Moving to Chicago
 

So, I'm moving to Chicago.

I will be working near the intersection of Clark St. and Adams St. downtown. I'm moving with my two kids. My wife will be moving later. So, I need to find a neighborhood with good schools that won't necessitate an enormous commute.

Any suggestions regarding areas to live in Chicago and the surrounding environs?

KA-BOOOOOM!

My head just exploded. I'm typing this at the corner of Clark and Adams. Seriously. The really shitty looking building on that corner? My office.

To answer your actual question, there are lots of places, but it really depends on what you're looking for, how old your kids are and whether or not you want the suburbs. And how much you want to spend (assuming you're buying). There's a huge difference between the city and the suburbs.

If your kids are K-5, I suggest North Center or Lincoln Square. That's in the Bell School district, which is generally regarded as one of the better ones in the city. There are also some very good grade schools in Lincoln Park, Lakeview and Andersonville, and the commute is tolerable for all, including some that could have you 20 minutes from your office door-to-door including a short walk to and from a train station.

If you're going suburban, Western Springs is ok and not too over the top pricewise. Same with Evanston or Skokie. But again, the devil is in the details.

KA-BOOM. Secondary explosion. Sorry.

The_Jazz summed it up pretty nicely as far as schools go. Other than that, welcome! :)

My kids are 2 and 6. I'm looking for kid-friendly. I'd rather not live out in the burbs. I prefer an older, closer to the city, neighborhood over a big suburban house. I'd like to live near public transit. I don't know if we're buying or not yet. We may rent until we figure out where we want to live long term. My wife doesn't have a job there yet. She'll be working here until next Summer.

Soon you're going to be one of those people that talks about Chicago like you're the only person to ever experience it and that there's something wrong or inauthentic with people that don't live in Chicago.

Around Chicago, population density decreases more gradually than most cities. There are a lot of suburbs - like Skokie or Evanston - that people elsewhere might expect to be part of the city. I'd suggest checking them out: they're both older neighborhoods, and Evanston is particularly good because the CTA connects to it.

That said, the areas in Chicago proper that The_Jazz mentioned are also quite family friendly I think. I've lived and worked in and around Lincoln Park and Lakeview for years now, and I think of them as a compromise between city living and suburban family-friendliness. I'm not quite as familiar with Lincoln Square, but I know it enough to know it's a good neighborhood and that the families I've dealt with there have seemed happy with it.

Figuring out where the decent schools are is one part, but once you've narrowed it down you should really take a weekend to explore the character of the neighborhoods as well.

In that case, you probably want to stay north. In Chicago, elementary schools are zoned by neighborhood, so you'll want to pay close attention to that, and probably pick a few neighborhoods that feel "right", then make sure that the school is ok.

You may want to check out the Lakewood Balmoral neighborhood. It's bordered by Foster (S), Broadway (N), Bryn Mawr (W) and Broadway (E). It feeds into Peirce Elementary, which is thought of as one of the up-and-coming elementary schools in the city and has a very good principal. It's a neighborhood built in the 10's and 20's as a streetcar suburb that was annexed in the late 20's. Big wide streets, tall trees and victorian houses.

But that's assuming that you're going the public school route and not Catholic or other private school. Which is a completely different conversation.

My wife showed me this website a while ago, and I thought it was interesting. We're sending our kids to Catholic school, so I was more focused there, but it might be a handy resource for you:

Chicago Public Elementary Schools

There isn't something wrong with people that don't live in Chicago? :p

It could be worse... he could be moving to New York (yeah, that's right, I said it) ;)

---------- Post added at 04:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:25 PM ----------

Peirce is a great school from what I can tell. I recently dealt with a lot of parents with kids at Peirce, and they were all very happy with it.

Why would you want to move to Chicago? (yeah, that's right, I said it) ;)

I live in Chicago (Rogers park) and work in Evanston. I have many coworkers who live in the Streeterville, South Loop, and Lincoln Park areas.

From the bus stop by my apartment building, it takes me roughly 25 mins to get from the north city line of Chicago to Michigan Ave/ Congress via the Lake Shore Drive express bus.

I can also vouch for the pretty Balmoral neighborhood, as well as Andersonville . Andersonville didn't fit me as well as Rogers Park does, but I don't have a spouse or kids, so my needs are a little different. I do like the feel of the area up here though. Many of the churches within a 4 block radius have cornerstones dating from 1895-1920, to give you an idea of the age of my neighborhood.

Too bad about what happened to the Sears Tower. Willis Tower just seems wrong.

I swear to fuck.. I think TFP is trying to take over the world from Chicago. There are like 10 of us left who don't live there it seems.

---------- Post added at 09:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------

oh..yeah.. Good luck!!! :thumbsup:

I blame The Dark Knight.

Leave Jazz and his gay hooker outfits out of this..

;)

We welcome you to our dark fraternity, brother.

as long as you dont turn into one of those fucked up cub fans, ive got no issues with you moving there.

i've got the chicago marathon 2010 in my sights, so i may see half of TFP there next year!

Whachotalkingabout?*

*this joke is useless on anyone younger than about 28, at least when I was using it yesterday.

Folks, this is what man-on-man sexual harrassment looks like. You reject someone's drunken advances, and suddenly you're turned into a flaming queen.

Hmmmm, I'd like to invite you to stay at my place if you are going to run the marathon, but The_Wife has a strict rule about riff-raff in the house. I could probably sneak you into the garage, though.

oh geez thanks. i'd accept the offer, except she-lish wont let me stay with crazed psychopathic cubs fans. she'd also not like to stay in someones basement or garage. Just for consolation, and for the record - she drives a Honda Jazz

Well, The_Wife is a Sox fan, so you'd have that going for you. And Shelish could stay in the house regardless. I'm sure she'd understand you having to stay in the garage since I'm willing to bet that it's the usual reaction whenever you two travel together.

But if you're coming over with She-lish and Baby-lish in tow, those two definitely have to stay with us. If you don't want the garage, there's a bridge nearby and a hooker hotel about 2 miles away.

wait..

which sox? The Red kind.. or the dirty cheating white kind? and how the fuck does a Cubs fan marry a Sox fan?

you really are mixed up fuck.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...oxo/Yankee.gif

power to the REAL people...

Thank you all for the information. I have a lot to do!

My main concerns with housing are:

quality schools and

a commute short enough that I can drop both kids off in the morning and pick them up after work without getting up at the crack of dawn and getting home at their bed times. I'm not entirely against suburbs. I just don't housing developments very much.

I'm not looking forward to searching for a school, after-school care, and a daycare. Ugh!

---------- Post added at 09:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:49 AM ----------

My start date in Chicago is at the beginning of November. I may move there in November and stay in an extended stay motel. That should give me sufficient time to find a place before my kids move to Chicago at the end of the Fall semester.