apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I lived in logan square/west bucktown - it was affordable - but not as much to do as Bucktown/Wicker Park where I live now.

Define affordable! Coming here from NYC, just about every neighborhood is going to have apartments that seem "cheap." IMO:

Oak Park is cool if you've got a family to raise and you want both the white picket fence and excellent Indian food within walking distance.

Wicker Park was cool 10 years ago -- it's getting more and more yuppie every day. Fantastic restaurants though. (Then again, I live in Boystown, which has been and continues to lose its character every day.)

Speaking of Boystown/"East Lakeview": I saw it referred to as "gay fabulous" and I think it still is to some extent. Great local shops, hot restaurants, and most importantly: still supports a huge, independent bookstore. I've got just about everything I could want within a four-block enclave (except an excellent bakery).

Hyde Park: lived there off-and-on for five years. Speaking of bakeries, my favorite is down there: Medici has yummy croissants. A few tasty restaurants, nothing truly excellent (although La Petit Folie aspires to be better than it is), a couple of bars, and oodles of bookstores. It's a lovely, lovely, lovely neighborhood but also boring, boring, boring. I still go back now for Court Theater and the Seminary Co-Op bookstore though.

River North: on the expensive, yuppie side, but oodles of art galleries and fantastic furniture stores.

My vote for "cool"? Logan Square. Sadly, there are also signs of gentrification there, but restaurants run the spectrum, rents are relatively affordable, transportation is fantastic (easy train and expressway access), good people, interesting shops, and some beautiful homes. Palmer Square is a mini-neighborhood within the neighborhood that is worth considering as well.

Also, I've been hearing interesting things about Pilsen, but I'm pretty clueless so with luck, someone else will chime in about it...

Timely post! My husband and I are planning our move to Chicago from San Francisco. We are just starting our hunt for a condo near the lake in Rogers Park, and the prices are making us giddy.

East Pilsen is very affordable with great apartments if you weed through some of the not so nice ones. It's right outside the loop, so if you work downtown you can catch for a 6 minute ride.

Rogers Park! How could I forget! Biggest drawback -- it's a long way from the Loop. But still the most affordable neighborhood north of the Loop on the lake. As long as Heartland Cafe is up there, yuppies will never truly take over... ;)

(FWIW, I'm a self-confessed yuppie who really doesn't want to be one except that I really have expensive taste in restaurants and theater...)

I was just thinking someone should post a map, so I thought I would.

here's a map divided by areas that includes streets:
http://www.dreamtown.com/services/chicago-neighborhood-map.htm

here's a not so good map, but it has rental price ranges:
http://www.apartmentpeople.com/neighborhood.asp#

please only move to logan square if you plan on actuall being part of a NEIGHBORHOOD, and aren't just planning on looking for a sweet apartment to never leave.

i moved to east pilsen a few months ago, after living in uptown, logan square, and wicker-humboldt park. it's rather wunnerful: affordable (lo, if any new yorker could see what we get for 900 a month: 1,300 square feet of hardwood floors, 18 windows, a w/d, open plan) and lively (i.e., lots of mostly hispanic families using their front stoops as living rooms) and located so conveniently it's crazy. and halsted, of course, is an artsy avenue, mostly galleries and podmajersky rehabs.

we just hope the tumbling-down metra tracks keep university village at bay...

I love Edgewater. It's still affordable if you go north of Ridge and / or west of Ashland. It's close to the lake and park. It's on the red line. And there are tons of restaurants, cafes, small local businesses.

For the last four years, I've lived near Ashland and Bryn Mawr. We love the distinct, "local" feel of Andersonville--lots of small business, restaurants, and cafes, as well as the best Middle Eastern bakery around!--but couldn't afford it. So we went a little further north and west, where places were--and are--a little cheaper. Our area is actually a little less dense than Andersonville proper--more single family homes, fewer apartment buildings, which is nice--and it's still an easy 5-10 minute walk to everything on Clark. And, hey, what do you know, the development has begun to follow us! M. Henry's on Clark at Hollywood is one of the best breakfast places in town (long lines at the weekends!) and they recently opened a cafe. I'm not sure what you're looking for, but very nice 2 bedroom condos here sell for around $300,000 with parking; you can rent a similar sized space for about $1,200.

Time for full disclosure: I'm a realtor and would, of course, be more than happy to help you find a place to rent or buy. I recently sold two two bedroom condos on Hollywood, west of Ashland for around $290,000. Here's my e-mail address: Chris@SkillingTeam.com

There are some beautiful leafy streets in the Edgewater Glen area (north of Ridge between Broadway and Clark) where the condo buildings are mixed in with single family homes so it never feels too dense. Broadway has some great restaurants (my favourite is Ethiopian Diamond) and a Dominicks. The El is right the other side of Broadway. And just beyond that on Granville is one of the coolest coffee shops in town: Intelligentsia. (Sadly one of the coolest bookstores around, Left of Center, recently went out of business.)

Typo alert: the coffee house I just mentioned in Edgewater is Metropolis (1039 W. Granville Ave).

Try this handy map from the Trib:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/transactions/chi-pricepulse-chicago,0,1984983.acrobat

I don't want to turn this into a discussion of gentrification, but...While it may be great to move into a "cheap" neighborhood, how will it affect the existing community? How long can the said community sustain "(i.e., lots of mostly hispanic families using their front stoops as living rooms)" if people, who can afford a bit more in either rent or mortgage, continue to move into such areas?

Here's the link, broken up a bit more...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified
/realestate/transactions
/chi-pricepulse-chicago,0,1984983.acrobat

chris - every "where should i live in chicago" discussion eventually turns into talk of gentrification. this is chicago, one of the most seregated cities in america.

for good/bad neighborhood points (which eventually devolves into poor populations being pushed out of neighborhoods), see one of this weeks fuel questions.

Oak Park is lovely, but the property taxes there are HIGH! Probably 70 to 80 percent higher than in Chicago. So unless you have kids and want to take advantage of the OP school system, you may want to save some money and look in the city.

I moved from NYC to Chicago about 5 years ago and lived in the Wicker Park Neighborhood because it reminded me of NYC. Recently, though, we bought a place in Old Town. We found a vintage with the original stained glass and fireplace that we are updating.

Most of Bucktown is being turned into new construction condos but Wicker Park and Ukranian Village as well as Old Town can provide some good finds.

Good luck.

Jen, you are correct. I am certainly one of the pots calling the kettle black, as my wife and I are buying a condo in Albany Park. Basically all I am saying is that if you choose to move into a neighborhood, any neighborhood, be aware of how it may affect the established community. Chicago IS segregated and will continue to become even more so as apts are converted into condos. The issue is which 'hoods are potentially more sensitive to change. Just trying to point out things to keep in mind when choosing a place to live. I am done now, thank you for listening to me ramble.

I live in Ravenswood, and I love it. Nobody's mentioned it yet, so I thought I'd name-drop it too.

Andersonville and Ravenswood are great areas. great local restaurants, treelined streets, near transportation, not SO hot that you have to duke it out with legions of hipsters for an apartment, but solid and very nice. Also nicely located to get all around the city.

My boyfriend and I just relocated to Chicago -- from Columbus, OH -- which made affordability a key factor since we were moving from a town that's below the national average in cost of living. We landed in Rogers Park and are really enjoying it. Close to the lake, nearby public transit, and definitely good space for the money. Lots of refurbished condos and apartments, the old world charm with the mod cons.

I would recommend Chinatown for young creative professionals. There is a ton to do its easy to get downtown (a couple stops on the red line) plus there are some amazing buldings that you can get at a steal. Way more interesting than being in bucktown/wicker park, unless you are really young like 20 and need to be where everyone is.

My second pick would be Hyde Park. Its gorgeous and i disagree with whoever said it was boring. Whatever neighborhood you choose remember that one of the best perks of life in Chicago vs. New York is our lake so don't stray too far west or you'll be missing out. Welcome to the Midwest!

I've lived in Logan Square for a while, and really love it. It's one of the only true "mixed-income" neighborhoods in Chicago, due to the hard work of some great organizations like LSNA, and most people who live there do have a commitment to keeping it so. Something that I think is incredible is that on my street, you have a condo building, apartment buildings, and section-8 housing; and there is a still a real neighborhood feel, even with all these different types of people. I do think gentrification is hurrying up Milwaukee Ave, though. There's been a couple of "hipster" clothing stores opening up on the square.

Another great neighborhood is Lincoln Square. My friends live up there - they have a 2 bdrm plus den for $1300/month. Nice restaurants and parks around there, too.

My personal favorites:

*Ukranian Village - just south of Wicker Park, but still more affordable and less yuppified, tons of gorgeous old buildings and lots of great cafes, restaurants, and shops (Bleeding Heart Bakery, Atomix, Green Zebra, Sprout Home, Ukranian Museum, Tecalitlan).

*edgewater - right next to the lake! affordable, great architecture, not as many hipsters,
probably more child-friendly than ukranian. has many amazing restaurants (at least 2 ethiopian places, metropolis, alice and friends). close to cuteness of andersonville, on the red line. i also heard they are building a trader joes here!

*logan square - my hood! the boulevard is beautiful, and the commute to work downtown on the blue line is great.

No one has mentioned Uptown. I like it here in Uptown/Buena Park. It's just the perfect blend of urban and crazy.

i also agree with reeny about looking at spaces south of the loop, especially if you are looking to buy a place. Chinatown, Pilsen, Little Italy, Bridgeport all seem like places you could find amazing spaces (warehouse lofts, former store fronts) a stones throw from downtown.

i live in edgewater and love it! i rent and get a pretty amazing deal on space for the amount of money i'm paying. i love being close to the lake, the red line, all of the tree lined streets, and a short walk to cute shops and restaurants. the neighborhood is very diverse (age and ethnicity). i find the neighborhood very friendly.

rebecca i also heard about the possible trader joes in edgewater. i heard there is talk of it going into the development at broadway & granville.

If you are renting, you must search chireader.com. If you are buying, try looking at Bronzeville

I just moved to Ravenswood/Andersonville a couple months ago and love it! Good public transportation, not too far north, affordable, not overly commercialized and quiet. Everyone I have met is super friendly. I use to live in Wicker Park and it is definitely getting a little too big for its britches.