Old Town? (Chicago, Lincoln, Marshall: apartment, condo, crime)

[chet everett]

The OP graduated from DePaul and is ready for the next phase of their life...

The sorts of tackiness that once did exist in Old Town is long gone. There is a whole lot of other tacky crap still in places like River North (and even the various twisted ego driven stuff like (re)naming of museums in Lincoln Park or sports facilities in Evanston...)

[ToriaT]

Thats true I was there a week or so ago and it looks better than it did. I am still not a fan. You know I have my opinions and biases.

[chet everett]

At some level everything does come down to personal taste...

The various shifts in "pre-trendy" to "hot" to "passe" are something that effects lots of places. The OP is looking to rent and if they find something in their price range the thing that'll matter is what is going on now and from what I gather Old Town is probably kind of perfect for where they are at right now in their life.

[EJ3791]

I always thought of Old Town as the OTT, but people have been counting the part of Wells between Division and North for a long time. It was kind of seedy when I was young, but the the last few times I was down there, it definitely seemed to have gentrified a bit- the adult book store was still there, for instance, but it looked a lot more respectable. The area along North seems to have improved, but when I've been a couple blocks southwest of, say, North and Sedgwick, it still looked rather shabby.

[chet everett]

The longer history of Old Town has always been more oriented toward the eastern side --

Old Town Dining - Old Town Merchants & Residents Association

Chicago's Old Town Self-Guided Walking Tour and Sightseeing Map | MetroWalkz

The clean up of the former public housing has revitalized the western parts.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by sheaosaurus

I currently live off the Irving Park stop of the Brown Line and really enjoy the area, but I want to be a more local.

Wait..what? Are you kidding me? There's great stuff near the Irving Park brown line stop. That's right in the heart of the city. You're like 5 minutes from Lakeview. I guess I don't understand your point here.. just sounds like you haven't explored your own area enough yet. Let's get real now. It's not like you are living in Mount Greenwood..

In any case..Old Town? Meh. You can do a lot better. Old Town is not bad. There's some good stores, restaurants, and a few good bars (although run by dbags now). Not my favorite part of town in the least bit personally. Depends on what you're looking for though.

[sheaosaurus]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Wait..what? Are you kidding me? There's great stuff near the Irving Park brown line stop. That's right in the heart of the city. You're like 5 minutes from Lakeview. I guess I don't understand your point here.. just sounds like you haven't explored your own area enough yet. Let's get real now. It's not like you are living in Mount Greenwood..

In any case..Old Town? Meh. You can do a lot better. Old Town is not bad. There's some good stores, restaurants, and a few good bars (although run by dbags now). Not my favorite part of town in the least bit personally. Depends on what you're looking for though.

Thank you for the links. I really like Irving Park, but I like the highrise lifestyle better. It feels more like home to me since I grew up in a highrise in NYC. Plus, the bus that runs west/east is not 24 hours, nor is the Brown Line. I have already run into several instances where it was a little more difficult to get home since I don't drive.

That was the other problem, I arrived in December and found that there were not a lot of people out and about along Irving Park. All though the bars were full, a lot of people seemed to already be in their little groups. I am really looking forward to summer when there are more people out and about and more opportunities to explore the different neighborhoods.

Is Lakeview basically the area where everything is at in terms or bars, art, music venues etc?

[SimplyCosmopolitan24]

Student to Student I would live in either LP or Wrigley/Lakeview, preferably the latter as Lakeview is far more edgy than LP which seems to me to be filled with old money and families. By edgy I mean more young, gritty feeling, boystown etc. Old Town is expensive and home to more people in their 30's 40's

[MarkHafeli]

Old Town can be great for a student. Think of all the nice bars and restaurants on Well St. between Division and North Ave. North of North Ave. is home to Adobo, Wells on Wells, Corcoran's and Second City. When I was in grad school and lived in Gold Coast, I actually spent a lot of my time on the nights and weekends in Old Town. It's a bit more mature but also can be more expensive.

[It'sAutomatic]

Originally Posted by sheaosaurus

Thank you for the links. I really like Irving Park, but I like the highrise lifestyle better. It feels more like home to me since I grew up in a highrise in NYC. Plus, the bus that runs west/east is not 24 hours, nor is the Brown Line. I have already run into several instances where it was a little more difficult to get home since I don't drive.

That was the other problem, I arrived in December and found that there were not a lot of people out and about along Irving Park. All though the bars were full, a lot of people seemed to already be in their little groups. I am really looking forward to summer when there are more people out and about and more opportunities to explore the different neighborhoods.

Is Lakeview basically the area where everything is at in terms or bars, art, music venues etc?

If you want to be around younger people, I'd live in Lakeview to be honest. There are high rises near the lake if you wish to live in one.

Really I'd try and get around to find places that you like. The fact that you're looking for a fun nightlife but are talking about moving from a middle-age neighborhood to an old-money part of town suggests that you have much more to learn about the city than I can explain here. Even still, you're a mile or two from the heart of Lakeview and are on the internet asking what the neighborhood is like.