Question (Chicago, Lincoln, Manhattan: neighborhoods, living in, moving to)

[mrtzhenrriquez]

Okay, so to some of you this may be a dumb question, but I am from New York City where the City is broken up in to Boroughs (Queens, Bklyn, Staten Island, Bronx & Manhattan). Here they call Manhattan the City (we rarely call it Manhattan). I was just wondering if Chicago is the same way or is it just considered the City and places like downtown, Southside, Northside are just considered Neighborhoods in that City.

I am asking this question because when I tell people that I am moving to Chicago, they ask if my place is in the City and I really don't know what to say.

BTW, I will be living in Lincoln Park.

Thanks!

[long101]

yea your in the city and then we just have different neighborhoods. IE lincoln park, lakeview, rogers park, ect.... Northside, westside or whatever are just the areas of the city. I guess you can look at it however you want but its all in the "city"

[Attrill]

Lincoln Park is the city, it is a neighborhood within the city of Chicago. Chicago doesn't really have anything like the boroughs in NY.

One thing to be aware of when people are discussing neighborhoods is the difference between a community area and a neighborhood. Community areas are very well defined, and encompass nieghborhoods - i.e. Bucktown is a neighborhood in the Logan Square community area, Wicker Park is a neighborhood in the West Town community area. This can lead to some confusion in discussions, especially when West Town and Logan Square are also frequently used to describe neighborhoods.

[mrtzhenrriquez]

Thanks so much!!! this is good to know!

[Johnny Northside]

Yes, Lincoln Park the community area is a wide area that includes many smaller neighborhoods that you may also identify -- Old Town, Ranch Triangle, DePaul, etc., as "home." The Lincoln Park neighborhood is one of these, but the boundaries are fuzzy. When I think of Lincoln Park the neighborhood, I envision Clark Street from where it borders the park at LaSalle up to Diversey. There is also the park named Lincoln Park, which is on the eastern edge of the Lincoln Park community area, but also stretches further north beyond Foster Avenue. By the time the current market meltdown ends, this Lincoln Park will have a large influx of new residents, as well. Benches will be going for 5 cigarettes a night, and more permanent sheltered spots under the footbridges and elsewhere will command a greater return -- bullets, alcohol, etc.

[lincolnparker]

Well, there is a reason for it. I mean for why people think of the City as Manhattan instead of other boroughs. Look at the letters the USPS sends out and delivers. For the ones going to Manhattan, its "New York, New York " For the ones going to Brooklyn, its "Brooklyn, New York" so that means Brooklyn is not New York city.

Originally Posted by mrtzhenrriquez

Okay, so to some of you this may be a dumb question, but I am from New York City where the City is broken up in to Boroughs (Queens, Bklyn, Staten Island, Bronx & Manhattan). Here they call Manhattan the City (we rarely call it Manhattan). I was just wondering if Chicago is the same way or is it just considered the City and places like downtown, Southside, Northside are just considered Neighborhoods in that City.

I am asking this question because when I tell people that I am moving to Chicago, they ask if my place is in the City and I really don't know what to say.

BTW, I will be living in Lincoln Park.

Thanks!

[Thepreacherswife]

I know several folks who only consider "the city" to be those parts of the city that lie close in (e.g. west to Racine, north to Fullerton, south to Roosevelt). For them, a neighborhood like mine (Albany Park, about halfway from the loop to O'Hare) might as well be part of Wisconsin or on the moon. Sort of the way lots of Chicagoans consider anything outside the city limits to be "downstate".