<p>Penn is a lot like Chicago in some ways. It also doesn’t have enough on-campus housing, and its on-campus housing is mostly VERY unattractive. (If its high-rises were public housing, they would have been imploded 10 years ago.) But in terms of amenities, the Penn area is light-years beyond Hyde Park, because the university has been working steadily to make certain the amenities are there. That even includes public schools – the university created a new neighborhood public school under a management contract with the School Board. That has been extremely important in attracting faculty, staff, and non-affiliated yuppies to the university area.</p>
<p>My take on Hyde Park is very different, by the way, although I have spent only days, not years, there. The “nice part” by the lake extends at least to the university campus, and a considerable way inland north of the campus. If there were more nice stores, etc., and schools, and better access to the Els, it would be very attractive to people with only a tenuous connection to U of C, and honestly it seems pretty well gentrified now. Rents aren’t that high for student housing, but they sure aren’t low, either.</p>