Best neighborhood for single girl, late 20s, professional and artistic? (Chicago: lease, safe neighborhoods)

[ArtsyVegChick]

I live in the suburbs and commute to work. My lease is up in August and I'm looking to move closer to my job. I work in the Gold Coast area and would like to keep the commute under half an hour. Biking to work would be amazing. I'm late 20s, single and artsy. My budget is around $1100. Right now I'm looking at Lakeview/Boystown mostly. I just worry it would be hard to meet single straight men living there. I grew up in the burbs so I'm a little clueless about where the safe neighborhoods are. Any ideas would be awesome!

[ole69]

You'd probably like Logan Square or Bucktown. You could still bike to Gold Coast but it would def be more of a hike than Lakeview, and you couldn't ride along the lake

[hiidee53]

I can't really speak about any neighborhoods (just recently moved myself), but I can tell you that I live in Lakeview East and there are tons of bars on Clark Street right by Wrigley and tons of single guys who go out there!!

[Vlajos]

Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Lincoln Square....

[odannyboi]

I'd do Bucktown or Wicker Park. It has a nice vibe that would be up your alley. I'm pretty sure you wouldnt like the douchey vibe in areas like Wrigleyville (which is next to lakeview) or Lincoln Park... unless you are into late 20 something frat boys.

BTW: Are you one of those cute artsy girls who wear those black plastic glasses?

[ole69]

don't call Lakeview douchey. TonytheTuna's bat phone will go off

[odannyboi]

Originally Posted by ole69

don't call Lakeview douchey. TonytheTuna's bat phone will go off

fair enough... although I didn't technically call Lakeview "douchey"

[SJaye]

Originally Posted by odannyboi

I'd do Bucktown or Wicker Park. It has a nice vibe that would be up your alley. I'm pretty sure you wouldnt like the douchey vibe in areas like Wrigleyville (which is next to lakeview) or Lincoln Park... unless you are into late 20 something frat boys.

BTW: Are you one of those cute artsy girls who wear those black plastic glasses?

Not to be picky, but Wrigelyville is actually a portion of Lakeview, exists within the broader area known as Lakeview.

As far as where to live, I would probably chose to live in Wicker Park near Division Street, as the city recommends Division and not North as a bicycle route, and Division Street has less traffic for those rainy/cold days when you would want to take the bus instead of ride your bike.

If you want to be in the middle of it all, Lincoln Park and Lakewview would be doable. I'd try to live near a brown line stop. As you are probably well aware of, biking to work is amazing, but there are plenty of days in Chicago when you will not want to do it, so having a way to get to work on those days is also a good thing.

Another good option would be in Lakeview farther west, near the Southport or Paulina stop. It is a little bit less crazy there than in the Wrigleyville/Boystown area, but there is still a lot to do, and you can still bike to work on Lincoln Ave., which has a nice bike lane.

I'd consider those three areas first depending on your preferences, and then, if you run into trouble finding what you want for your price range, look into the slightly longer commute areas of Logan Square (on blue line) and Lincoln Square (on brown line).

[soulful]

You might enjoy East Lakeview (the side streets between Broadway and Lake Shore Dr.) And, you can quickly walk to the Addison (or Belmont) Red Line stops or take the pedestrian/bike tunnels underground to the park/trails in seconds. Also, very nice to be able to walk to 3 major groceries (Treasure Island, Jewel at 3500 N Broadway, and Whole Foods on Halsted n. of Addison).

You won't have any problem finding straight men in Lakeview. They are in the majority (things have changed in the past 10 years).

[Vlajos]

Any thoughts ArtsyVegChick?