Diversified neighborhood for college grad (Chicago, Lincoln: home, pharmacies, living in)

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by anonym00

Hey Guys,
I'm 23 and finished college in Europe (I'm Indian though, not native American!).
Because of my Job (International Management), I need to move to Chicago.
It's my first time in a huge american city (not counting airports in),
I love the metropolitan life and just can't stand open spaced with no people.
So do you guys now about any diversified (or at least Indian/Paki) neighborhoods which are safe (even if you're drunk and walk home at 4am),
offer a great nightlife, offer good mass transportation mainly to the loop (I HATE DRIVING!) and are walkable?
My gross income is $140.000 (how much should I budget? Again it's my first time living in an American City)
And I'm looking for an 1BR apartment (an high rise would be nice).
Also I'm fluent in German, Tamil, Mandarin and English of course (if it's important).

EDIT: I'm going to work in the loop

Albany Park/ West Ridge on the north side has the largest middle eastern/Indian population in Chicago, also has tons of middle eastern and probably Indian restaurants there as well. It's on the north side, which means it's close to Lakeview, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, which are all basically the nightlife hub of Chicago. I don't believe it's that expensive around there. That area sounds the best for you, and it's pretty safe.

[anonym00]

They seem like they would be suburbs...

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by anonym00

They seem like they would be suburbs...

If places with 25,000+ people/sq mile are suburban, than Chicago isn't for you. Actually only NYC would work for you in the US.

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by anonym00

They seem like they would be suburbs...

They're not. They certainly aren't right next or even that close to the loop, but using public transportation shouldn't be that bad of a commute.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by anonym00

It's the loop, because of that South Loop sounds like a nice option, but I read that the loop dies after rush hours is it right?
River North looks pretty interesting, especially because of the art galleries, how diversified and expensive are these areas?
And how are their outdoor dining options? I prefer to go dining in international restaurants especially run by families, just because it tastes more like "real" cultural food, instead of an Americanized Cuisine.

River North or the Gold Coast would be the most dense parts of Chicago. IF you wanted a leafier area, Lakeview or Lincoln Park or Wicker Park or even Logan Square. At your income level any of those places will be perfectly fine and unless you really want to live in an immigrant landing neighborhood, there's no reason to consider places like Albany Park or West Ridge just because they have a higher number of Indian residents. River North and the Gold Coast have a relatively high percentage of South Asian residents - around 5%, which isn't exactly high, but is higher than most parts of Chicago. There are a couple of authenticly Indian restaurants in those areas - restaurants which my Indian coworkers approve of - namely India House in River North and Gaylord in the Gold Coast. There are also a lot of high-end non-Indian places. And you can always travel to Devon Avenue to try more small, family-run places with authentic Indian food, or to Chinatown or Bridgeport for Chinese food, or Argyle for Vietnamese food, or Pilsen or the Little Village for Mexican food or the northwest side for Polish food, etc. We're not as diverse as London or New York, and we're less dense so you have to travel a little further for options, but Chicago does have a lot of places to see and visit, which is why Michelin started publishing their Red Guide for Chicago a few years ago.

The Loop, the South Loop and the West Loop are all distinct neighborhoods. The Loop is pretty quiet after about 7pm, but it's not as dead as it used to be. The South Loop has a little more going on, but not as much as River North does. River North, Wicker Park and Lincoln Park/Old Town will be the most lively places, with Lakeview having decent options, too. The West Loop has a decent trendy restaurant district, but it's mostly for high end stuff and not smaller, family-owned places.

Lincoln Park will have the most college-aged people, maybe followed by Logan Square, which is more regular hipster than "business hipster," but does have a lot of young people, then Wicker Park, Bucktown and Lakeview.

I live in River North, and I lived in the Gold Coast when I was about your age and have always been pretty adventurous about getting out into the neighborhoods to see a diverse array of foods and events. The reason I chose the Gold Coast and now River North is that there is a lot to do in the area, they're essentially part of downtown and many of the major events in the summer, transit makes it easy to get to many other places, and the location makes my daily commute to the Loop a breeze, saving a ton of time.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by anonym00

All these places sound amazing, especially the skyline. But I still got an issue, the college crows there is almost non-existing and I really want to make friends who are in my age group.

That's BS - there's a good amount of people in those areas who are just out of college and there's a lot who may not live there, but hang out there who are recently out of college too. The areas are big on dining and nightlife and always have people there of many age groups hanging out. And in the end, traveling to somewhere like Wicker Park from River North won't take long, or even easier if you wanted to hang out in Lakeview or something.

Out of the census tracts south of Chicago Avenue, west of Michigan Avenue, east of the and north of the river, there are 1493 people aged 20-24 living there as of the 2010 Census. If you include the age group of 25-34, that goes up to 9414 people out of 17,892. 53% of residents in that area are between the ages of 20 and 34, and as someone who lives in that general area, I'm pretty sure it's even more today.

If you expand the above out to adjacent neighborhoods - the Gold Coast and Streeterville, then there's 6934 people aged 20-24 in all those areas. And if you include age group of 25-34, then that amount is 28,575 out of 69,249, or 41% of people.

Because of that I was looking around for some college neighborhoods and read some stuff about lakeview and lincoln square. But both of them seem pretty fratty, don't get me wrong I always wear a suit to work but when I go out partying, I'm more the Business Hipster with his skinny khakis, rolled up sleeves, ray ban's, slim fit blazer, Italian oxfords and my golden watch. And what I understood was that people in Lakeview/lincoln square also tend to wear more business clothes but with neither style nor personality.

I think you mean Lincoln Park. Lincoln Square is not fratty, and Lakeview is the 2nd largest neighborhood in Chicago (95,000 people). In no way is the entire thing fratty. The eastern part of Lakeview by the lake is not that fratty and neither is Boystown (the main LGBT part of town which is in Lakeview). By the way you describe yourself, Wicker Park/Bucktown/Ukrainian Village would be an option as I stated in my first post. Still, there's enough people like you in areas like River North and certain parts of Gold Coast (like in the southern part near Chicago Avenue). I am a resident of the Gold Coast near Chicago Avenue. There's a lot of people in their 20s around there and a decent amount of international people too (because the Loyola University law and business schools are near there as well as Northwestern Medical School and hospitals).

[rzzz]

The description of business hipster sounds like a 1980s yuppie. Do 20 year olds really dress like Carlton Banks?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by rzzz

The description of business hipster sounds like a 1980s yuppie. Do 20 year olds really dress like Carlton Banks?

Sometimes...

[anonym00]

First of all, thanks to all of you guys, you really help me out and I really appreciate your help!
2nd: I also get that Chicago isn't as dense as NYC or London, which also has it's benefits like less crowded subways during rush hour (especially London or Shanghai), doesn't smell like pee (Yes Manhattan, I'm talking about you) and it isn't as expensive, as an example my I-banking friends in Murray hill pay more for an ****ty apartment than you would do for an decent on in river north.

Right now it looks like that I would go for an apartment in River North or Wicker Park/Bucktown (I just love the artsy flair).
Or maybe Bucktown/Ukrainian Village/Logan Square (all of them seem like Wicker Park, where is the difference between them?)

And last but not least, Carlton was actually my nickname given me from my brother in law . (But you gotta dress well in any major European city especially Zurich and London)

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by anonym00

Or maybe Bucktown/Ukrainian Village/Logan Square (all of them seem like Wicker Park, where is the difference between them?)