Weddingbee boards

hi! well, my fiance and i are seriously considering moving from detroit to chicago after he graduates this may. we've visited many times and think it would be a good area for us to both try and get jobs (i'm in advertising, and he'll be in finance). does anybody have neighborhood reccomendations of where we could start checking out online? we'll be looking for somewhere cool, but affordable for couples just starting out, and not too far from downtown. any help would really be appreciated:)

thanks! i was getting ecited looking on realtor.com yesterday, but as i was looking at the map, i really couldn't tell where to be looking! what do you think of bucktown?

Bucktown is awesome, as well as Wicker Park.  Are you guys looking to rent or buy?  There are free apartment searching companies out there that will drive you around to look at apartments if that is the way you're going.

i'm glad you all love it there! thanks for all the suggestions! i'm hoping to buy (so sick of renting), but we'll see. it really depends on the timing. if we were to move, but not found a place quick enough i can see us renting awhile, just to make sure we like the location and all.

I second everyone on here. The neighborhoods you should narrow down your search to are: Lakeview/Wrigleyville/Ravenswood, Bucktown/Wicker Park, Lincoln Park and the South Loop.

When we first moved to Chicago three years ago, we lived in Wicker Park, and really liked it (lots of restaurants, bars and shopping), but decided we wanted a more residential 'hood, so we moved to North Center, which is pretty much Lakeview/Ravenswood, and we're very happy. On the El, my commute downtown to work every day is about 35 mins door to door (I live a block from the El). And it's very residential with lots of tree-lined sidewalks and such, but also lots of places to eat and things to do (like parks, etc.).

We have friends in the South Loop, and we LOVE it there, but it's pricey. Lincoln Park is also pretty pricey. It's safe to say, with any city, the further you are from downtown, the less you'll spend in rent. Wicker Park is awesome, but it's definitely an up-and-coming neighborhood with lots of gentrification going on right now, so the rent/housing prices are going up.

Chicago is a great city. The winters suck (there's no sugar-coating that), but in the summer, it can't be beat. We go for a run on Lake Michigan every weekend, walk to the doggie parks, take the train downtown for awesome shopping. We never run out of stuff to do. Not to mention all the amazing restaurants!

Lincoln Park and Wicker Park are my first choices. If you find something in a place you haven't been to, make sure you visit to check the area out--you might just end up loving it!

Good luck and I hope you do move to Chicago. It's a wonderful city with so many opportunities and helpful people.

good call. we have three cars now, but only plan to bring one, and from the listings i've seen most places did include one spot. sounds like public transportation is the way to go for sure (in detroit that usually = scary) but i'll adjust:) when we visit we do a lot of walking so i imagine i'll lose a couple extra pounds! i did find something i love in lakeview that i'll keep my eye on, and all the areas you bees have reccomended sound great so they're on the radar!