NYC to Chicago: Need Some Advice/Suggestions (Evanston, Oak Park: appointed, neighborhoods)

[whirlyfree]

I'm moving to Chicago in September after living in NYC for thirteen years. Very excited about it, but I'm trying to get a handle on how the neighborhoods compare.

I've lived in Astoria and Jackson Heights during my time in NYC and I've loved the diversity (great mix of different races/ethnicities) and the street life (right outside your door are coffee shops, restaurants, bookstores, etc.)

So, what are some nice Chicago neighborhood with the best diversity and walkability/street life?

If that's not available I will also take suggestions for tree-lined streets filled with restored brownstones and white people.

Based on my limited research Chicago seems to be a much more segregated city and the neighborhoods (except for the crazy expensive ones) seem to have much less street life. Wrong impression?

Thanks for helping me out guys!

[chirack]

Depends on which you value most. In general the northside is more diverse than the southside but the southside in terms of square miles is a larger part of the city.

Anyway depending on what sorts of things you like areas like edgewater, lakeview, lincoln park, bucktown could be what you like.

Other areas like the burb of Evanston, the burb of Oak Park, Hyde Park, Beverly are diverse or perhaps more diverse but have less going on than thoose areas.

Another warning is parking and traffic. Parking in Lincoln Park and Lakeview is extemely bad. Bucktown also has bad parking. If you need to be on the other side of the city(like say you work at the ford plant in the far south side) you don't want to be on the northside. Also while getting downtown via public tranist is easy getting elsewhere can be harder so if you need to be somewhere it is best to stay somewhat near that area.

[Jandur]

Chicago is going to be very different than NYC. I would just prepare yourself for that in case you haven't already. The problem is the "diverse" areas really aren't terribly diverse. They generally still have 80% white people.

That being said the neighborhoods above are somewhat diverse as are Wicker Park, Logan Square and several others. In terms of white people with tree-lined brownstones, Lincoln Park and Gold Coast fit the bill pretty well.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Jandur

Chicago is going to be very different than NYC. I would just prepare yourself for that in case you haven't already. The problem is the "diverse" areas really aren't terribly diverse. They generally still have 80% white people.

That being said the neighborhoods above are somewhat diverse as are Wicker Park, Logan Square and several others. In terms of white people with tree-lined brownstones, Lincoln Park and Gold Coast fit the bill pretty well.

I'm not sure why Jandur feels it appropriate to stress segregation to someone coming from New York, when Chicago is no more segregated than New York, it's just that New York is three times the size of Chicago, so it has more and larger areas where there is very diverse integration just by the rules of statistics and large numbers alone.

I'm also uncertain where he gets his stats, as racial integration in Chicago is rising across the board.

Truly diverse areas of Chicago include Rogers Park, one of the most diverse part of Chicago with none of the major ethnic groups have more than 31% of the population. West Ridge just north of Devon is quite diverse, too, although the north part of it does get quite white (although it tends to be Eastern European Jewish whites, so it's not exactly WASPy country-club whites). Uptown is also fairly diverse, although lacking a bit in economic diversity (whites are only 42% there), Edgewater is nearly as diverse, although whites do take up 47% there. Albany Park is also pretty diverse, with a lot of Koreans, ethnic European whites, Near and Middle Easterners (many of whole would check "white" on their census forms), and Hispanics sharing the area. North Park is similarly made up.

South of Uptown, you get into the whiter areas. Lincoln Park and Lakeview are around 80% white.

On the South Side, there are a few diverse areas, too, although most are less dense than the North Side, so even less "New York-like" in density and vibrancy. Places like Bridgeport have about 25% Asian, 40% white, 30% hispanic, and 5% other. Not many blacks, but pretty diverse among other groups. Hyde Park is pretty mixed when it comes to whites and blacks, at about 40% each of each, but the remaining 20% is split between hispanic and asian groups.

Among "non-diverse" areas, there are more 90%+ black areas than 90%+ white areas. We're not New York, and no one should claim we are (that'd just be silly). But to imply we have no truly diverse areas shows a lack of knowledge of the city more than anything.

[whirlyfree]

Thanks everyone! NYC has very very segregated areas as well. I just happened to live in Queens, which I think is the most ethnically diverse place in the country. So, it's an outlier even in New York and hard to replicate anywhere. Rogers Park looked promising. I was worried Wicker Park and Bucktown might be too hipster infested to handle, but they might work as well. I just don't want to wind up in the Tribune after taking a flame thrower to a gaggle of skinny jeans.

I really appreciate the advice!

[whirlyfree]

On another, unrelated note I am terrified that I am going to be found frozen to death on a subway platform being devoured by a Yeti.

I hear it's...ah...a little cold over there. So I assume there are stores in Chicago that sell clothing resembling the outfits worn by the rebels in the opening of Empire Strikes Back?

And thanks for the tip about parking. I've been wondering whether I'll be able to keep my car when I move.

[chirack]

Originally Posted by whirlyfree

On another, unrelated note I am terrified that I am going to be found frozen to death on a subway platform being devoured by a Yeti.

I hear it's...ah...a little cold over there. So I assume there are stores in Chicago that sell clothing resembling the outfits worn by the rebels in the opening of Empire Strikes Back?

And thanks for the tip about parking. I've been wondering whether I'll be able to keep my car when I move.

LOL, our winter while it is bad isn't as bad as most people think. Anyway do not expect the CTA to be up to New York standards. Chicago isn't a smaller version of New York. Our el system is much smaller than New York's subway system and covers a smaller area of the city. There are places like Beverly where you are a bit distant from an el train(however Metra does provide service to the loop from there). Plus our El system is focused on the loop where as New York's Appears to be more spread out.

As for winter, we go through cold snaps where for anywhere from 2 days to 3 weeks the temperature might not ever get above 10F. Single digit highs are possible.Otherwise winter is freeze thaw but the freezes can be nasty. It can get as low as -3(sometimes a tad more) F with wind chills of -20. Also we get a tad less snow than New York(not much less but a tad less). It also can get as warm as 50 even 60F in winter.


So long as you dress appropriately you will be fine and if you use your car you are less exposed to it. Don’t get me wrong it can get so cold it hurts but so long as you have a hat that covers the ears, gloves, coat that covers the butt with a hood you should be fine. If you take public transit you may need more than that if you drive that should be enough.

What drives people nuts (esp. new comers) is the fact that Chicago can sometimes be slow to warm up. April can be people in shorts or snow on the ground. Where as in many other places April is much warmer. If you expect to need a coat from late December till March, a Heavy jacket till mid/late April, you will be fine. If you expect blooms in early April you may be disappointed (depending on the year since some years it warms up sooner than others). The first safely warm months are May and June. May in the day is nice but can still get nippy at night or early morning. June is the first totally jacket free month.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by whirlyfree

On another, unrelated note I am terrified that I am going to be found frozen to death on a subway platform being devoured by a Yeti.

I hear it's...ah...a little cold over there. So I assume there are stores in Chicago that sell clothing resembling the outfits worn by the rebels in the opening of Empire Strikes Back?

And thanks for the tip about parking. I've been wondering whether I'll be able to keep my car when I move.

Parking in the winter is easy -- we just find a lamp post, sign post, or tree where we can hitch our taun-tauns.

[Jandur]

Originally Posted by emathias

I'm not sure why Jandur feels it appropriate to stress segregation to someone coming from New York, when Chicago is no more segregated than New York, it's just that New York is three times the size of Chicago, so it has more and larger areas where there is very diverse integration just by the rules of statistics and large numbers alone.

I'm also uncertain where he gets his stats, as racial integration in Chicago is rising across the board.

Truly diverse areas of Chicago include Rogers Park, one of the most diverse part of Chicago with none of the major ethnic groups have more than 31% of the population. West Ridge just north of Devon is quite diverse, too, although the north part of it does get quite white (although it tends to be Eastern European Jewish whites, so it's not exactly WASPy country-club whites). Uptown is also fairly diverse, although lacking a bit in economic diversity (whites are only 42% there), Edgewater is nearly as diverse, although whites do take up 47% there. Albany Park is also pretty diverse, with a lot of Koreans, ethnic European whites, Near and Middle Easterners (many of whole would check "white" on their census forms), and Hispanics sharing the area. North Park is similarly made up.

South of Uptown, you get into the whiter areas. Lincoln Park and Lakeview are around 80% white.

On the South Side, there are a few diverse areas, too, although most are less dense than the North Side, so even less "New York-like" in density and vibrancy. Places like Bridgeport have about 25% Asian, 40% white, 30% hispanic, and 5% other. Not many blacks, but pretty diverse among other groups. Hyde Park is pretty mixed when it comes to whites and blacks, at about 40% each of each, but the remaining 20% is split between hispanic and asian groups.

Among "non-diverse" areas, there are more 90%+ black areas than 90%+ white areas. We're not New York, and no one should claim we are (that'd just be silly). But to imply we have no truly diverse areas shows a lack of knowledge of the city more than anything.

Do you really have nothing better to do than call out my posts and write novels about how you disagree with me?

[ole69]

Originally Posted by whirlyfree

I was worried Wicker Park and Bucktown might be too hipster infested to handle, but they might work as well. I just don't want to wind up in the Tribune after taking a flame thrower to a gaggle of skinny jeans.

I really appreciate the advice!

Lol, this is one of the big reasons I left Williamsburg in 2002. We live in Logan Square now, and while there are hipsters, nothing as bad as Williamsburg or LES (at least circa 2002)