Neighborhood advice - possibly moving to Chicago (apartment, condos)

[marothisu]

* Those probably are best bets, but River North is better than South and West Loop in my opinion, but I think Lincoln Park or yes, Lakeview (specifically Lakeview East) is better for you perhaps, even though you'd have to take public transit to work (I guess you could bike too). Do you know where in the Loop you'd be working (i.e. an intersection or say, East, West, South, etc)?

* I've never negotiated on a rental rate, but I'm sure it's possible for some of the smaller guys. As far as what to use, Craigslist is OK, but I'd recommend using Domu Chicago | Chicagoland Apartments, Zillow, Apartments for Rent & Homes for Rent - Rent.com® Apartment Finder (usually for the medium to large sized buildings), padmapper.com (which does have listings from craigslist, amongst others, on it).

* Cultural differences? I think you'd describe Chicago on the whole as more blue collar than San Francisco, though Chicago is over 3x larger than San Francisco population wise. Chicago has a large white collar workforce still. I'd say the average person here is more into the local type of place where you can relax and chill. There are a number of more "luxury" places here, but a lot of people are the types to support local, go to local places and not care whether it's luxury or not, etc.

* You sound kind of like me. I haven't had a problem doing any of that here. I know some very "chill" ambient places here if you're into that.

[extractable]

We are definitely all about local; farm to table, whenever possible with a huge love for cooking and eating. We support local businesses, farmers markets, artisans, etc, whenever possible and steer clear of big box unless it's necessary. Our primary respite from the insanity of the day is our home for sure.

In terms of geography for work ... bounded by S Lasalle, W Madison, S Dearborn and W Adams.

[marothisu]

Downtown, say River North, isn't necessarily big box, but since it's a tourist part of town, you will find some national chains there, but not a ton. People in Chicago are big time on local and actually despise chain food usually. I will say in the Loop there's a lot of chains because it's the CBD and most people need a quick lunch. However, there's a lot of fast local options too and there's also chains that are more local (i.e. I Dream of Falafel, Benjyehuda, Roti, etc).

In the end though, Lincoln Park or Lakeview are definitely more in tune with what you describe. There's hardly any chains in these areas (yes they do exist, like one McDonald's, one taco bell, a Jewel-Osco grocery store or two, a few Starbucks) and you'll find out that the average Chicagoan is all about supporting local. By the way, Lincoln Park has a year round Farmer's Market too called Green City Market (Green City Market)

For public transit from Lincoln Park or Lakeview, you could pretty much take your pick between the Red Line or Brown Line. They both have stops right outside of where you described geographically. The Fullerton stop in Lincoln Park has both Red and Brown lines, and the Belmont stop in Lakeview has them both too.

I should also mention that the other month, a "bike share" system was unleashed in Chicago. By the end of the summer, there's supposed to be 3000 bikes in it and by the end of next summer, 4000 bikes and 400 stations.
Divvy Bikes | Your bike sharing system in Chicago

Lincoln Park:


Lakeview:

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by extractable

We are definitely all about local; farm to table, whenever possible with a huge love for cooking and eating. We support local businesses, farmers markets, artisans, etc, whenever possible and steer clear of big box unless it's necessary. Our primary respite from the insanity of the day is our home for sure.

In terms of geography for work ... bounded by S Lasalle, W Madison, S Dearborn and W Adams.

You've scribe a 4 block boundary that is about as central to the Loop's bigger employers as possible. If you really to walk to work or even a ride a bicycle you have fewer options than if you were a little closer to where the residential meets office. You will probably need to consider public transit, which is a good option here.

[jwaiter]

Check out Lakeshore East, it's an interesting little spot close to the loop.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by jwaiter

Check out Lakeshore East, it's an interesting little spot close to the loop.

Honestly I can't think of any place close to the Loop that is worse for the OP...

No music places to jam, no neighborhood scale places to hang out, no local sources of foodie stuff...

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Honestly I can't think of any place close to the Loop that is worse forr the OP...

No music places to jam, no neighborhood scale places to hang out, no local sources of f goodie stuff...

What? no neighborhood scale places to hang out in? Are you joking right now? Lakeview East is just like Lincoln Park, but a little older on average and possibly less bars. There's tons of "local" places there and hard to find many chains outside of maybe Starbucks and the microcosm of an area around Diversey/Clark/Broadway which has stuff like Panera, Jamba Juice, etc.

[chet everett]

Lakeshore East != Lakeview...

One is the made-up moniker of what was once Illinois Center or the even more fakey New East Side, the other is the neighborhood you are confusing it with...

[marothisu]

hahahaha i can't believe i misread that. Sorry Chet. You are correct though. Totally different and not neighborhoody at all. Definitely not my favorite place in town personally.

[lenniel]

Originally Posted by jwaiter

Check out Lakeshore East, it's an interesting little spot close to the loop.

I lived in Chicago (city) for 19 years and have never heard of "lakeshore east'. Is that some creative label applied to a crappy area by the realtors to make it sound more appealing? Kind of like "west Bucktown" (which is really the hood).