Better neighborhoods in Chicago

[LouieB]

yeah, don't be fooled into the somewhat recent designation of "west bucktown." there is no west bucktown... its humboldt! how goofy. not that theres anything wrong with humboldt park, of course.

 

also, real estate prices range greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood so depending on what you want to send to buy or rent, that may limit you.

alison has made my point exactly (and even found a humbolt park example.) All these names are BS. Personally I can't imagine anything along Van Buren being somewhere you might want to raise a family. It is fine for to live there, but few of the west side schools (with the exception of Whitney Young HS), would meet most people's needs. Humbolt park is okay too, but there is some amount of street activity on some streets. That's part of big city life.

 

Of course everyone can apply to the magnet schools, but most of them are on lottery so you are never sure if your kid is going to get in. There are plenty of good schools on all sides of town, but you should check each out before making assumptions.

 

LouieB

[Reni]

yeah likely no way you can get a kid into a magnet/charter school at this late of a date......unless you know someone. Even then it doesn't always work. I believe the charter/magnet testing & lottery deadlines are in like November or December.

[LouieB]

That's correct. Usually the application is due by December (or used to be..not sure now.)

We don't even know for sure if this person has kids do we?

 

LouieB

[Reni]

said they were looking for a grammar school?

[LouieB]

said they were looking for a grammar school?

True..but that doesn't mean they have a kid yet...one may be planned....

 

Still we have gotten no response from this person. We have no idea what they know about Chicago, how long they have been here, if they are a single parent, rich or poor, planning on a temporary place to live, etc. etc. I still sort of feel like we are shooting in the dark.

LouieB

[Reni]

fair enough..... yeah, need some more info

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

[Reni]

WTF?

[LouieB]

I mean if this person has money, they can live anywhere, and I would recommend the northwest side or the southwest side and take the el to work. Or live in Evanston or Oak Park or St. Charles and take the Metra to work. I mean there are all kinds of options here, more than any of us can imagine.

 

the beauty of living in a large metro area is that one has lots of reasonable public transportation. If one is poor or has to live near where they work that is another issue entirely. Still there are plenty of cheaper places to live that are off the beaten path (again the far northwest and southwest sides) where you can live less expensively, have a reasonably good neighborhood school and commute to work.

 

LouieB

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

Louie's shooting, Bruce is dancing, and it's dark even though it's 2:51 pm.

[LouieB]

Louie's shooting, Bruce is dancing, and it's dark even though it's 2:51 pm.

Yea but where is courtney cox??

 

Louieb

[Reni]

wow....babe.....you need to get out of the house.

[LouieB]

So User...what's the deal sista?? We are tired of guessing.

 

LouieB

[OOO]

I grew up in Lincoln Park and was never attacked by apes. This was in the 80's though, when apes had not yet discovered collar popping, so perhaps my comments are not important.

[LouieB]

I grew up in Lincoln Park and was never attacked by apes. This was in the 80's though, when apes had not yet discovered collar popping, so perhaps my comments are not important.

Actually there are good schools in Lincoln Park, both public and private and magnet. Where did you go to school??

 

LouieB

[OOO]

Actually there are good schools in Lincoln Park, both public and private and magnet. Where did you go to school??

 

LouieB

 

Catholic School: Saint Clements

 

I also got some of my 5 minutes of fame taken away when my family's picture was on the front of the Chicago Sun Times under the story "Lincoln Pk., once `Singles City,' now a kiddie haven" in Aug, 1987. Good Catholics that we are, my parents had 5 kids in the middle of Lincoln Park, which was apparently considered unusual enough to be headline news, right next to "PAROLE ME, says speck".

 

Anyhow, parents eventually wanted everyone to go to great highschools without going private so they moved us up to the north suburbs.

[jhc]

Very true. Most people seem to think that anything close to Wrigley is in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

 

Weird - I dont think I've ever met anyone who thought that the area near Wrigley was Lincoln Park. As someone who spent most weekend evenings somewhere in Lincoln Park or "Wrigleyville" (no, not a frat guy) I learned the distinction pretty early on.

Edited July 28, 2006 by jhc

[LouieB]

and the answer is....none I guess...

 

LouieB

[Guest ScottHoward]

The number of people who think "anything close to Wrigley is in the Lincoln Park neighborhood" - 0

 

I think I'm going to start giving people advice on where to live in San Francisco and St. Louis, based on my vague recollection of the years I lived in those cities.

[cryptique]

The number of people who think "anything close to Wrigley is in the Lincoln Park neighborhood" - 0

 

I think I'm going to start giving people advice on where to live in San Francisco and St. Louis, based on my vague recollection of the years I lived in those cities.

My statement has been corroborated by current Chicago residents, so bite me.

 

I haven't even attempted to give anyone advice on specifically where to live in Chicago. My one bit of advice had to do with not limiting yourself to living within the city limits if you can be on a train line -- advice that's as true today as it was when I lived in the area. If I start recommending specific neighborhoods, then go ahead and mock me.

[Floyd Walpole]

So User...what's the deal sista?? We are tired of guessing.

 

LouieB

 

Hi, thanks for all of the information. This is why I love VCer's so much. Although the move is not 100% certain, the company is flying me up in September to take a look around the Chicago area and the HR department is putting together a neighborhood study and a Realtor to help me out. When I posted I wanted some honest opinions, as opposed to some generic numbers in a packet of information. As I am coming from the suburbs, I would like to live in the city of Chicago, ideally in a loft-style apartment, in an area where I can walk to parks, the zoo, museums, etc. and a good (montessori?) school for my 5-year old little boy. I have had a few people tell me that Lincoln Park is a good area for young families. I know it is kind of expensive, but I will be renting for a year, so it might just be somewhat affordable. Plus, I live in a hurricane state, my home owners insurance just went up 52%, our local government raised our taxes, and a lot of people are having to move two counties away to even afford a home in central Florida. So, believe it or not, Chicago is looking very affordable.

 

According to Google, there are two montessori schools in the city of Chicago, one on Rogers Avenue and another on Irving Park. I called and both have very long waiting lists, as are most of the magnet/charter schools in Chicago. Does Chicago have a good public school system? Does the magnet/charter schools work on a lotto basis? I imagine that, like in all counties/states, there are good schools and bad schools. I might be moving from Florida, where teachers ummmm...socialize with their students as peers, FCAT scores are below average and our local schools have minimal or no art/music classes, but as I say again, our taxes continue to rise. Yes, I have a Bush for a Govenor. Ha, I can feel the rage as I type.

 

I really appreciate all of the comments. Hopefully, if this does become reality, we can all be friends. I can have you over for a large skillet of paella and a glass of sangria. Perhaps I can get in on one of those Living Room concert deals. Thanks again for all your input.