Young gay male moving to chicago this summer (Clinton, Roscoe: for rent, condominium)

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by biggestloser

...but if I could pick up and move one of those new south loop buildings to lakeview I would :P. I guess that's just a part of not living downtown?...

There are a few high rises in Lake View. There is one, in fact, that was built within the last 5 years. There are a couple that were rehabbed in the last couple years. There is another that is relatively modern (built in the last 10-15 years.) As far as I know, most of the units in these high rises are condo's however. You may want to look into them further.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by biggestloser

I'll be working near west madison and north clinton st. intersection, if that is helpful information regarding public transit. I haven't really started trying to learn how public transportation works in Chicago, although I probably should get on that.

If you're not planning to drive to work, yeah, you'll want to get on understanding Chicago's public transit before you decide where to live.

Also, Clinton and Madison is not the South Loop, it is the West Loop. The South Loop is, as the name implies, south of the Loop. The West Loop, likewise, is west of the Loop. If you're directionally challenged, you might want to invest in a compass ... ;-)

Originally Posted by biggestloser

...
I've noticed the housing in lakeview/east lakeview is very different from the style of south loop, which seems to include a lot of pretty new buildings that look like they almost have a hotel like feel to them. would anyone happen to know if there are housing options similar to that in the east lakeview area? I've been looking at craigslist for a good while, but haven't been able to find much like that. The housing options that I have seen in the boystown area seem fine, and if nothing else fairly cheap, but if I could pick up and move one of those new south loop buildings to lakeview I would :P.

Why? Part of Lakeview's charm is its old housing stock. Take that away and Lakeview would be dry and sterile and boring. Would the Castro be the Castro if it were torn apart and replaced with a bunch of towers? The reason you don't see those towers in Lakeview is because Lakeview is totally built out - all developable land, with very few exceptions, is developed, so to build a new tower you have to destroy existing buildings.

The majority of the towers in the South Loop are built on former railroad yards, so no existing residential or office buildings had to be torn down to build them. Much of the South Loop is quite literally a completely new neighborhood that has never existed before in Chicago - quite remarkable for a neighborhood adjacent to one of the biggest downtowns in the Western Hemisphere.

Originally Posted by biggestloser

I guess that's just a part of not living downtown?
...

No, it's part of living in an older, built-out neighborhood that hasn't economically collapsed to the point required for it to be economically feasible to tear down existing buildings en masse and start over, nor has it economically exploded to the point that incoming money so far exceeds existing money that it can afford to destroy and recreate. That said, Lakeview is one of the more affluent parts of Chicago.

[Mr Downtown]

Madison/Clinton is a pretty good walk from the Red Line or the express buses, though it's easy to just hop on a westbound bus for those few blocks. The Brown and Purple lines get you a few blocks closer. Your office is only steps from Ogilvie Center, one of the suburban train terminals, but the only North Side stops for that line are not terribly convenient to the neighborhoods you're interested in.

The area within a block of the Boystown strip is primarily vintage three-flats, six-flats, and courtyard buildings. But there are highrises only one more block to the east, along Sheridan Road or Marine Drive. For the most part, they were built in the 1960s, and the blue-hair quotient might be a little high. But you certainly won't be the only young gay man living there. A fair number of gays have started to move into the highrises along Sheridan Road in Edgewater (between Foster and Devon), as well.

[soulful]

Check out the Hawthorne House on N Lake Shore Dr in East Lakeview. It is a highrise apartment building just 3 short blocks east of the bars on Halsted (and only 1 block from Broadway). Plenty of gays live in the building and it has a website: Hawthorne House - Apartments in Chicago

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by emathias

...The majority of the towers in the South Loop are built on former railroad yards, so no existing residential or office buildings had to be torn down to build them.Much of the South Loop is quite literally a completely new neighborhood that has never existed before in Chicago - quite remarkable for a neighborhood adjacent to one of the biggest downtowns in the Western Hemisphere...

Ummm no. These are just a couple examples, but have you ever heard of "Motor Row" or "The Levee?"

================================================== ========================================

"The South Loop was one of Chicago's first residential districts, which recent redevelopment has again transformed into a residential neighborhood."

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohisto...ages/1175.html

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohisto...ages/1304.html

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Ummm no. These are just a couple examples, but have you ever heard of "Motor Row" or "The Levee?"
...

So I played a little loose with the definition of "never." It hadn't been a significant residential area in at least a lifetime. Not to mention, the vast majority of recent building has been on railroad land or long-vacant land. Specifically, the Levee hasn't existed in over 100 years, and since the majority of the "Motor Row" district is south of 18th, I don't think that's really as relevant as you think it is. Plus, a commercial district is not a neighborhood.

The majority of the newest, most luxurious towers in the South Loop are built in Central Station which was either railroad land, or part of a warehouse district. To an outsider, the "South Loop" encompasses Central Station, and since the O.P. specifically mentioned towers I stand by the heart of what I said.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by emathias

No, it's part of living in an older, built-out neighborhood that hasn't economically collapsed to the point required for it to be economically feasible to tear down existing buildings en masse and start over, nor has it economically exploded to the point that incoming money so far exceeds existing money that it can afford to destroy and recreate. That said, Lakeview is one of the more affluent parts of Chicago.

Actually, Lakeview does have plenty of newer housing nowadays... it's just that most of it is in the form of smaller three- or four-story condo buildings as opposed to gleaming new highrises. Those buildings mostly replaced "teardown" single-family houses which in many cases were leaning and falling down, which meant there was no interest in rehabbing them.

Due to these newer condo buildings, some Lakeview blocks, such as Roscoe and Hawthorne between Halsted and Clark Streets, look totally different today than they did even 10-15 years ago.

[biggestloser]

Thanks for the input everyone, this thread is proving helpful. Hopefully we can stay away from conversations about the history of south loop, southloop vs lakeview, the castro (since it was mentioned once), etc. I've noticed a lot of threads on here go downhill when people try to start comparing/defending/bashing different neighborhoods.

Anyway, I checked out google maps to see if I could figure out public transportation, since from what has been mentioned so far it doesn't look like there are many great options in the boystown/east lakeview area. I used the Halsted/Roscoe intersection mentioned in the previous post as a (rough) estimate of a starting place for my commute, and then had it finish at w madison/clinton. Google maps tells me I can take a "bus 8" all the way down halsted, and then walk .3 miles east to get to madison/clinton. The time it would take varies between ~35-40 minutes depend on exactly what time I left (although I haven't explored how different times of day will affect the commute rigorously yet). This seems reasonable to me, what do you guys think? Do you think google maps reported time for the whole commute is accurate?

Any insights/suggestions would be much appreciated. And thanks again for all of the information already given

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by biggestloser

...Anyway, I checked out google maps to see if I could figure out public transportation, since from what has been mentioned so far it doesn't look like there are many great options in the boystown/east lakeview area. I used the Halsted/Roscoe intersection mentioned in the previous post as a (rough) estimate of a starting place for my commute, and then had it finish at w madison/clinton. Google maps tells me I can take a "bus 8" all the way down halsted, and then walk .3 miles east to get to madison/clinton. The time it would take varies between ~35-40 minutes depend on exactly what time I left...

Lake View is one of the best served neighborhoods in the city by the CTA.

What I do when going to that area from Lake View is take the Red Line to Belmont and switch to the Brown Line. I take the Brown Line to Washington and then walk the rest of the way to Madison and Clinton. This is the fastest way 95% of the time.

The other way I go, I take the Red Line to North/Clybourn and switch to the Halsted bus. I get off at Madison and then walk the rest of the way.

If you lived near Halsted and Roscoe you can skip the Red Line altogether by getting on the Brown Line at Belmont. Take it to Washington and then walk to Madison and Clinton. You can get to Madison and Clinton in about a half hour just about anytime day or night, any day of the year, from Lake View using this method.

[Mr Downtown]

I think most Chicagoans would take the Brown Line to Washington/Wells and then walk from there. If you see a bus (any bus) headed west on Madison, you can jump on it. In rush hour, there'll almost always be one approaching the stop when you get downstairs. If you live closer to the Addison or other Red Line stop, you ride one stop and make a cross-platform transfer to a Brown Line train. Get the whole picture here.