Moving

[Vote4Pedro]

So I've never lived in chicago or the suburbs, made trips all the time but thats about it....anyways im getting ready to move that way here soon and was wondering if any of you guys would give me some advice on where to look for a place. as far as like what areas are good and what is not so good. Any advice would be great. Thanks!

[SouthsideDon48]

In the south suburbs, avoid Harvey and Ford Heights. There's lots of crime there.

 

In the south side of Chicago, one of the worse neighborhoods of the city is Englewood, try and avoid that, too.

 

In terms of danger and crime, I'd prolly rank it like this: 1. Englewood, 2. Ford Heights, 3. Harvey.

 

These are suburbs I really like and I'd move to:

 

Tinley Park: lived there most of my life.

Orland Park: in close vincinity to Tinley. My only complaint about Tinley and Orland is that there's too many big rich people's homes.

Orland Hills: little town tucked in Tinley/Orland.

Oak Forest

Midlothian

Homewood: great diversity, I'd raise kids here if I had kids.

Matteson: I'd also raise kids here if I had kids.

Country Club Hills

Oak Lawn: nice busy and centralized location.

Hometown: tiny town with small duplexes tucked near Oak Lawn.

Bridgeview: nice busy centralized location.

Justice

Hickory Hills

Worth: I love this town.

Chicago Ridge: great location, nice smaller homes.

Evergreen Park

Blue Island: This is the only town with a historic district that impressed me.

Burbank

Alsip

South Holland: I love this town, great diversity and nice older homes.

Hammond, Indiana: I love Hammond, close to the casinos and it resembles 95th street in Oak Lawn and Cicero Ave through Midlothian/Oak Forest.

 

 

All the towns above are towns I would move to, if you have any questions about any of these towns, ask and I can try my best to answer them. I've lived in the south suburbs all my life and I've been all over.

 

One town I would stay away from is Crestwood, because apparently there's a lot of people coming down with cancers because of the contaminated water supply in the village.

Edited May 5, 2010 by SouthsideDon48

[flippedoutpunk]

two words.... River North :headbang

[bigruss]

There was a thread on this topic awhile ago, it had a ton of info, a linky would be awesome.

[Disco72]

I grew up in the burbs but lived in the city for awhile. If at all possible, live in the city, at least for a few years. It's great to be able to walk most places, take the El to Sox games, etc. I lived in several places in Lakeview and really enjoyed it.

[bmags]

how old are you? That would help.

[BigSqwert]

And do you prefer city or suburbs?

[Balta1701]

Where do you work? What kind of transportation costs are you willing to bear? How much are you looking to spend on housing? Looking to rent or buy?

[HuskyCaucasian]

So I've never lived in chicago or the suburbs, made trips all the time but thats about it....anyways im getting ready to move that way here soon and was wondering if any of you guys would give me some advice on where to look for a place. as far as like what areas are good and what is not so good. Any advice would be great. Thanks!

1) Where (location wise) will you be working?

2) What is your desired commute time?

3) Do you have a price range?

4) Do you prefer a house, a townhome, or a condo?

 

[Controlled Chaos]

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...=75893&st=0

[Iwritecode]

I missed the first thread but I'll probably be hitting this one or making a new one sometime in the next year or so.

 

We are in the process of making enough repairs to our current house to make it sellable. Then we eventually want to move somewhere close enough to cut my commute down from 2+ hours to around an hour, more or less.

 

My biggest worry is that we'll be able to afford what we want on my salary alone because when we move my wife will have to find a new job ASAP.

[Jenksismyhero]

As an update on my other thread, we decided on a place in La Grange. Closing in 2 weeks. Thought about Brookfield (meh), La Grange Park (some meh, some great), but ended up in La Grange. Crazy fast express train downtown, great downtown area, good schools (though *knock on wood* hopefully i dont have to worry about that for a little while longer). Since I did nothing but analyze the area there, feel free to ask questions.

 

I also should say (as indicated in my other thread), that we're moving from Wrigleyville, which, despite the college frat boy douchebags, was actually a really good place to live. Easy commute, tons of nightlife/restaraunts, safe...good spot to start out for sure.

[flippedoutpunk]

Wrigleyville is definitely a great place to start out. Lots to do around the area and a fast commute to downtown. I feel ill never move from the River North area until the time comes when im "too old" for the fast life. I absolutely love it, there is absolutely no need to own an automobile in this area, no more car payments/ car insurance payments/city stickers/parking tickets. I either walk or take a cab absolutely everywhere and i wish i could calculate the total ive saved in doing that. I really do have everything I need here and it is all within walking distance, and its nice to look outside your window and see all of the beautiful skyscrapers of Chicago right nextdoor to your building.

[Vote4Pedro]

Well I'm 22 years old.

 

City/Suburbs doesn't matter to me as long as it's a decent neighborhood. If it would be in the city then definately on the northern part (easier to get to work)

 

Still in the NAVY.... going to do 2 more years up there while my fiance finishes up college and then I'm going to start school after that. Price range would be anywhere between 1200 and 1500 a month.

 

Thanks again to all that have replied so far. I appreciate it

[flippedoutpunk]

Ohh so ur still a young military type. Well i dont want to crap on anyone elses suggestions but for your price range you can find a nice place in River North. If you want to experience true city living, check out places in river north if youre interested in living in the middle of EVERYTHING that downtown has to offer

[bmags]

Well I'm 22 years old.

 

City/Suburbs doesn't matter to me as long as it's a decent neighborhood. If it would be in the city then definately on the northern part (easier to get to work)

 

Still in the NAVY.... going to do 2 more years up there while my fiance finishes up college and then I'm going to start school after that. Price range would be anywhere between 1200 and 1500 a month.

 

Thanks again to all that have replied so far. I appreciate it

 

well...I don't know. I'm renting in the city for cheap as hell in wrigleyville, but I always end up in WP or Pilsen, so that sucks. And when the lease ends my and my friend are probably moving to one of those two, or Ukrainian village, something like that. Soooo, yeah, yours is very broad...you might want to spend some time in the city to see if you want to move there, and explore the neighborhoods. There are a lot of great neighborhoods with lots of personality, and are usually affordable.

[Disco72]

well...I don't know. I'm renting in the city for cheap as hell in wrigleyville, but I always end up in WP or Pilsen, so that sucks. And when the lease ends my and my friend are probably moving to one of those two, or Ukrainian village, something like that. Soooo, yeah, yours is very broad...you might want to spend some time in the city to see if you want to move there, and explore the neighborhoods. There are a lot of great neighborhoods with lots of personality, and are usually affordable.

 

Even if you don't have time to check out neighborhoods, you really can't go wrong with most of the north side neighborhoods. You may ultimately prefer one over the other, but I don't think there's a "bad" place to live in that area.

[flippedoutpunk]

Even if you don't have time to check out neighborhoods, you really can't go wrong with most of the north side neighborhoods. You may ultimately prefer one over the other, but I don't think there's a "bad" place to live in that area.

 

ehhh my cars used to get broken into on a weekly basis when i lived in logan square and humboldt park and gunshots rang out once in a while at night... but youre correct for the most part, as long as you keep it towards the east side in the north you cant really go wrong.

[BigSqwert]

ehhh my cars used to get broken into on a weekly basis when i lived in logan square and humboldt park and gunshots rang out once in a while at night... but youre correct for the most part, as long as you keep it towards the east side in the north you cant really go wrong.

Really? How long ago was this? I've lived here for the past 3 years without a single problem. The neighborhood is changing quite rapidly. Think Wicker Park circa the mid to late 90s.

[BigSqwert]

And some very cool things about Logan Square:

 

The Blue Line runs through it

Lots of green space on the boulevards

Young, hip community with lots of artists

Congress theater for live music

Logan square skate park

Farmer's market

Bars and restaurants popping up everywhere as well as great established places, such as:

 

Revolution Brewing Co

The Whistler

Knew

New Wave Coffee

Logan Bar and Grill

Rustico Grill

Longman and Eagle

Lula Cafe

Hachis Kitchen

 

And you're a quick bike ride/walk away from Bucktown and Wicker Park.

 

 

[flippedoutpunk]

Really? How long ago was this? I've lived here for the past 3 years without a single problem. The neighborhood is changing quite rapidly. Think Wicker Park circa the mid to late 90s.

 

hmm ill say the last time it happened was about 6 or 7 years ago. I can see the the changes in logan square especially recently when the gf and I went to Longman and Eagle and mingled with the now posh Logan Square folks. Theres a good bit to do around the area and its too far for the River North folk(except me) to travel which is good because i can only take so much of those "Hollywood stars living in Chicago" types throughout the week. Also big ups for those links, a lot of those I have never been to.

[RockRaines]

Well I'm 22 years old.

 

City/Suburbs doesn't matter to me as long as it's a decent neighborhood. If it would be in the city then definately on the northern part (easier to get to work)

 

Still in the NAVY.... going to do 2 more years up there while my fiance finishes up college and then I'm going to start school after that. Price range would be anywhere between 1200 and 1500 a month.

 

Thanks again to all that have replied so far. I appreciate it

22 year olds should start up north in the City and then you'll find a better place as you learn the city and grow up a bit. All the little neighborhoods that people will recommend (myself included, WEST LOOP!) are IMO more for people who already know what they want out of Chicago. I think EVERYONE needs to try Lakeview/LP at the beginning, especially at 22. Its a early 20's playground with cheap rent and right now an abundance of apts available.

[bmags]

And some very cool things about Logan Square:

 

The Blue Line runs through it

Lots of green space on the boulevards

Young, hip community with lots of artists

Congress theater for live music

Logan square skate park

Farmer's market

Bars and restaurants popping up everywhere as well as great established places, such as:

 

Revolution Brewing Co

The Whistler

Knew

New Wave Coffee

Logan Bar and Grill

Rustico Grill

Longman and Eagle

Lula Cafe

Hachis Kitchen

 

And you're a quick bike ride/walk away from Bucktown and Wicker Park.

 

Word. I love all those neighborhoods mentioned. I'm tired of wrigleyville, only been here 2 months. Cubs games are awful.

Excited to move for sure.

[RockRaines]

Word. I love all those neighborhoods mentioned. I'm tired of wrigleyville, only been here 2 months. Cubs games are awful.

Excited to move for sure.

I lived in LP for about a year and a half before it drove me out of there. Love the area, but parking, the EL, the s*** apts just drove me nuts. Made me so crazy I took all my money and bought my place in the west loop. Been here ever since.

[bmags]

I lived in LP for about a year and a half before it drove me out of there. Love the area, but parking, the EL, the s*** apts just drove me nuts. Made me so crazy I took all my money and bought my place in the west loop. Been here ever since.

 

and there's like, no good pizza places around here.

 

I want to move as close as possible to peace pizza.