Best neighborhoods in Chicago?
Hi everyone, I will be starting full time in Chicago soon and would love insight into where other analysts are living? What are the best neighborhoods in terms of proximity to office, cost, and lifestyle. For reference, my office is very close to Willis Tower. Many thanks
nawf side
but seriously best neighborhoods close to downtown are all directly north of downtown (river north, wrigleyville) and also the west seems to be getting pretty hip as well in places like Fulton Market.
63rd and St. Lawrence is cheap and safe. Was great when I was an AN1.
Boys town 😉
Englewood is great. Very affordable, lively and safe. The equivalent of NYC’s East Village.
on a road trip we went through Chicago and our GPS accidentally brought us through Englewood. What an amazing hidden gem of the city!
Lincoln Park (Armitage, Fullerton, Diversey) is a nice but expensive area. You’d be a short walk away from the best parts of Lakeview, which is wonderful in the summer. You also have easy access to all the spots that cater to DePaul students.
O block
Seems like a no brainer imo. heres the highest rated google review for O Block.
Live anywhere north of merchandise Mart and south of Belmont within a 4 block walk of a brown line stop.Merch mart and Belmont are brown line stops. You can look at a map and see.
Incoming intern living in the China Town area, what are everyone’s opinions on that?
good luck
People exaggerate the lack of safety of any area south of Roosevelt, and they are not completely wrong.
But, South Loop and Chinatown are actually okay, provided you are more East (closer to the Red line) rather than West (I90/940), and north of Cermak/18th.
But they are not as good as neighborhoods north of the River for sure.
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the more south you go the shittier it gets and the more north you got the better it gets. going west it just depends
As someone who works in IB in Chicago, you really have three “great” options:
- West Loop (Fulton Market)
- Gold Coast
- River North
If your office is in the loop and you really value proximity would also consider Lakeshore East.
The character of all of the above neighborhoods are different and so it really all comes down to personal preference. River North is a bit more nightlife focused/“downtown feel”/less clean if that’s your vibe.
West Loop has a really cool feel to it and is my personal preference. Ton of restaurants, clean/safe, and “up and coming” vibe.
I also know analysts/associates who love Gold Coast/Old Town, which is your pick if you want to be close to the lake, beaches, old town bars, and park for the summer. You would, however, likely need to bike to the office (easy with Divvy membership).
Chicago is an amazing city. Congratulations if you are moving.
Thoughts on Streeterville?
Echo this...s/o lives in Fulton Market and that's where we pretty much stay unless we have specific plans anywhere else. Socially don't have much of a reason to leave the area.
Here is your range of neighborhoods to take a look at. There are others, but these are the main ones It kind of depends on what you value (proximity / commute, restaurants / bars, affordability, etc.).
thank you!
Also, do analysts / associates usually have a car in Chicago?
It was very rare to hear of an analyst or associate having a car. You definitely don’t need one so I generally don’t recommend it
West Loop / Fulton Market.
I did River North as an analyst and would highly recommend. Being close to the Brown Line to get to work + less than 10 minutes to uber home from the office makes a big difference when you're getting grinded. Wherever you pick would solve for being less than a 10 minute walk from an L stop and grocery store
There's decent options for going out that aren't super pricey and it's easy to get up to LP / Lakeview on weekends to meet up with friends
do you know any apartments in river north that aren’t too expensive?
^^^ bump
65th or 64th, not 63rd
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