Chicago Location • Page 147

That said, I wanna be so clear that liking your neighborhood and being near public transit are, imo, the most important things. So I guess with that in mind the biggest question is what are you looking for in terms of what's nearby and available to you?

 

I used to work in Niles, there are a lot of nice areas around if you are not set on living in the city.

 

First of all: good luck on the interview! Secondly: Joe Donut in Niles is so good. Cannot recommend enough.

 

Goal of this is to move to the city area, I’m pretty bored living in the suburbs currently. I did some basic searches and it looks like if I could swing like a 45min-1hr commute by car that’s realistic for living further from the job. I’ll be bringing my car with me. Budget I could swing between $2-2500 a month for rent. Just want to be around some fun bars/restaurants really. My dream is to live in a walkable neighborhood where I could walk to a coffee shop which sounds silly but where I live now it’s just a tough ask haha.

 

You could do something like Irving Park or Avondale for easy highway access I would think. That would still give you walkable neighborhoods and train access to downtown. You sacrifice the lake path with that option, but that would be doable.

 

Nah that's valid, like Michael said above Avondale (and by extension but slightly further southeast down Milwaukee Ave, Logan Square) is a great neighborhood with fairly easy access to 90/94.

 

Sorry did I say 90/94 I meant the Edens and the Kennedy please don't come for me

 

And in terms of venues, being in Avondale/Logan gives you easy access to Sleeping Village, Avondale Music Hall, Concord, Sub T, and Chop Shop. Burlington is also easy to get to. Salt Shed would be pretty easy to drive or ride to. Metro would be a rideshare due to limited meter parking and expensive lots. Beat Kitchen would be a drive or ride. House of Blues is an easy train. Cobra Lounge and Bottom Lounge would be pretty easy drives or rides. Lincoln Hall and Reggie's would be pretty annoying to get to I would think.

 

Yeah, the unfortunate tradeoff is that once you pick a cta line to live off of your ability to get anywhere off the other lines tanks unless you're looking to do some bus/train transfers.

THAT SAID, if you're into the idea, I think Chicago is pretty bikeable, and that's my main mode of transport during the nicer months.

 

I think that's the important point to make. In a city this large, everything is a tradeoff. You often have to live in different neighborhoods to realize what you really value the most. Based on the description from Marissa as a potential new resident, I think it's smart and ok to prioritize a commute that they can live with. So highway access and then the walkable neighborhoods that are still fun. Perhaps over time those things change.

 

Thank you all for the input, super helpful!

 

Avondale because it has the best venue in town, Sleeping Village.

Come to Park Ridge if you want to overpay for a pleasantville-like bubble that has regular air traffic noise flying over it. Been here three years and I still can’t believe it exists.

 

I lived in Park Ridge for two years and loved it. We probably would have stayed there if we could have afforded to buy a house near downtown.

 

Definitely agree with what everyone's said so far. I loved being in Logan Square and close to Avondale, so many places to walk to and great coffee shops/restaurants. Plus the Logan Square farmer's market is great (and very crowded) in the summer. You could go further down Milwaukee Ave into Wicker Park or Bucktown, still close to the highway but it would add a little more time to your commute.

 

Should caution that the outbound Kennedy is royally fucked this year due to construction so that will make any commute worse, including on the arterial streets in Chicago to get to the interstate. It is supposed to be over by Thanksgiving but we’ll see.

The inbound Kennedy is always fucked I feel

 

Ha yeah It’s so bad right now

 

For sure. You can’t beat having 3 top tier grocery stores within a mile of your house and walkability to all basic needs plus a metra & CTA stop. But damn the airplane noise just gets me some days.

 

Mariano's to close three Illinois stores by end of August. See where, when

 

This is about Beat Kitchen, the riverwalk location:

 

Was just in Mariano's last night (Elmhurst). They have great clearance on stuff but besides that it always feels pretty empty of customers.

 

Staying at the Warwick in September does anyone have any experience? I’ve seen mixed reviews haha