Diversified neighborhood for college grad (Chicago, Fulton: apartment complex, rentals, how much)

[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

[ToriaT]

Where will you be working? Its important to know that. If you are working downtown in the "loop" or near that, you could live in River North, or South Loop. There are some high rises there and the area is nice.

[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.

[Vlajos]

River North would be a good option.

[anonym00]

I just informed myself a little bit about river north and it seems that a 3k apartment in river north would be wort 1k in lakeview (at least that was an example which I found), since I got raised with a welfare equivalent, I tend to be really "careful how I spend my money". While I don't have a problem with paying a little bit more, that kind of difference between that neighborhoods seem outrageous, for that money I could have gotten an apartment in murray hill, NY.

[pidgeon92]

This is a good website for finding walkable neighborhoods:

Apartments and Rentals - Find a Walkable Place to Live

[marothisu]

River North, Gold Coast, or possibly Wicker Park are my suggestions. River North and Gold Coast are both considered downtown because of their high rises. Wicker Park isn't but it's walkable, more low rise, a lot going on, and easy to get to the Loop. River North may be my #1 suggestion for you though.

As long as you don't have a ridiculous amount of debt, you could live in any neighborhood in Chicago on $140K/year.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by anonym00

I just informed myself a little bit about river north and it seems that a 3k apartment in river north would be wort 1k in lakeview (at least that was an example which I found), since I got raised with a welfare equivalent, I tend to be really "careful how I spend my money". While I don't have a problem with paying a little bit more, that kind of difference between that neighborhoods seem outrageous, for that money I could have gotten an apartment in murray hill, NY.

$3K apartment in River North worth $1K in Lakeview? Fat chance of that. If you're talking about 1 bedroom apartments, there are not that many at the $3000/month level in all of Chicago. Just a few. You can bump that down to $2000 and still live in a nice apartment complex with doorman, pool(s), and a gym and live in relative luxury. You can go even lower - my building in Gold Coast charges about $1400/month for its 1 bedrooms including a gym and 24 hour door staff and 24 hour maintenance. Not luxury but very convenient and not bad at all.

If you want to save money then yeah, go to somewhere like Lakeview or many other neighborhoods. Lakeview is nice, but less international feeling than somewhere like River North or Gold Coast.

[YoChicago]

West Loop and Fulton River District are also popular, viable choices with a number of luxury high-rises well within the amount you can comfortably afford to spend.

You'll find detailed, objective reviews of all of the River North, West Loop and Fulton River District high-rises at YoChicago (my site).

[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.
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.
They simply don't care how they look like as long they have a suit, I know it doesn't sound like a "real" problem,
but it can be pretty annoying when people ask you all the time from where you got your stuff or even get jealous at you. (It happened quite a bit in St Louis and Minneapolis)
Also many sources which I found, tend do describe it more like a suburban life than a city life (I hate suburban, or in general everything which is rural).
Because of all that I think that Warwick/Bucktown would be a better choice for me since it's still downtown and has many college grad's. I would also give up living in a high rise, as long my apartment would be still high enough to see the skyline.
What do you guys think?