Young female professional moving to chicago with large dog - where to live? (Lincoln: 2013)

[Courtney9long]

I'm a young female professional moving to Chicago for a job opportunity in Bridgeport (near US Cellular Field). I will be bringing my 1.5 yr old 60 lb Labrador retriever mix (read: big active puppy) with me. I'm looking for a safe neighborhood and preferably near parks and other animal services (I.e. Vets, boarding, etc.). I currently commute an hour to work but would ideally like to cut that down to under 40 min if possible. I know the red line and the Metra station are right nearby but I also have the option of bringing a car if that is a shorter commute. My ideal budget is less than $1000/month for a 1 bedroom. Any and all advice is welcome - I would consider suburbs or city.

[Doglover5]

Courtney: I would consider posting this in the "Chicago" part of the forum, as I'm assuming you're looking for options in the city, should they be in your budget. (And as to budget and what rentals cost right now, I can't really speak to that, but hopefully other folks on here can.)

I'm also assuming that your work in the Bridgeport area is close to the Red Line and Metra? I would aim to live somewhere in the city close to the Red Line, and I would think there are many good neighborhoods to choose from. For one, you could live in Lincoln Park in the neighborhood near DePaul and the Red Line at Fullerton and Sheffield. There are a lot of parks and places to walk your dog, and I would think there would be boarding options, too... though some of these might not be walkable from your apartment, so you might want to research these in advance. There is a vet called Family Pet in the 1400 block of Webster that I personally haven't used but I've heard good things about them and I'm sure others can throw in vet suggestions. Not sure if they have boarding. (As an aside, you could also look into dog sitting where someone comes to your home and stays with your pet; sometimes it can be as cost-effective as boarding... We've used Out U Go in the suburbs and liked them very much and they do have outposts in the city.) I think you also could consider the South Loop (not sure of the prime areas here to direct you to but people love this area because it's close to the Loop and for you wouldn't be that far of a drive to Bridgeport I would think. There's also a Red Line stop around Roosevelt and possibly State which I think could work well in terms of transit to work for you. I think the city has become extremely dog-friendly so you probably cannot go wrong with many spots in walking distance to a red line stop in the city. There's another neighborhood called the Gold Coast which has more of a "downtown" even swanky city vibe that you might like, and depending on where you are, you could use the red line at Chicago & State or Clark and Division, though this neighborhood might have a little less green in terms of parks and open sidewalks for walking your dog. You could also consider living along the lake, though you'd be further from the Red Line. At any rate, I think you have options. Hopefully my info isn't too dated; it's been a while since I was a city dweller but I think this is a great time to move into the city... it just keeps getting better and better in terms of great restaurants, things to do, etc.

Also: This map of the El might help you to visualize where the Red Line goes.
http://www.transitchicago.com/assets...ap_2013oct.pdf

Edit: Finally, I should mention that most places aren't going to have a fenced yard for your dog, though you might already know this. Lincoln Park certainly might have some single-family homes converted into 2 or 3-flat rentals where there is a fenced yard, but not one that would be a dedicated yard only for your use/your unit only most likely -- but if any type of yard option is appealing to you, then I'd focus more on Lincoln Park, though I still don't think a fenced yard w/rental is an easy thing to come by. (Typically, everyone with dogs in the city takes them out and walks them to do their business.) One more thought, too-- if you don't end up in walking distance to dog boarding, for example, I do believe that places like Out U Go and other dog walking/sitting service providers may offer "dog taxi" services where they can take your dog somewhere if you're in a pinch. Also, not sure what the best place to find rentals is nowadays; it used to be the Chicago Reader publication but not sure what people use today to find apartments.

[bmg6424]

Lakeview is a wonderful neighborhood. A LOT of young people 22-28...VERY dog friendly and there is so much to do! You've got Wrigleyville, Boystown, lots of music venues (Metro, Lincoln Hall is close by, Schubas, The Vic)...they're all pretty close together. Lakeview is a gem, and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone moving to Chicago, and you can't walk down the street without seeing a dog, lots of parks nearby too!