Help with a move... please :) (Chicago, Des Plaines: apartments, rentals, houses)

[suite1718]

Hey everyone! I've been reading these boards recently while trying to decide on a place to relocate. I've been offered a job at an IT staffing company in Des Plaines, and was told that Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and Wrigleyville were good choices for renting (yes, I'm the stereotypical recent college grad ).

I visited the area for St Patty's Day and really enjoyed it. However while looking online at apartments, I've been somewhat lost as to what the actual best location is for this area (I only know the main steets so I'm having trouble with the locations of the rentals). Does anybody have advice on specific buildings or streets?

I'm debating between a management job in Des Moines, IA and this job in Chicago (starts very low pay but good advancement opportunity). I've been impressed with the knowledge of some of the posters on here so I'd also like to ask for general info: is it worth taking the plunge in the first place? What are the good bars, eateries, shops, and activites in this area?

I would greatly, greatly appreciate any info from fellow Midwesterners. I'm very excited at the idea of trying out Chicago, just hoping to get some info before committing. Thanks so much!!!

[Drover]

There are so many good bars and restaurants that it's hard to say. The sheer variety of themes at the bars and restaurants is tough to beat. Want salsa music? There's bars/clubs for that. Want German bars? Got plenty. Polish bars? Plenty of those too. Irish bars? You can barely throw a rock in any direction in most of the white parts of Chicago without hitting one. Dance club type bars? Check. Shot-and-a-Bud dive bars populated with Blue Collar TV fans? Got those too. Martini bars, wine bars, craft/import beer bars, sports bars, karaoke bars, piano bars, jazz bars, blues bars, reggae bars, cigar bars, hookah bars (though those may become a thing of the past with all the smoking ban proposals floating about), whatever. If it exists, we have it.

Restaurants? We've got everything from $200 per plate five-star restaurants serving multi-course meals to greasy spoons that dish up giant hamburgers and a side of fries for four bucks, and everything in between. The city is particularly known for steak and pizza, and more broadly, Italian. We've got everything else too. Mexican, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, East African, West African, Peruvian, Indian, Guatemalan, Cuban, Korean, Romanian, Hungarian, French, Vietnamese, fusion French/Vietnamese, barbecue, pancake/waffle houses, seafood, anything you can imagine and probably lots of things you haven't.

Quite frankly, this city is just way, way, way too big to be able to intelligently answer broad questions like "best bars" or "best restaurants" or advice on particular streets -- especially since a given street can go from nice neighborhood to crappy neighborhood back to nice neighborhood again in a mile or less. But generally speaking, you almost can't go wrong with Lincoln Park, Lakeview or Wrigleyville (which is actually a sub-section of Lakeview). Pretty much every corner, nook and cranny of all of those places are thoroughly gentrified and as safe as you're going to get as far as big-city living goes. Not surprisingly, with the exception of the Gold Coast/River North, they're also the most expensive places to live.

[suite1718]

Yeah, I had a feeling that my questions were pretty broad. Definitely appreciate the response - your answer was exactly the reason I asked. When I was visiting there were so many bars and shops on each street that I figured I'd need to do some research to figure out the best place to locate.

Thanks.

[Drover]

Well the good news is that all the "hip" neighborhoods are pretty well internconnected with one another via public transportation. For instance, the Andersonville, Uptown, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Club District, Rush Street and River North night spots are all connected to each other via the Red Line. Bucktown and Wicker Park are right next to Lincoln Park and a short bus ride away. The Brown Line also connects the Lincoln Square nightlife district to all of the places along the Red Line, since the Red and Brown lines eventually converge. The one neighborhood that is most central to all the North side nightlife areas is Lincoln Park. From there you can take the Red Line north to Lakeview, Uptown and Andersonville, south to the Night Club (North and Clybourn) corridor, Rush Street and River North; you can take the Brown Line south to River North or west to West Lakeview and Lincoln Square; and as mentioned, the Bucktown/Wicker Park area is a short bus ride away via the Armitage or Fullerton buses. From there you can catch the Blue Line up to Logan Square, which isn't so much a nightlife area but there are a lot of sharp restaurants and a local indie-rock venue there.