Moving to Chicago From LA (Skokie, Lincoln: 2015, lease, condos)

[BRenae010]

Hello,

I'm moving from Chicago from LA next month and one job that I'm very interested in & interviewing for is located in Lincolnwood. I'd been looking into living in the Lakeview or Wrigleyville area, so I'm just wondering if the commute from those areas to Lincolnwood is reasonable or totally out of the question. It doesn't seem like a far distance but couldn't determine if Lincolwood was public trans friendly.
I did some searching & I didn't see much mention of the Lincolnwood-area anywhere, but I aplogoize if it is a repeat!

As a 27 year old single female, I would prefer to live in the city for the nightlife, bars, restaurants, etc. Most everyone that I know in Chicago lives in the Lincoln Park, Lakeview, or River North areas & I will likely be living by myself. I do have a car, although my lease ends in March & I was planning to just go car-less after that. Just trying to get a bit of perspective...

Any info or feedback is helpful!

[compactspace]

Well, I guess it depends on where in Lincolnwood your job is. If it's on the Western end you can take the Metra and walk a little. In that case, it might be worth considering the Loop, lower River North or River West so you can walk to Union Station. Note that Metra lets you take your bike on (IIRC) so that might work out for you in much of Lincolnwood in all but the coldest months.

If it's on the Eastern side then things will be tougher. In that case you might want to consider Lakeview and a ride up the Red line to, probably, Rogers Park. From there it's a long bike ride or an Uber.

That's most of what I got

[Nikemikey]

You're better off with a car. Lincolnwood doesnt really have public transportation. If you lived in Lakeview and took public transportation to Lincolnwood you're looking at 40min to an hour. If you drove maybe 30min to 40min(with traffic). And once you get to Linconwood there is no traffic so you can drive to Skokie and etc for lunch.

I lived and worked in the area before so any question let me know

[steeps]

Good luck... Chicago is a Great city. But sorry you will be going from 70s 80s to 30s 40s and lower at night. Then many times 20s or less in January. Just no Slow change to adjust too by seasons..... what I mean. But by Spring it gets better and Summer but for days of highest humidity.... its more like LA. But no Sun every single day for weeks.

For Lincoln Park and Lakeview and Wrigleyville part of Lakeview has a lot of Apt. Condos. Might be more Male oriented for its Sports scene? the Beaches and jogging bike paths are walking distance. From these North Shore Neighborhoods. Chicago Beaches are great for being 1000-miles from a Ocean. No cliffs or surfing. But Blue waters still.

If others from LA made the adjustment .... you will too. The neighborhoods mentioned are great. But even better in summer when everything in neighborhoods are Green and Lush again. Plenty of Life and things High-End around.

No doubt will be a bit of a shock at first BECUSE of the weather.....Chicago reminds my favorite city.

[tollfree]

If you're coming from LA - prepare for cold & boredom.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

If you're coming from LA - prepare for cold & boredom.

Boredom? There's a million things to do in Chicago!

[jwuk45]

Yeah, I don't get why cold would equal boredom. It's not that bad anyway. It's going to be warm and sunny next week, in November!

[chet everett]

Technically speaking, there are a handful of industrial parks in Lincolnwood that are actually a reasonably short walk from the "Yellow Line" that terminates in Skokie. I can attest to the fact that this is far from an ideal situation as it turns a about a 25-minute drive into about an hour long transit ordeal that involves transferring to / from the Yellow Line at Red Line stop and/or bus ride if you are not walking distance from the Red Line. The Yellow Line has a nasty habit of skipping stops and that really throws a monkey wrench for anybody on a reverse commute... Car gives one a whole lot more flexibility.

Lincolnwood is mostly safe and has pleasant enough mix of older folks and some younger immigrants trying to raise their families but I completely agree that the OP would find lots more people her age / background in Lincoln Park or Lakeview.

There is no shortage of females in either Lakeview of Lincoln Park and anybody that tries to paint either area as some kind of "boys only" sports bar scene is badly out of touch with the real situation in these areas. There is no reason to confuse the north side neighbors with the North Shore suburbs, nor would it make any sense for the OP to consider living in any suburban area with the goals stated.

[ToriaT]

Keep your car. YOu will be unhappy without it. I suggest you move to an area such as Lincoln Square. Its an easier distance to LIlncolnwood, its safer, cheaper and its easy to get to the hot spots in the other areas.

[steeps]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Technically speaking, there are a handful of industrial parks in Lincolnwood that are actually a reasonably short walk from the "Yellow Line" that terminates in Skokie. I can attest to the fact that this is far from an ideal situation as it turns a about a 25-minute drive into about an hour long transit ordeal that involves transferring to / from the Yellow Line at Red Line stop and/or bus ride if you are not walking distance from the Red Line. The Yellow Line has a nasty habit of skipping stops and that really throws a monkey wrench for anybody on a reverse commute... Car gives one a whole lot more flexibility.

Lincolnwood is mostly safe and has pleasant enough mix of older folks and some younger immigrants trying to raise their families but I completely agree that the OP would find lots more people her age / background in Lincoln Park or Lakeview.

There is no shortage of females in either Lakeview of Lincoln Park and anybody that tries to paint either area as some kind of "boys only" sports bar scene is badly out of touch with the real situation in these areas. There is no reason to confuse the north side neighbors with the North Shore suburbs, nor would it make any sense for the OP to consider living in any suburban area with the goals stated.

Since this highlighted post was a reference to me..... It was merely a mention... But in ACTUAL DEMOGRAPHICS IN 2015. This sight has a MENTION of the Male vs. Female population of ....WRIGLEYVILLE SECTION ( just one aspect of the Whole neighborhood of Lakeview it is in)

Wrigleyville Subdivision, Chicago, IL - Lifestyle and Demographics - Realtor.com® sight it is from...⤵

In Wrigleyville, the male-to-female ratio is 2,039:1,590, which is 29% higher than the ratio of North Side, which is 151,851:153,092. Age demographic data is sourced from census, 2015.

Male to Female Ratio of ALL LAKEVIEW NEIGHBORHOOD... that has Wrigleyville one it is.....

Lakeview, Chicago, IL - Lifestyle and Demographics - Realtor.com® sight it is from.... ⤵

In Lakeview, the male-to-female ratio is 47,130:46,938, which is 5% higher than the ratio of Chicago Metro, which is 4,685,412:4,887,934. Age demographic data is sourced from census, 2015.

So there is Statistics that say nearly 1/3 more males in Wrigleyville. Then Rest of the North Side. But no one is saying a shortage of Females. A decent lower % apparently in Wrigleyville section of Lakeview.....

There it is Chet... But thanks for keeping the thread positive.

ALL Lakeview and Lincoln Park are my FAVORITE NEIGHBORHOODS. So OP is fine in any part of these Neighborhoods. With DePaul University there. There is Student housing there too.