City Folks Looking for New Neighborhood! Albany Pk? McKinley Pk? Bridgeport?

Hi we live in Lincoln Square and we are loving it. We moved from Wrigley 7 years ago. There are so many shops and parks we are really glad we did it.

The northeast side of the city is awesome.

Edgewater, Uptown, Rogers Park, Ridge, Andersonville. Great schools, great shopping, libraries, lakefront, parks, restaurants. And much less congested than other areas of the city.

We moved from Lakev.iew to Edgebrook. It has a small downtown area. about about a mile away from the babies r us on touhy. Touhy has towns of stuff grocery store movies restaurants shopping etc. near a costco and target great schools great parks. easy access to metra we moved from a 1200 square foot condo to a 3000 square foot house with a yard and a 2 car garage

Hi there,
I'm not sure what you're looking for, but we just moved from Roscoe Village, and I absolutely believe it's an amazing place to raise a family if you want to stay in the city. We were a 2 minute walk from a huge variety of restaurants, shops, parks, a great school, etc. We actually still have our house on the market if you decide you are interested in the area, I'd love to forward you the link. Good luck, it's such a hard decision!

We lived in Edison Park for 3 years after living in Lakeview and Lincoln Park for many years. It has great restaurants and the Metra, along with some of the best schools in the city. You can walk to dinner, plenty of parks. Houses are affordable. Great neighborhood feel. People who live there are very proud of their neighborhood. There's also Sauganash (sp), Jefferson Park and Norwood Park, all on NW side of city.

Hi there!

I tend to agree with the folks saying evanston, it is a really nice place. But if you want to stay in the city I would recomend the Lincoln Square/Bowmanville neighborhood. Its roughly Irving Park road to the south, California to the west, Ravenswood to the east and Peterson to the north. This includes a small neighborhood to the north called Bowmanville. I attach it to Lincoln Square because it fits really well. I grew up in this neighborhood and am now raising my own family here. It always has been really nice family neighborhood. The area called Lincoln Square is full of coffe shops, a really great old school movie theatre, a wonderful park (Welles Park)with an indoor pool and great programs, the second largest library in the city, fabulous restaurants, and aho could forget The Old Town School of Folk Music (which has excellent adult and children's programming), the list could go on. Even other pockest of the neighborhood are really great, Montrose and Ravenswood is another little area where there are great restaurants also. The metra is at Ravenswood and Lawrence and the Brown line stops at Lincoln and Western. The red line is a bus ride down to Broadway and foster (not the closest option). I feel like Lincoln Square has a lot in common with Evanston, small town feel, close to the city....however the taxes in Evanston are out of our range. Lincoln Square is close enough to the bustling neighborhoods, but far enough to have a little breathing room. You can still find houses with larger lots also, they're pricey but worth it. I would recomend spending a day up here and wandering around. We even have our own Target tucked away on Peterson ave. (A good resource for new moms!) Good luck in your search!

We just moved to Portage Park from Lakeview last August and absolutely love it. We live about 2 blocks from Portage Park (the actual park) and we go there all the time when its warm. There are restaurants and stores within walking distance and we still have access to the L which was one of my criteria when we were looking for neighborhoods. I have a backyard - even if its a small city yard! :) - where I can let my dog out when the weather's bad, my boys can play and I can garden. Street parking is a cinch, but that doesn't even matter because I have a garage - which I don't have to pay extra for every month! I do miss many things about Lakeview but we too needed more space and just couldn't afford to do it there. Good luck!

If you are willing to come South I highly recommend Chinatown. We built our house here as a part of the Santa Fe Gardens development about 7 years ago. Santa Fe Gardens is a series of four phases of houses, condos and townhomes that sit South of 18th Street, West of Wentworth, East of the Chicago River and North of Archer.

There are many sights to behold within walking distance of the development. We have a fantastic park called Ping Tom Park, right on the Chicago River. It has beautiful landscaping, a huge Chinese gazeebo, and an enclosed playground. It hosts many lovely events throughout the year including the Dragon Boat races in July. The park actually occupies both sides of 18th street. The North side is home to a baeball diamond and also hosts regular soccer seasons with the South Loop AYSO team.

Living in Chinatown you can walk to so many things, not the least of which is the Chinese Square on Archer. there you will find a myriad of delectable restaurants and intriguing shops. The square also hosts many fairs and special events throughout the year like the Moon festival in September. A slightly longer walk will take you to the great new restaurants that have sprung up on South Wabash, and the East 18th street entrance to Museum Campus and Soldier Field.

The best thing about living in Chinatown is the cost of housing. The rental and purchase prices for townhomes and single family homes is dramatically lower than in Dearborn Park just blocks away. And the property taxes are very reasonable for Chicago. However, many available units are still exchanged hand to hand and go quickly once the signs go up. I encourage you to take a walk through the neighborhood and write down the numbers you see on the signs in the windows. You are sure to get a really good deal.

It still amazes me everyday that I can have a home right here in the city, central to everything, with a view of the river as well as a perfect view of the skyline of the city. My children are exposed to a rich culture other than their own while still staying close to the heart of the city. It's the best of both Worlds. I encourage you to come and experience it for yourself.

SMILE On!

Miss Lori

Have you thought about Hyde Park? I didn't consider it before having kids, but we moved here when our first (now 3) was born and we absolutely love it. It's very green, parks everywhere you turn, lots of stuff to walk to (including the museum of science and industry) and it's even starting to get some nightlife. People are very involved in the community, which is one of the most diverse (not just in terms of race, but income, etc) in the city. Plus, we're so close to downtown either by public or car. One more plus is that the housing market has been pretty stable here. Oh, and good schools and daycares too (both public and private).

Old Irving is nice but a little pricey. Have you considered Portage Park which is right next door? We have lived here for 17 years & have been happily raising our 3 children now 17, 19 & 22. There are some jumbo bungalows or even expanded ones like we have that offer plenty of room.

I know you said you wanted to stay in the city...but have you checked out Evanston? It has a real downtown, the university, the lake and great neighborhoods where people walk to parks, schools, shopping districts with restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques etc. Plus it is totally populated with the cloth diapering type! You don't have to live in downtown Evanston, either. There are shopping districts on Central St and Main St. Evanston is full of people making the move from the city to a little more family friendly place. Good luck with your search!

Hi J.,
I lived in Andersonville for 4 years & we loved it. We are now moving to Evanston b/c we wanted a little more space for our 2 girls (4 & 1 yrs old). Andersonville has a really nice downtown with restaurants, shops, and is pretty close to the lake. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to live in the city with young children. Good luck!

Hi,

I have to agree with a previous poster about Evanston. We moved here from Chicago as our kids approached school age- it is the best of both worlds. It is not a suburb. It has all the benefits of Chicago-pick which train you want to take downtown, the El or the Metra? All the benefits of Evanston as described before-I live walking distance to the El, the Metra, a bustling Central St shopping area-coffee shops, shopping, restaurants, you name it. I can ride my bike to the beach with the kids in the summer, or we can ride our bikes to downtown Evanston for even more shopping.

Plus-it's such a close-knit, involved community that after a few years, you seem to know everyone! For entertainment-Chicagoans come to our theaters! (Or you can always attend one of the school board or city meetings-those are always entertaining! ;-)

J.,
Have you considered West or East Rogers Park? Andersonville? South Loop? Definitely try calling 311 for the Mayor's citywide affordable housing programs. I believe they were working on a special project near Lawrence and Clark.

All the Best!

also,edgewater is just north of Andersonville