What is a good place to live in in Chicago?

Question

I want to live near in the city. I want to know the safer neighborhoods are. I have a 4 year old son too so I'm looking for not only safe but good schools near or in the city. I mean like near near if there is no good place in the city. I'd perfer southside but not sure if its safe either. Thanks!

Answer 1

The NORTHWEST SIDE!!!!!! Hands down the northwest side is were you want to be. I am the mother of 3 and very picky about my kids. I have to live in the city because my husband is a firefighter for the city. I live in Edison Park and it is wonderful. Jefferson Park, Gladstone Park and Norwood Park are really good too. The burbs that are close by that have great schools are Skokie & Park Ridge. You can go on-line to the Chicago Sun-Times and look up the top rated schools. You can never be too careful when it comes to your babies!!! :) If you want to go out a little more Arlington Heights has the GREATEST schools. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Try the inner suburbs - Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park, and Forest Park are very nice, connected to easy public transportation into Chicago, and have good schools. In the city, you might try neighborhoods like the South Loop (South Loop Elementary is a big upcoming public school), Lincoln Park (expensive, but pleasant) and Lakeview.

Within the city you're mostly going to want to look in the main city, just south of downtown and the north and northwest sides, particularly just off the Blue Line (neighborhoods such as Portgage Park and Avondale, which are quite family oriented.)

The west side of Chicago is dangerous and probably should be avoided west of Western Avenue or so. The south side is very up and down. There is an neighborhood around the University of Chicago (55th Street and Lake Shore Drive or so) called Hyde Park that you might want to check out - that's quite a nice area, and very educated thanks to the university nearby. It's also a five minute train trip by Metra into the Loop from there.

Unfortunately the rest of the south side isn't so great until you get much further south - there's a few suburbs down there that are nice, such as Olympia Fields, Flossmoor, and Homewood. But they are a good 25 minute commute into Chicago.

Answer 3

Greetings! For your situation you will be best advised to find housing on the North side of town. The south side is way to dangerous for someone with a child. I am a single man without children and I would not move south. As far as the north side it depends on what you want to spend. If you want a 1 bedroom budget nothing less than $650/monthly on up. The areas I like are Andersonville/Lakeview(my hood')/Edgewater/Lincoln Park(really nice/expensive). Again it's all about what you can afford. Not to mention the public transportation is the best on the North side. You may own a car but you will soon find out that parking on the North side is the worst. Unless you find a apartment building that offers parking. Also in the city there are mostly condo's and apartments not actual houses. But public transportation in Chicago is one of the best in the country. I hope this helps. I don't know about the schools because I don't have children. But if you want to have the "flavor" of the city but stay in a suburban area look into Evanston.I go there all the time. It's about a ten minute train ride from my apartment. There you will find good schools. I know a young lady that lives there just because of the schools.Also any and everything you will ever need is usually in the neighborhood you live in(groceries,pharmacy,banks,eats, this makes things easy to access. I hope this helps.......

Answer 4

There are many nice areas in the south suburbs-Willow Springs and La Grange are good examples. They are suburbs, but are still pretty close (about 10-15min drive) to Chicago-plus offer all the benefits of living in an urban area, yet they have good schools & park district programs for kids.

Answer 5

go to the local papers like chicagoreader.com,chicagosuntimes.com,chicagotribune.com and read up on the areas and costs there.