I'm not familiar with Silver lake but I can say the best place to live is Lincoln Park/Lakeview area. I live here and I love it. It's close to the lake, ambiance, transportations and the Loop. Welcome to the Midwest and Bring lots and lots of Blankets and Coats.

I lived in Echo Park and visited Chicago several times Logan Square and Wicker Park come to mind. Logan square has great access to public transportation unlike LA.

Definitely look at Wicker Park/Bucktown. Lincoln Park can be a little more family oriented than many 20-somethings are looking for. Wicker Park/Bucktown has a more interesting vibe (in my opinion) - I just moved from that area after living there for 15 years. Its changed a lot (much more gentrified now) and the families are definitely moving in, but it still has an interesting bend to it. Its close to the Blue Line. Wherever you look - make sure you are within walking distance to one of the train lines -- Chicago is very different than LA in that you don't need to drive -- you can take the trains/buses wherever you need to go.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2250525_be-hipster-chicago.html

Since Silverlake/Echo Park/Highland Park are considered to be "hipster neighborhoods" - I came across that website. Looks like Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square and Pilsen all have potential.

check out logan square/humboldt park area. you'd be amazed at how affordable they are in compared to bucktown/wicker park (even though they are mere blocks away from each other). case in point, i moved from my tiny 2 bedroom wicker park apt to a 3 bedroom amazing greystone in humboldt park and pay $475 less in rent. anything you see listed as "west of western ave" means you're not going to pay wicker park prices. yes, hp can be a bit sketchy in areas, but very similar to echo park in that sense. love my neighborhood, love my neighbors. it's a great eclectic mix of hispanic/puerto rican/hipster/hippies. good luck in your search!

So you want to move into an area where totally obnoxious hipsters are pushing out working class queer, Latino/a, and queer Latino/a families who shared neighborhoods like Silverlake and Echo Park for decades? Great.

let me re-phrase the question: "what neighborhood in chicago contains the highest concentration of hipsters?"

RealEstateTherapy.com

But what about the whites that lived in Silver Lake/Echo Park before the Latinos/queers? They were the majority only a few decades ago (and some never left). Such simplistic readings of gentrification (not taking into account swings in the other direction) really annoy me. And no, it's not always about race - there are plenty of neighborhoods in my East Coast hometown (and others) where large houses once owned by the white middle/upper class are carved up into apartments now inhabited by the type of people generally referred to as "white trash."

Aagghh I miss Chicago. I lived in the Lakeview area and I loved it. Super convenient to public transportation, close to the Lake, close to Wrigley Field, tons of cute shops and cafes scattered around. Lincoln Park is also really nice - some REALLY fantastic architecture.

If you know where you're working, I'd recommend checking convenient L trips - Lincoln Park is convenient to the Brown Line, but it would take forever to go north on the Red Line, etc.

Wicker Park/Bucktown and buy your new furniture at Post 27. miss it, miss it.

I've never been to a lot of Chicago neighborhoods but I would recommend these:

Lincoln Park
Lakeview
Wicker Park
Bucktown
Andersonville (in Edgewater)
South Loop

Some people would stay away from the southside 'hoods.

I want to echo what ekg said about the el. Make sure that wherever you live you're within walking distance from an el stop. I now live in San Diego but I've lived in Rogers Park, Edgewater, Wrigleyville/Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Lincoln Park and Logan Square. Of those, my faves were Wrigleyville, Roscoe Village and Lincoln Park. However, in Roscoe Village we were (a freezing cold) nine blocks from the el and it sucked!

Bucktown/Wicker Park is the only way to go! Hip with tons of great shops and restaurants, especially around the intersection of Damen North Avenues. It's pretty gentrified now (as is much of Chicago), but it still has a lot of character and bohemian types.

Skip Lakeview/Lincoln Park. Overpriced beyond belief (studios at $750?!!).

Seriously? Stay away from the south side? Sure, there are dangerous parts of any major city, but you're actually more likely to get mugged or sexually assaulted in Lakeview, Wrigleyville, or Rogers Park than you are where I live in Bridgeport (just south of Chinatown). Really not trying to make a judgement here, but I'm tired of people asking if I live in a "war zone" and if I'm afraid to walk home alone at night. Most of my neighborhood is duplexes or single family homes, lots of cops and firefighters live there, holdovers from when the first mayor Daley lived in the area.

For the original question-asker, I'd say think outside the box. I get an apartment easily twice as big as most of my friends' for less money, well within walking distance of the train and tons of buses. With Lakeview and a lot of the other neighborhoods listed above you'll get the "hipster tax" on top of your rent. If you really want northside, I would say try for something a little further west. I know the lake is nice, but you're paying a huge premium to live near the water, and traffic (public transit, walking, or auto) is a bitch and a half in the summer the closer you are to the water.

I live in Chicago and enjoy it a lot and used to live in LA. Wicker Park/Bucktown are the closest to Silver Lake for sure. However, it really depends on where you are going to be working/spending most of your time etc... Chicago has public transit that is great, but also can take forever depending on where you start from and where you need to get to. If you are bringing a car, this isn't as big of a deal. I could never live in Bucktown because it would take me an hour or more to get to work, so I live in Lakeview, off the Red Line. Welcome to Chicago! Don't order ketchup on your hot dog or we'll judge you harshly :)

this is interesting, as an outsider.

PILSEN. Is where you NEED to live. TRUST. I'm from Chicago and I live in SILVER LAKE now. It's PILSEN my love. All the way. Very Echo Parky and not on top of everything but close enough.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_West_Side,_Chicago

People don't know about it yet 'cause it's all the new "up and coming" type thing.

I lived in LA and currently live in Chicago. From what I can tell, you'll want to look into Roscoe Village, Logan Square, Wicker Park/Bucktown, Pilsen, East Rogers Park (Glenwood Ave) & West Town/Ukranian Village.

Chicago is much different than LA. Truth is you will not find something like Silverlake here, it's just different. There's a lot to take into consideration (transportation, proximity to lake & downtown), so make a friend in town, have them take you around, and figure out where you feel most at home.

Best of luck.

wherever you end up, if you have a car aim for off street parking, especially covered. parking in chicago neighborhoods is a bitch and a half. in the winter you'd kill for a covered space. you can spend half your life scraping snow off your car and shoveling around it.

and get thee to the wiener circle. i'd kill for one of their dogs. and i don't eat meat. except theirs. can't help it.

yeah, i'd trust the person who said pilsen. i haven't lived in chicago since 2003, but i have a gut feeling pilsen's what you're looking for. i'd say humboldt park is a close second. i lived at division st & california ave. back then i can't say that i felt safe at night, but otherwise i loved it. the problem with humboldt park is there's no el stop nearby. pilsen has one though.

other neighborhoods you'd probably find bearable: ukranian village, edgewater, little village, uptown, logan square, probably some cool neighborhoods on the southside that i don't know about.

i'd stay away from bucktown (too gentrified) and wicker park (the hipsters took over 10 years ago; it feels very stale and overrun).

you definitely do NOT want lincoln park, old town, wrigleyville, lakeview, or ravenswood.

I went to Chicago in March and wanted to check out Bucktown cause it sounded fun. Took the blue line and wandered about and all I saw was crappy furniture stores, dollar stores, the odd gallery and really not much else. It wasn't gentrified, not saucy or trashy - it was just blah blah blah. Did I miss something?!

I used to live in Echo Park (I miss Taco Zone) before moving to DC last fall. Before LA I lived in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Hyde Park is very different from Echo Park in terms of aesthetics, but in terms of amenities kind of similar. Very diverse because of Univ. of Chicago in the neighborhood, lots of book stores where you can nerd out (Seminary Coop), variety of neighborhood restaurants (Florian, Snail, Ribs & Bibs, Calypso, Pizza Capri) and bars, art stuff (Hyde Park Art Center, Renaissance Society, Smart Museum, etc.). Depending on where you live, getting downtown on the bus (#6) or the Metra commuter train is easy, but you might like to have a car there as well for groceries and other shopping. Good luck!

Humboldt, Logan Square, Pilsen (in no particular order). All others listed are unaffordable, especially if you're living solo. Of those I listed, Logan and Pilsen are closest to public transit, but all can be sketchy in their own ways and in certain parts.

Cute comments about hipsters and gentrification, though, commenters. Keep it classy!

awww, latino and gay here. loved silverlake, echo park, and los feliz in the 90s. glad i left it in 2001. i go back quite frequently, but boy has it changed. gone are the real trend setters, left are nothing but wanna be cooler than thou. sorry silverlakers of today, you have no idea what it was like to live there in the 90s. with my little rant, i am glad to be moving back to los angeles this fall, where to in l.a.? not sure yet. but somewhere where there are not any hipsters or posers, so no to silverlake.

It's hard to compare the two because Chicago and L.A. are so different. I think a good starting point would be the Bucktown / Wicker Park area. It's been the most established "hipster" area in Chicago for a while. Because of the gentrification there's been a bit of an exodus to Lincoln Square (to the North). The big difference is that unlike Silver Lake these areas don't really have a gay presence. The closest gay version is probably Andersonville, as Boystown (Lakeview) has a more "New York" feel.

Anybody who would compare Lincoln Park to Silverlake/Echo Park cannot possibly have been to either. They are opposite ends of the spectrum - Lincoln Park is either very wealthy lawyers/finance types living in multimillion dollar townhouses, or blond, blue-eyed young adults who were in a fraternity/sorority at their Big 10 university, got their MBA and are having fun in the big city for a few years before they meet a mate and swim back out to the suburbs from whence they came, in order to spawn.

Wicker Park has been the default hipster neighborhood for a while but last time I was there (last year) it was well into becoming Lincoln Park West.

I'm inclined to go with the people who say Pilsen, Logan Square or Humboldt Park.

Sounds like Bucktown is where you need to go.

I've only lived in Lakeview (East and West), and I would never leave. I absolutely love my neighborhood.

I live in Roscoe Village and love it. The walk to the el is nice exercise in good weather... and for the other 8 months of the year (heh) I take the bus. The new Bus Tracker technology is AWESOME. No more waiting out in the cold, you can text or check on your computer to see when your bus will be at your stop.

I also recommend Lincoln Square. You can still get a great deal on an apt there, and it's convenient to the Brown Line. Plus, some great new restaurants, fun bars, cute shops and cafes. Lots of young people in both of these neighborhoods, but fewer hard-partying 23 year olds.

Whichever neighborhood you pick, you'll become loyal and tell people it's the only place to live and every other place doesn't compare. So be open-minded and look at everything. Although, kander63 did give you a pretty accurate assessment. So funny. But seriously, if you start generalizing, you might miss out on a good thing. Chicago neighborhoods are all pretty diverse.

P.S. I love Bucktown/Wicker Park (and Old Town!), but I'm also starting to love Lincoln Square and Andersonville.

P.P.S. @limerick: Where on earth *were* you???? OMG, you missed EVERYTHING!

I live in West Town (Noble Square). Slowly gentrifying but still has an eclectic mix of neighbors and has a homey vibe on the side streets. No douche bags and small percentage of hipsters. If you are use to eating Mexican food regularly (like me, lived in Phoenix), there are plenty of places nearby. Enough restaurants/bars/coffee shops to keep you happy. Close enough to Wicker Park/Bucktown to do some shopping, hear some music at bars, and wait 2 hours at a brunch place :) Only 7 minutes on train to downtown, perfect if you work/go to school downtown. I live in a 2bd greystone with views of the skyline for $900. In Wicker Park that would cost you at least $1400.

I lived in Logan Square as well. Beautiful neighborhood. Lived in a 3 bd with deck and backyard for $1000. Depending on where you live in Logan Square (it's a huge neighborhood) you may not be close to many restaurants etc. If you have a car or bike regularly then it shouldn't be a problem. Plus the long walk to the train in the winter was rough. Make sure you make a note of how close you are to the train.

I enjoy hanging out in Wicker Park/Bucktown but prefer to live on the outskirts a bit. There are plenty of nice neighbors surrounding that area. I suggest any neighborhood off the Blue Line between the Grand stop and the Logan Square stop. Lincoln Park is definitely a no go. Lakeview is nice but too close to Wrigleyville for my comfort. Pilsen is a great neighborhood but again have to make note how close you are to the train. It can be a bit of a pain to get there, especially from Wicker Park area.

Good Luck!!!

wow - there's a lot of silverlake resident haters on here. just because i'm a white artist who wears glasses automatically makes me a hipster eh? keep on hating then.

Maybe you should share what you like about your neighborhood and it will help people to know which Chicago neighborhoods to recommend!