The Chainlink

bike-commute friendly neighborhoods to the south side?

I am considering moving out of Hyde Park and am looking suggestion for possible neighborhoods to move into. My job is still in Hyde Park so I am looking for less than a 50 minute commute by bike, with decent public transport on days when I'm not biking.
Ideally rent should also be reasonable (say less than $650/month if I share a 2 bedroom).
Trendy/young-professional neighborhoods a plus.

Suggestions?

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I guess hip for you is high rent and people locking to your bike and messing up your rear wheel when they leave...

notoriousDUG said:
But Chuck, everyone knows that everything cool is on the blue line.

Geeze, you kids are so not hip down there.

Chuck a Muck said:
Wow! Bridgeport not happening? Public trans lacking? Where ya been, under a rock? We have one of the best bars in the city, Bernice's Tavern! We have one of the best alternative art space's in the Co-Prosperity! The Southside Ride meets every 1st Monday of the month at Bernice's! You have easy access to the Red, Green, and Orange lines, plus you can take the Halsted bus to 47th or 51st street buses to Hyde Park. Also you can take the Halsted bike lane to the north. Rents are cheap! I just rented a huge 3 bedroom for 700 bucks a month!

Amy Y said:
Thanks for all these suggestions guys...keep coming with them :-)

Clark - I think Hyde Park is a wonderful neighborhood with unique set of characteristics. However, sometimes I do find living here...hmm...socially challenging. I moved from NYC and while I do like Hyde Park, and I see myself living here if one day I'm not so inclined to hit the social scene as often. It is also not where most people of my demographic lives (25-35 young professionals), whom I'd like to meet more of. Lastly, public transportation to Hyde Park at night is terrible. The last bus from downtown stops at 12:30am.

Pilsen is on my list of places to checkout. I have yet to check out Univ Village. South Loop seems expensive - location-wise it is perfect. I only been to Bridgeport a few times and I find it way too non-happening for my taste and a bit less convenient in terms of public transportation, but perhaps someone could correct me on this.
Sorry I stand corrected on Bridgeport & public tranport (but when I try to map bridgeport they always point to the place right devoid of public tranport!)
I haven't seen the Bridgeport nightlife so I still have to check that out. But for $700for 3 br...heck that's cheaper than my studio in Hyde Park (oh, did I mention hyde park rent is inflated? yeah, I'm also looking to pay less)

I guess it's one time when I'm glad I'm not as well-connected- haven't ran to colleagues during midnight runs yet though i can't say it hasn't escaped my mind :-)
I've known several people who moved from East Pilsen to Bridgeport due to increasing rents. One family owns a large portion of East Pilsen, and rents have increased steeply in recent years, with little or no improvement of somewhat rundown properties. There's a lot more happening in Bridgeport than in the past - restaurants, bars, art galleries, etc. It's worth checking out.

Rents in Hyde Park and the South Loop are pricey - highest on the south side. Any other neighborhood south of the Loop would be cheaper.

Amy Y said:
Sorry I stand corrected on Bridgeport & public tranport (but when I try to map bridgeport they always point to the place right devoid of public tranport!)
I haven't seen the Bridgeport nightlife so I still have to check that out. But for $700for 3 br...heck that's cheaper than my studio in Hyde Park (oh, did I mention hyde park rent is inflated? yeah, I'm also looking to pay less)

I guess it's one time when I'm glad I'm not as well-connected- haven't ran to colleagues during midnight runs yet though i can't say it hasn't escaped my mind :-)
You gotta pay the price to be cool man, gotta pay the price.

Someday, when I'm old like you, I won't care and will be able to live where it's cheap.



Chuck a Muck said:
I guess hip for you is high rent and people locking to your bike and messing up your rear wheel when they leave...

notoriousDUG said:
But Chuck, everyone knows that everything cool is on the blue line.

Geeze, you kids are so not hip down there.

Chuck a Muck said:
Wow! Bridgeport not happening? Public trans lacking? Where ya been, under a rock? We have one of the best bars in the city, Bernice's Tavern! We have one of the best alternative art space's in the Co-Prosperity! The Southside Ride meets every 1st Monday of the month at Bernice's! You have easy access to the Red, Green, and Orange lines, plus you can take the Halsted bus to 47th or 51st street buses to Hyde Park. Also you can take the Halsted bike lane to the north. Rents are cheap! I just rented a huge 3 bedroom for 700 bucks a month!

Amy Y said:
Thanks for all these suggestions guys...keep coming with them :-)

Clark - I think Hyde Park is a wonderful neighborhood with unique set of characteristics. However, sometimes I do find living here...hmm...socially challenging. I moved from NYC and while I do like Hyde Park, and I see myself living here if one day I'm not so inclined to hit the social scene as often. It is also not where most people of my demographic lives (25-35 young professionals), whom I'd like to meet more of. Lastly, public transportation to Hyde Park at night is terrible. The last bus from downtown stops at 12:30am.

Pilsen is on my list of places to checkout. I have yet to check out Univ Village. South Loop seems expensive - location-wise it is perfect. I only been to Bridgeport a few times and I find it way too non-happening for my taste and a bit less convenient in terms of public transportation, but perhaps someone could correct me on this.
Not only that, but you won't need to worry about who will see you buying condoms at CVS either
(cuz' you won't need any ;-)

notoriousDUG said:
You gotta pay the price to be cool man, gotta pay the price.
Someday, when I'm old like you, I won't care and will be able to live where it's cheap.

Chuck a Muck said:
I guess hip for you is high rent and people locking to your bike and messing up your rear wheel when they leave...

.
You're implying I have that problem now...

H3N3 said:
Not only that, but you won't need to worry about who will see you buying condoms at CVS either
(cuz' you won't need any ;-)

notoriousDUG said:
You gotta pay the price to be cool man, gotta pay the price.
Someday, when I'm old like you, I won't care and will be able to live where it's cheap.

Chuck a Muck said:
I guess hip for you is high rent and people locking to your bike and messing up your rear wheel when they leave...

.
Don't tell anyone, but rents have been edging back down in Pilsenland due in part to some really stoopid changes made by UIC in the last 1-2 years, and also due to the soft rental market and a dearth of open apartments in general.

Barring a response to my previous question I don't know enough about the OP's needs to really try to hit the mark, but I would say that either Bridgeport or Pilsen would be fine places to live to be reasonably accessible to U of C for a daily commute, but close enough to downtown or the north side to offer a slight improvement in accessibility to other neighborhoods that offer culture and nightlife options.

However, if you're going to take on a commute to work, it would be silly to put yourself in a place that would require a similar trip to recreation/nightlife options; and I'm not sure that Pilsen and Bridgeport have really reached the level that they would constitute a step up from Hyde Park significant enough to justify taking on a daily commute to work.

Still hard to make specific recommendations with the info at hand.

Anne Alt said:
I've known several people who moved from East Pilsen to Bridgeport due to increasing rents. One family owns a large portion of East Pilsen, and rents have increased steeply in recent years, with little or no improvement of somewhat rundown properties. There's a lot more happening in Bridgeport than in the past - restaurants, bars, art galleries, etc. It's worth checking out.
Rents in Hyde Park and the South Loop are pricey - highest on the south side. Any other neighborhood south of the Loop would be cheaper.
Amy Y said:
Sorry I stand corrected on Bridgeport & public tranport (but when I try to map bridgeport they always point to the place right devoid of public tranport!)
I haven't seen the Bridgeport nightlife so I still have to check that out. But for $700for 3 br...heck that's cheaper than my studio in Hyde Park (oh, did I mention hyde park rent is inflated? yeah, I'm also looking to pay less)
I guess it's one time when I'm glad I'm not as well-connected- haven't ran to colleagues during midnight runs yet though i can't say it hasn't escaped my mind :-)
Amy Y, I have to side with Chuck on this one, all around great housing deals in Bridgeport. Public transportation via CTA and bike routes north and south are fine. My opinion, if you're closer to the red or green lines that also puts you close to the lake front path. But most of all you can't beat the South Side Rider group at Bernice's for some great times. Why don't you come out on the next ride and see Bridgeport by bike. It's going to be the first monday in June, this way you can get a feel of the area and some opinions from others.
I like East Pilsen, and you certainly can make your rent budget here. But, and this is a big but, getting to Hyde Park by the CTA sucks. There is nothing approaching a direct route, so you are looking at a combination of something like 2-3 busses/trains. The Pink line is the only close El (the Blue is still a mile away). Some of the busses (#18) only have limited hours. I would suggest looking, as others had said, at South Loop and Bridgeport. University Village is at the north-east corner of Pilsen, so the transit to Hyde Park won't be much better.
Truth. Hyde Park is totally an island- which is great. But it's limiting.

I left, but come back by bike from little village for a commute. Little Village, Pilsen, Bridgeport are all great options that balance fun (and close access to fun) with a bike commute that won't kill you. Plus, friends in Hyde Park are jealous and incredulous at the fact you get to leave every day.

Shay said:
I left Hyde Park for Logan Square. While I think it's a beautiful neighborhood with a lot of great attributes, there were two main reasons I left:
2) Some people (me included) need space between work life/school life and personal life. In Hyde Park if you run out to buy condoms you are guaranteed to run into 27 people you know in CVS.

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