbed. If you don't, honestly be pleasantly surprised. Andersonville is historically one of the gay neighborhoods of Chicago (unofficially known as "Girls Town") so it's clean, safe and generally very pleasant, lots of culture. I lived there when I first moved to the city and it's only gotten better, Wrigleyville is a nightmare, avoid at all costs. Lakeview, the proper name of Wrigleyville is "Boys Town". If you're dead set on living in the area, look west of Clark St. Expect to live in parking hell though. Wicker Park is crowded and loud and basically sucks. Ukranian Village is nice, Roger's PArk on the far northside has ok spots, but should be avoided as well. Don't move anywhere near Humboldt Park. Ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnstiles Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Oh, I had another thought. When my friends and I were looking at moving to a place (we settled on ravenswood) we put this adage into our search. I know this might not mean anything to you but to the people from Chicago it might make sense. This is what I would tell a 'apartment search helper' if I were to move back to the city today. North of Chicago Avenue, South of Foster, East of Broadway and West of Western. That opens you up to a lot of neighborhoods and you're pretty safe in all of them. Sidebar: I've never been mugged in Logan, in Uptown and Humboldt I've crossed many streets to avoid ruckus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smailtronic Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 That's not a terrible range, but did you mean West of Broadway and East of Western?. There are still some nice areas a little north of Foster; you're just dealing with distance from the city at that point. xjustinxschwierx and turnstiles 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightyseancore Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 you could stalk kriss and his wife. that's what i would do. also look for shows from a very talented songwriter named Jessel Harry. he sometimes plays under the moniker of "the western paradise", and used to have a full band of the same name but they kinda dwindled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smailtronic Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 you could stalk kriss and his wife. that's what i would do. ------------------------- But then you'll get shanked in Humboldt Park. We went over this in the Riot Fest thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 We're literally on the border of Humboldt Park and Wicker Park and have been here for nearly four years without a single bad occurrence. Hopefully it stays that way, of course. It's the city, so no matter where you go, bad stuff can happen or nothing may happen at all. I lived in Uptown for three years and never had an issue and lived in Lakeview for a year and saw a number of muggings, so the theory of 'safe vs slum' is a crapshoot, ultimately. Find a good place that you like for a price you dig and the rest will sort itself out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdesign Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 I looked at a shitload of places today and finally went to one and figured out it was near Humboldt Park. Thankfully I went to Riotfest this year and knew it was a terrible neighborhood. The good news is the guy showing it had another place off Grand Ave that I ended up getting. I'm like a mile and a half from the loop/reckless and a mile from permanent records. It's a three bedroom with a view of the skyline. I'm surprised I could get so close for so cheap. My wife works downtown so it'll make it easy on her. I looked in Wrigleyville but everything was small and Logan Square places both had their doors smashed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 What's the cross street? Chicago? We should hang; we walk over to Permanent a good bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdesign Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 I'm on N May at W Grand. I'll be moved after the first and always looking to hangout with new people. turnstiles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smailtronic Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I'm on N May at W Grand. I'll be moved after the first and always looking to hangout with new people. I go past that area on the train every day, but I don't know too much about it. Crazy close to downtown, especially for being cheap. I'm about 2.5 miles SSW of you in Pilsen. Hangouts will be had once you're in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnstiles Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 That's not a terrible range, but did you mean West of Broadway and East of Western?. There are still some nice areas a little north of Foster; you're just dealing with distance from the city at that point. What he said, happy you got a place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdesign Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 Lost that apartment today since we have two pets, even though they say pets were allowed, we signed the contract (with paying extra for the pets) and paid our deposit. Shitty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightyseancore Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Lost that apartment today since we have two pets, even though they say pets were allowed, we signed the contract (with paying extra for the pets) and paid our deposit. Shitty. bgdesign 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdesign Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 We ended up getting a place on West Adams in the West Loop and we're finally moved in. Thanks for the advice everyone! On a separate note: Why isn't there a "Chicago Traders" thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 MI to IL. Terrible choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdesign Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 MI to IL. Terrible choice. I disagree. Love MI, but living in downtown Chicago is far superior to rural MI. Especially when it comes to finding work and concerts. Only thing I'll miss is the Tigers, Redwings, Pistons, and Lions....always faithful to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Should have come to Detroit instead of Chicago. You could have gotten a liveable house in the city for $3k! You are gonna pay that in rent each month. But yeah, I'm kidding. I do love Detroit but you gotta go where the work is. I'd only leave metro Detroit if I had no other choice. I can't even argue why I wouldn't leave. It's just loyalty to my city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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