Soon to be new Chicagoan - Help w/ Living 30bf

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by CityGirl1982

So if I chose to live in South Loop, would it be a pain to HAVE a car....b/c I do have one. But I imagine I would barely drive it if I'm in the Loop, correct?

South Loop..don't really need one IMO, because there's a few train lines that go there and buses. Not to mention, a lot of the South Loop is high rises and parking usually isn't included, so you could pay $150 or even $200 a month for parking down there (this includes the Loop, most but not all of South Loop, River North, and most of Gold Coast).

If you were in an area like Hyde Park, the public transit isn't as good down there (there's buses..and the Red and Green line trains go West of it...west of Washington Park, which gets a little more "ghetto" certainly than Hyde Park. Owning a car down there would be zone parking like in my areas of the city. It's a max of $25/year for it and you just have to prove you live in that "zone" to get your permit.

Plzen mentioned Pilsen, which is another decent option maybe. Others might include Lakeview which is certainly more diverse than Lincoln Park...but I think it's only about 5% African American, maybe 8-10% Hispanic, and another 5-6% Asian..So probably 75% white at least. Not as much as other areas, however it's a good area with a ton to do and nobody cares what race you are in my experience. Tons of public transit in there and it's only maybe a 15 minute train ride to River North ("downtown" kind of).

South Loop is not a bad option, although I think it's a little boring. The rent is also fairly expensive compared to some other neighborhoods (i.e. Hyde Park, Pilsen, Lakeview, etc). $45,000 will make you live comfortably in Chicago if you don't have tons of debt, but you're going to want to leave a lot of options open. You might not want to pay $1300-$1600/month on that salary..

[JBVirtuoso]

None of Hyde Park is zoned parking to my knowledge. I think some of Woodlawn is zoned (like the areas just below 61st), but I haven't seen any zoned parking anywhere else in the area.

The public transportation in the eastern and northern parts of the neighborhood is pretty good because you have a lot of options. Hyde Park is actually a great neighborhood for people without cars. However, it's express buses and the commuter rail (Metra), which are not quite as sexy as the 'L.' However, in the areas of Hyde Park I described, street parking is pretty hit or miss. If you're keeping your car, you'd probably want to stay west of Dorchester or so.

I really wouldn't even consider the South Loop in your situation. It's not particularly exciting itself, and you're really just paying for proximity to the Loop. I'm strongly against having roommates as it just adds unnecessary stress.

I'm not sure why no one has mentioned Uptown. It's not quite as cheap as Pilsen or Bronzeville, but it has great public transportation and diversity. A lot of people on this forum will complain about it being unsafe, but after going there several times during the day and night, I don't really find that to be the case. There are many, many, many threads on that area if you want to check it out.

The areas I'd recommend are (in order) Hyde Park, Pilsen, University Village/Little Italy/Medical District, and Uptown.

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by JBVirtuoso

I'm not sure why no one has mentioned Uptown. It's not quite as cheap as Pilsen or Bronzeville, but it has great public transportation and diversity.

I know Uptown has diversity, but does it specifically have a middle class / professional African American population? I'm not saying it doesn't, I'm just asking, because I'm not aware of it.

[CityGirl1982]

Originally Posted by JBVirtuoso

The areas I'd recommend are (in order) Hyde Park, Pilsen, University Village/Little Italy/Medical District, and Uptown.

Out of these aforementioned places, which of them have lots of things to do in their respected areas and closet to downtown?

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by CityGirl1982

Out of these aforementioned places, which of them have lots of things to do in their respected areas and closet to downtown?

University Village is 1-2 miles from The Loop. Pilsen is 2-3. Hyde Park and Uptown are each about 7-8 miles from The Loop. (Obviously this all depends on what part of the neighborhoods and what part of The Loop we're talking about. See google maps for more specific info.)

It depends on what you like to do. While I wouldn't say that any of them have "lots" to do by Chicago standards, none of them are dead, either. I would say they all have a moderate amount of bars and restaurants, Hyde Park a little less so than the others. While Uptown and Hyde Park are about the same distance from downtown, there's a lot more to do between Uptown and downtown (north side) than there is between Hyde Park and downtown (south side). I really think Hyde Park has much more of the population you say you're wanting than Uptown, though.

Will you have a chance to visit to check these places out?

[CityGirl1982]

Originally Posted by Plzeň

Will you have a chance to visit to check these places out?

Well, I do not plan on visiting. I live in Atlanta right now, and as soon as Spring hits in 2013, I'm out and winging it in Chicago. I'm also going to try some apartment finding websites. All this info can be exhausting!

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by CityGirl1982

Well, I do not plan on visiting. I live in Atlanta right now, and as soon as Spring hits in 2013, I'm out and winging it in Chicago. I'm also going to try some apartment finding websites. All this info can be exhausting!

It's too bad you won't be able to visit to wander through these neighborhoods. That will give you more of an idea of what works for you than any information we can provide.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by CityGirl1982

Out of these aforementioned places, which of them have lots of things to do in their respected areas and closet to downtown?

Closest to downtown is all relative and doesn't always matter 100% if there's good public transit in the area. For example, Uptown and Lakeview are both 5-6 miles from downtown, but I'd pick that area over University Village area which is only 1-2 miles away because there's more to do (in my personal opinion). The train ride from uptown to the same area is somewhere around 20 minutes (to Near North Side - Chicago Red Line stop). From University Village/UIC area, it might take just as long to get to the same area even though it's geographically closer because you have to transfer to a red line train. If you time it perfectly, then it's around 6 minutes from UIC to the Loop, then another 3 minutes walking, then another 6 minutes to the Chicago Red Line stop, so only 4-5 minutes less even though it's much closer to that stop than the other neighborhood. From Lakeview/Uptown, there's no wait because it's a straight shot down.

IMO your best options are Lakeview, Uptown, maybe parts of Pilsen...maybe parts west like Ukrainian Village or Wicker Park, and Hyde Park...It all depends on what you want. I'm being biased because I don't consider Hyde Park or the area around UIC on par with other neighborhoods, but it's of course very possible you like different things than I do (no idea).

Remember that while there is diversity in Chicago, there's still a lot of neighborhoods that are predominantly _____ (for example, Lakeview might have 5000-6000 blacks, 8000 hispanic, 6000 asian, but it's still 3/4 white because it's a very large neighborhood).

[Urbanite67]

Originally Posted by Chicagoist123

Not very close but not super far either. Sort of in the middle, but without a car Hyde Park is a pain in the arse.

Not really, Hyde Park is very easy to get to and from without a car. The number 6 bus runs express via Lake Shore Drive from Hyde Park to downtown everyday from 4am to 1am. Also, the 2 and the 28X run a similar route from Hyde Park to downtown during the rush hours. The only exception is between 1am and 4am. Hyde Park is still accessable by public transportation during these hours, however, it's a longer trip. You would have to catch the red line to the 55 which both run all night... It's not that far. I work downtown and live in Hyde Park. I catch the bus and it normally takes about 15min to get to work and about half that in a car or by Metra train.

[sarahdeanne]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

Please ignore anyone who tries to send you to the north side. You will end up as the "one and only" in your neighborhood.

This doesn't seem accurate. I see black people in my neighborhood (logan square) and many other north side neighbor hoods all the time. When I drive through Bronzeville (a very nice area with some great apt options for the OP) I see pretty much only black people. I suppose the OP can look up the actual demographics of the neighborhoods and see what she prefers but I wouldn't rule out the entire north side of Chicago.