Chicago- walkable, family-friendly neighborhoods? - Page 2

[kimmab]

I'm married and have a 2yo DS. We moved to Chicago right after he was born and lived in Wicker Park. There's tons of great places to eat there and we felt safe but it was loud and very expensive. We looked at Lincoln Park, but it was too expensive and apartments rent too fast there.

Last year we moved to south Logan Square (Armitage & Humboldt). We love it here. We have a beautiful place for way less money, it's a nice neighborhood, lower rent than Wicker Park but lots of young families, mostly Puerto Rican. The Armitage bus takes us right to the zoo and Nature Museum, the blue line takes DH downtown to work, the library's nearby, and Humboldt Park is a fantastic place to take a toddler (when the weather's nice, obviously). I've never felt unsafe here, mostly because there are lots of other low-key families here just like us, and they tend to be outside a lot (we live on the boulevard). We decided to stay another year, and if I'm lucky enough to get a permanent job in Chicago, we'd definitely consider buying in this area.

[madsommer]

Originally Posted by kimmab

I'm married and have a 2yo DS. We moved to Chicago right after he was born and lived in Wicker Park. There's tons of great places to eat there and we felt safe but it was loud and very expensive. We looked at Lincoln Park, but it was too expensive and apartments rent too fast there.

Last year we moved to south Logan Square (Armitage & Humboldt). We love it here. We have a beautiful place for way less money, it's a nice neighborhood, lower rent than Wicker Park but lots of young families, mostly Puerto Rican. The Armitage bus takes us right to the zoo and Nature Museum, the blue line takes DH downtown to work, the library's nearby, and Humboldt Park is a fantastic place to take a toddler (when the weather's nice, obviously). I've never felt unsafe here, mostly because there are lots of other low-key families here just like us, and they tend to be outside a lot (we live on the boulevard). We decided to stay another year, and if I'm lucky enough to get a permanent job in Chicago, we'd definitely consider buying in this area.

I've been hearing a lot of good things about Logan Square. I think we need to investigate this area a little more. Thanks!

[chimomma]

If it were up to me, I would live in the ravenswood manor area, lincoln square, budlong woods, or peterson park. I basically love this river park along the chicago river from north of lawrence all the way to peterson. The are around it is nice and there are a lot of single family homes, but some of the areas lack good public transportation and thereare not many "cool" things to walk to really, but it would be a beautiful walk through the neighborhood and I love the park.

I agree that wrigleyville is not that good of a family neighborhood. I would also avoid the west loop are like someone mentioned if you want a place for your kids to walk outside. I used to love the active city neighborhoods but as my daughter gets older I start to feel like I want a close park near by or else a back yard. I don't feel good raising children just in an apartment building and don't find it practical for me to have to travel other than walking eveyday to get them out.

[Thistles_in_Snow]

Andersonville

I know this is in an old post, but I have to give a vote for Andersonville. We can walk to everything, the parking isn't *too* horrendous, and we are 2 blocks from the red line. It's perfect for us!

Lincoln Park is nice, too, but it's very expensive, very congested, and a parking nightmare (unless you can afford to buy a parking space.) One thing I will say in favor of Lincoln Park is that their public schools are generally better -- Nettlehorst comes to mind. Here in Andersonville, our neighborhood schools are not the greatest. We are just outside the Peirce District, which is the closest desirable school to us.

But since you mentioned Independent Schools, if you can afford Latin, Parker, or Catherine Cook I have heard good things about them.

Personally, I'm going to check out Pilgrim Lutheran. Does anyone know of this school? It's in Ravenswood.

[lucifugous]

I agree that the north side is nice I live in Rogers Park myself, (ETA home to my alma mater, LUC and the most diverse neighborhood in the city! I second that Andersonville & Edgewater (my neighbors to the south) are great places. Home prices there have inflated hugely over the years but it's certainly not more than you will pay in any equally nice area. Also my heart warmed when someone suggested Oak Park. I spent time there when I was young and I still think it's the most charming little neighborhood. Many of the best shops I once knew there are gone, but I'm sure there are some excellent ones in their places. Find something close to the pedestrian walkway between North Blvd & Lake St. just E of Harlem.
I certainly fear that the nice neighborhoods are disappearing. I grew up in North Berwyn, and a quality decline in the area pretty much scooted us out further East & a little south...

[dublinmask]

I know this post is old but I also want to vote for my neighborhood, Albany Park. While it doesn't have the "hip" factor of Lincoln Square or Andersonville, or even Logan Square (where I used to live), it is full of regular people of all kinds, colors, ages. I hear several different languages being spoken when I leave my house and I love being immersed in the diversity, yet still having all the conveniences nearby in Lincoln Square. I can't believe there are several posters in the hood...where are you all and why haven't we met??? I always despair because none of my friends live in the neighborhood.

[lucifugous]

this thread is a little dead, but I just found this site and thought it was neat and wanted to share!!

http://www.walkscore.com/

[cwuerf]

What about Hyde Park?

All of the neighborhoods mentioned so far seem to be on, or mostly on, the north side. We're moving to Chicago this summer and are seriously considering Hyde Park (my brother and his family lived there for 10 years and really loved it). It has a high walkability score. Any personal experience or thoughts about living there? Our son will be 7 months old when we move there.

[SamuraiEarthMama]

Hello, Chicagoland Mamas! I'm another mom getting ready to move to your area. This is kind of an old thread, so I don't know if any of you are still watching this forum, but I thought I'd pop in and say hi anyway.

We're moving in August. My husband will be teaching at DePaul, which, I'm told, is close to an El stop, so we're open to commuting. We have one car now and would like to keep it that way if we can.

We homeschool all the way. My three sons will be living with us (4, 15, 21). My 18yo daughter is away at school, but I'd really love to have an extra room for her (and other guests) to stay in. We've got a dog and two cats. We don't eat out a lot, but when we do, we like to patronize small establishments. I want to live near parks, libraries, a farmers market, a grocery store, a coffeeshop, and obviously easy access to the El.

Are Andersonville, Ravenswood, and Albany Park still where I want to be looking? Any other up-and-coming neighborhoods I should poke around in? Anyone know of a rental opening up down the street and want a crunchy, nerdy family as a neighbor? I'd LOVE to have other at-home families in close proximity!

Thanks for any help you can send my way... looking forward to meeting you soon!

[jrose_lee]

Originally Posted by SamuraiEarthMama

Hello, Chicagoland Mamas! I'm another mom getting ready to move to your area. This is kind of an old thread, so I don't know if any of you are still watching this forum, but I thought I'd pop in and say hi anyway.

We're moving in August. My husband will be teaching at DePaul, which, I'm told, is close to an El stop, so we're open to commuting. We have one car now and would like to keep it that way if we can.

We homeschool all the way. My three sons will be living with us (4, 15, 21). My 18yo daughter is away at school, but I'd really love to have an extra room for her (and other guests) to stay in. We've got a dog and two cats. We don't eat out a lot, but when we do, we like to patronize small establishments. I want to live near parks, libraries, a farmers market, a grocery store, a coffeeshop, and obviously easy access to the El.

Are Andersonville, Ravenswood, and Albany Park still where I want to be looking? Any other up-and-coming neighborhoods I should poke around in? Anyone know of a rental opening up down the street and want a crunchy, nerdy family as a neighbor? I'd LOVE to have other at-home families in close proximity!

Thanks for any help you can send my way... looking forward to meeting you soon!

Hi! Good luck with your move! We just moved to Lincoln Park (right around Clybourn/Fullerton intersection). We are within walking distance to DePaul and pass it on the way to the El stop. We are within walking distance of three or four parks here (one of which is the bigger park, Oz park, which takes us 25 min to walk). Definitely coffee shops and restaurants around here. There is a big green city market that takes place by the zoo all during the nicer months and then moves to the Nature Museum (right by the zoo) in the colder months. I believe it's all local and lots of organic. There is a Treasure Island and Trader Joe's within walking distance and a Whole Foods that we go to up Ashland about a five minute bus ride. There is also, of course, a Jewel store..or is it Dominicks. We can also walk to the library from here and there is a Barnes and Noble right by us. It is a bit busier around here than some neighborhoods, but generally I have been liking it. We don't have a car at all, but our neighbors don't seem to have a problem finding parking. We are homeschoolers too (although ds is only 3 and we're due with another any day). We're starting to go to the unschooler meet-ups as well as Chicago Homeschool group. Hope you find a really great neighborhood that you love! Good luck with everything!

[amjs]

we might be moving to the chicago area too--thanks to everyone for all the great info so far but i have one more question--my husband would be working in rolling meadows--i understand he can take the train there (and it would be a long ride but he says he doesnt mind...) what i'm wondering is if there's anything like a rails to trails path that connects the cities or some other type of bike path so that he could ride his bike half way and then take the train the other half?

also have the neighborhoods mentioned here shown any response to the housing market? i've looked online at some condos and such and they still seem so expensive to me (of course i'm coming from middle georgia so...)

[madsommer]

Originally Posted by amjs

we might be moving to the chicago area too--thanks to everyone for all the great info so far but i have one more question--my husband would be working in rolling meadows--i understand he can take the train there (and it would be a long ride but he says he doesnt mind...) what i'm wondering is if there's anything like a rails to trails path that connects the cities or some other type of bike path so that he could ride his bike half way and then take the train the other half?

also have the neighborhoods mentioned here shown any response to the housing market? i've looked online at some condos and such and they still seem so expensive to me (of course i'm coming from middle georgia so...)

Oh sweetie...real estate here is soooooooooooo expensive. We just moved from Kansas City about 10 months ago, which is still slightly higher than real eastate in GA, and we won't be buying here. I just have such a hard time allowing myself to purchase something for 350k that I know I could get somewhere else for 175k....makes me so angry lol.

[Mizelenius]

Originally Posted by amjs

we might be moving to the chicago area too--thanks to everyone for all the great info so far but i have one more question--my husband would be working in rolling meadows--i understand he can take the train there (and it would be a long ride but he says he doesnt mind...

You may have already explored this, but make sure that, once he gets to his stop at work, that he has some way to get to his actual building from the train. That's the problem I find with suburban transportation-- sure, you can get from Chicago to the suburbs on the train, but then getting to your actual destination can be tricky.

As for condos, I would avoid them if possible. It seems like the market is just saturated with them, so unless you can get a good deal, no. I would also suggest renting before buying so you can get more familiar with the areas.

My sister lives in a nice area in Chicago-- Schorsch Village. It's got a good family feeling, it's 20 minutes from downtown, near Oak Park but without the high OP taxes (OP gives you access to a good farmers' market, Trader Joes, etc.), easy parking, and now has much more affordable homes due to the housing market drop. If you're looking for trendy, this isn't it-- but I personally don't like what trendiness brings to an area, so . . .You won't find many Victorians in the area, but there are plenty of pretty tudors.

[acp]

amjs, The Chicago bicycle federation publishes a map of the larger Chicago area that you can get for about $6 - it's a great resource.

I realize prices are all relative... I moved here from Boston, and most of my friends live in NYC and California, so prices here feel great compared to those areas! Compared to Kansas City and Georgia, probably not so much...
I do think there are a lot of good deals available now - lots of very motivated buyers and prices coming down significantly, so it's probably a relatively good time to buy, investment-wise, if that helps you any...A good real estate agent can give you a sense of what kind of value you're getting, and where prices are relative to where they've been in the last couple years. Chicago never had a huge bubble like FL or CA, so prices haven't come down quite as drastically, but there are definitely some good deals out there!
You can get more for your money in neighborhoods like Albany Park or other NW neighborhoods (which would also be closer to Rolling Meadows) than if you look by the lake or closer in to the city.

[amjs]

great info!

members here never disappoint! thanks for all the helpful information.