<p>Jefferson Park has two live theaters, btw. And food trucks on Thursday evenings. Some unique stores like American Science and Surplus. Many restaurants: Gale Street, Central Kitchen and Tap, Ruk (sushi), Sabatino’s, too hungry to continue.</p>
<p>Average rent for a 2-br in the South Loop is about $1900; in Wicker Park, $1500; Logan Square, $1,100; River North, $2,200; Lakeview (North Side), $1,600; Lincoln Park, $2,000; Streeterville/Gold Coast (just off N. Michigan Ave/N. State St.), $2,500. Nicer buildings will be somewhat higher in all neighborhoods. If I were a young person just starting out in Chicago, I’d probably go for Wicker Park. It’s a lively area, lots of bars, restaurants, and shops, easy access to downtown but more of a neighborhood feel; to my taste, places like the South Loop and River North are pretty generic. And it’s a youthful, relatively affordable area. After I was there a while I might venture out into edgier, up-and-coming neighborhoods (Ukrainian Village, Logan Square), but not upon first moving into the city; you need to know what you’re getting yourself into. Wicker Park was once edgy; in fact, it was once downright sketchy, and before that it was best described as a war zone, but it’s pretty safe and thoroughly gentrified by now. Still lively, though.</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks for all the great descriptions. Makes me want to move there, too.</p>
<p>Yeah – son’s company has a big office in Chi-Town and he would like to transfer there. Has a number of buddies from college there. Great music scene, too.</p>
<p>Live music, live theater, live poetry slams, live comedy, live dance (Gus Giordano Jazz Dance, et al) art all over, inside and out. Volunteer to mosaic under the underpasses. Nature all over, too. Peregrines overhead, coyotes keeping down the bunnies and the occasional young male cougar scouting around. OOOooo…the Lake. Pickup basketball, soccer, softball. Whatever you want to do, there are people to do it with in Chicago.</p>
<p>Chicago is great. My son lives there, too, as do many of his friends. He lived in Hyde Park during college, then Ukrainian Village, now South Loop (walking distance from his job). He is definitely paying more than he paid in U-Village. Wicker Park is sort of the Chicago equivalent of Williamsburg in Brooklyn – it was the mecca for hip kids on a budget a decade ago, but now it’s too pricey. The Chicago equivalents of “Girls” live in Logan Square.</p>
<p>Neither he nor any of his friends keeps a car. They use Zipcar for their infrequent driving needs. The CTA system works really well; they all have monthly unlimited-use CTA cards.</p>