Chicago
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- plash0
10% sales tax on everything and our governor's in jail...
- 15% in the loop. fuck that.studderine
- necroposter.bigtrick
- flavorful0
I'll be in Chicago the last weekend of FEB, first weekend of MAR to see the Penguins beat up on the Blackhawks (they play FRI, Feb 28).
More information to follow.
As you were.
- studderine0
considering illinois is ranked 6th in state corruption...sure why not! i moved here from arizona almost a year ago and i am still adjusting. everything costs so much...its quite crazy.
- 3point141590
By far the best city in the U.S. I have traveled to every American city atleast three times, and I keep going back to Chicago a tleast twice year!
- plash0
everyone has a DUI .. it's fashionable
- identity0
Just got a job in Chicago - moving there by the 9th... who are the QBNers living in Chicago?
- coco_ono0
a foodie's heaven...lots to do, some great bars, great book stores, and the lake is nice. The doggie beach is fun to watch. I love chicago a lot more now then i did then.
- Lifeinvector0
I lived there for 3 years & it's a wonderful city, but that's all relative. I moved to Denver right afterwards & fell in love even more.
- mg330
identity,
Give us some details: Age, Sex, are you single, what are you into, do you have a car?
Those are key questions for picking a neighborhood here.
Personally, I am in Lakeview; I'm not single but if I were this is exactly where I'd want to be. Most mid-20s, early 30s here are working professionals, lots of good looking girls in this area and it is generally very safe. Lots of great restaurants (I'm speaking specifically the area north of Diversey, south of Addison, east of Clark) some good bars, and close to transportation.
Should you be working downtown, that area of Lakeview has 2 busses that go straight downtown, and is a quick walk to either the Diversey, Wellington, or Belmont El Stop (and Belmont is a Red Line, Brown Line, Purple Line stop). Less than a half mile from the lake is a huge plus - it's all parks along there, jogging, biking trail, etc. I love it.
I love it here and, until I'm married (currently engaged, but no plans yet) I will stay in this area. I love it. Hell, if this alone sells you let me know and I will give you my leasing company's phone number, because they are one of the best around.
Areas to avoid (and sorry if I offend anyone!)
Humboldt Park: promise of cheap huge apartments with gangs, very limited transportation (bus routes, yeah, but fuck a bus everyday) crime, all sorts of stuff like that. Put it this way: the further west of Western you get the more desolate it gets in terms of being around anything that you would enjoy.
Wicker Park / Bucktown: I have nothing wrong with these areas and spend plenty of time around there. I just like being on the east side of town. Once you're in an area you find that you don't get to other areas as much (as least I'm guilty of that) - I know very few friends that live in that area who ever go to the lake or the area I'm in. There are lots of students, artists, musicians in the Wicker Park area - it's a cool area with some good shopping and restaurants, I just would't want to live off the Blue Line.
I first lived in Logan Square for about 3 years, then around the Irving Park Brown Line stop, then current area for 3 years. I just know that from experience, unless you live near a big combination of things you like, you really won't get around to enjoy those things continuously in different parts of town. I'm just speaking from experience. Especially when winter rolls around, all you want to do is get home from work and stay warm - so it's a plus to have good stuff around you and not live in the middle of nowhere.
If you want more info just let me know.
- 25/m/single/have car
Thanks for all the info! I'm crunching numbers and looking online - trying to see what works!identity
- 25/m/single/have car
- nadnerb0
here are my opinions which most likely are skewed somehow, but I will pretend to actually know what I'm talking about.
I live in Albany Park which is adjascent to Lincoln Square. It's boring, not much in the immediate vicinity, mostly families, very "mixed" (I'm one of about 4 white people here) but there are lots of cheap super nice apartments. The neighborhood is one big gut rehab. Tons of really cheap mexican produce, and an AMAZING sushi place. It ain't bad. And it's close to the train which is just a few stops from lincoln square.
lincoln square/ravenswood is safe, the brown line is right there, lots of shopping, restaurants and things to do, almost all bases are covered besides live music venues. One of the better neighborhoods here IMO. People are I guess hip-ish but more families etc. . . my friend has dubbed the vibe "hipster-to-beaver".
I too like Wicker Park but maybe wouldn't live there. Expensive hipsterville.
Lakeview yes.
I hear bad things about Rogers Park from people who don't live there, and great things from people who do.
Logan Square - there's a good area and a bad one. As mg33 said, be as east as possible, in general.
Uptown is ok, tons of good restaurants.
There are actually decent areas of Pilsen.
Stay the fuck OUT of Wrigleyville unless you're a frat douch.They had to invent a new word for the extent of racial separation here: hyper-segregation. Barriers are close and very defined in general. Also you can suddenly end up in a very bad neighborhood if you go 3 blocks in the wrong direction.
- Ruffian0
Any good apartment hunting sites for Boston? I might be moving back to the states in a year and might move to Boston. Will see.
- identity0
thanks for all the tips guys - was up there last weekend to interview/get the job and did a bit of looking around - on first impression the city is AMAZING, seemed like nothing but nice people!
My job is going to be outside the city a bit - so I need to take that into consideration too - driving an hour+ to work in the morning and night will probably wear on my soul... What are your thoughts on Arlington Heights?
- quit now. I did the commute to the burbs for 8 months. not worth it.rosem
- Amicus0
the Font is absolutely deplorable.
- mg330
So you're not exactly working IN Chicago?
That changes things a bit. What suburb will you be working in?
I know some people who do the reverse commute. Driving anywhere of distance is a bitch, but worth it if you can do so AND/OR have a train station nearby.
Think of it this way: If you can live in the city and near the highway, you are at least in the city. The drive will get old for sure, but, no offense to Arlington Heights, there is nothing there for a single 25 year old. You may as well move to a corn field in Nebraska. It's the suburbs, that's about all there is to it. You will rarely make your way down to Chicago as much as someone your age should or would hopefully want to.
You should see if there's a Metra station near where you'll be working. If not, AND you want to live in the city and drive, I'd just look closer to the Kennedy expressway so you are close to an on ramp The "Old Irving" area around Irving Park and the Kennedy is a nice area. There's a Blue Line stop there to get downtown if you want, and that line also goes through Wicker Park for some nightlife.
- boobs0
Chicago's great! You don't have to live like a rat, like in New York. And people there don't think they're so wonderfully fucking special, like in San Francisco.
- bigtrick0
arlington heights! haha, you're fucked. that is ass-far from the actual city of chicago, which is where all the good stuff is at. welcome to anysuburb, USA. i hope you like the mall, because that's where people go to have fun.
more seriously - you have two choices - live in the burbs, drive into the city to have fun, and thus suffer the tedium of not having anything to do on weekday nights unless you fancy a 45m drive back from the bar/show/whatever downtown, or live downtown and suffer a hellish commute every day. arlington heights is pretty far out there.
the only thing i go to arlington heights for is mitsuwa:
http://www.mitsuwa.com/tenpo/cic…...and that's it.
sorry to break it to you like this, but that is a shitty location to work in for a 25/m/single person.
- mg330
Ah shit! Mitsuwa! Been meaning to go out there for 3 years now since I was in Tokyo. I hear they have Tako Yaki there - breaded octopus dumplings!
But what bigtrick said is pretty right-on. Sorry to be party poopers identity, but that's kind of your option.
A 25 year old guy in the suburbs... you'll be 40 in a week.
- rosem0
yeah, if I wasn't living/freelancing downtown, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near Chicago — one big traffic jam.