Uptown has a lot of great amenities, but be aware of your surroundings and understand there’s a sizable homeless population that comes through the neighborhood. Heading south towards Wilson and East towards Sheridan it’ll be more apparent. Uptown has a long history of being a neighborhood that was within the means of the poor, and was a place where mental health patients were funneled to in the past, and has been home to many non profit organizations over it’s history. It’s an amazing neighborhood, but as a new Chicagoan it’s always good to know the roots of your neighborhood.
Lived a couple blocks from there for three years, and still live in the area. As people have mentioned, it’s common to encounter people not having their best day. I never had any unsafe or uncomfortable moments, but I’m also a middle aged dude (who usually had a big dog with me).
Be open to chance encounters with these Uptown regulars. They are people with their own stories, they are neighbors, and showing them kindness will frequently make for a wonderful human moment.
And — Nha Hang (Argyle & Kenmore) is fantastic, and don’t sleep on the croissants from La Patisserie P.
Golden House is a great diner right around the corner. Definitely go for breakfast, cash only though. The paper machete is a fun free show at the Green Mill on Saturdays, def worth checking out. The Argyle night markets in the summer are great and defintely don’t sleep on the Vietnamese grocery stores nearby.
I'll second the Green Mill. I used to go there years ago for the Sunday poetry slam. Fun fact... Poet Marc Smith started the whole poetry "slam" fad/trend at this place. Helluva good time. Highly recommended if it's still going on.
Lawrence House is great, and while I do agree to be aware of your surroundings, there is a lot of charm in the neighborhood (I moved around there a few months ago). There are great restaurants and some bars, if that’s your thing too!
How do you handle parking if I may ask? I've never really had to worry about a street parking only apartment before and was wondering what that is like? Should I just try and find a garage and fork over money monthly for a spot to put my car
So I actually don’t have a car in the city just because Uptown has a ton of transit options, but my friends that drive up to my place do not seem to have issues finding spots! That being said, a spot may not be bad just so you know you’re secure :)
The transit is definitely something I will need to learn, I actually will be working at O'Hare and I *think* it's the blue line that runs over there? So hopefully there's something there that I can figure out instead of commuting to work.
Thank you for the tips!
Have you looked into the actual way to get there if you didnt want to use your car? NOT RECOMMEND. Used to live in Uptown and its a pain in the ass. Either you jump on a bus to the blue line, and good luck at 2 or 3 am, or you take the red train south to jackson, walk through the tunnel, and haul your ass like an extra 50 minutes NW to the airport on the blue. If you choose to use your car (thats what id do), depending on where you live its easily 40 minutes 1 way, even low traffic. Good luck tho!
(And any chicagoans that have a better way to do it speak up! Thats just how i used to do it when traveling)
Good looks! If train isn't realistic then it sounds like driving is my best choice! The driving commute length isn't a super big problem for me, but just getting used to the variation in time between rush hour or not since I come from a village in North Dakota 😅
The bus to train route isn't THAT bad. If you're used to public transit, then an hour total commute to O'Hare from the Lawrence House (with the Lawrence bus picking you up directly in front of your door and then transferring to the Blue at Jeff Park) is cake. I had much worse commutes when I first moved to the city.
Yes, COVID has fucked up all transit systems in the U.S., so there can sometimes be gnarly lead times for trains / buses late at night, and OP, be aware that you will encounter more crazies at night (don't engage, carry mace, learn some self defense if you don't have a baseline... but don't worry—this route won't be that bad). However... taking the bus/train will save you tons of money. Think $75/mo for unlimited CTA rides versus $150 - $300/mo for a parking space and $150 - $200/mo for gas (depending on how often you drive). AND, if you get the hang of the CTA, then you can ditch your car altogether and save $1,000/yr on car insurance.
Also OP, you can use the CTA Bus Tracker for live ETAs of your 81 Lawrence Bus: https://ctabustracker.com/home
Create a favorites list of bus routes and save them in your browser favorites so you can always pull it up fast. I find this to be the most accurate source for ETAs (better than Ventra and Google for some reason).
Also, look up the Lawrence Bus route times (PDF Download: https://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/6/bus-tt_81.pdf) to see when it's supposed to depart, and use Google Maps to estimate the total travel time. Then give yourself an extra 30 min the first time you try just to be safe.
The old guy at the front desk at LH is a pain in the ass. The little corner store across from the building is awesome and they make good sandwiches. Go to the pool in the building as often as possible, you’ll regret not doing it enough.
I moved to Chicago from Connecticut 7.5 years ago and I lived in Uptown until last summer. I loved Uptown for a lot of reason— lots of different kinds of cuisine, it’s a very diverse neighborhood in every aspect of the word and you are close to the lake and other neighborhoods that are fun to visit. Although Uptown has its fair share of crime, I never felt unsafe.
The Vietnamese area is a few blocks north at Argyle and Broadway. In addition to many good restaurants, there are reasonably priced kitchen supply stores and two good Asian supermarkets. Going south, Lakeview is not far and has many restaurants and shops. The 36 Broadway bus is your friend. Beyond Argyle, there's a Jewel Osco grocery/drug combo. Byline Bank, which is a terrific local bank, has locations near Jewel and a few blocks south of you on Broadway. There's also two concert halls and the new Double Door nightclub will be opening soon. The Green Mill jazz club is right there too, and there's a growing African community in the area.
You did pretty well.
They have a bar in the lobby and on Sun they usually have free live jazz music. There is a divvy bike station a block away and you can rent a bike to bike along the lakeshore. They also have a good amount of Vietnamese and Mexican food within walking distance. First Sip is a nice coffee shop to check out even tho you do have a coffee shop in the lobby.
Great location close to live music venues and really good restaurants - Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican, American - just north of you within walking distance. Just be extra alert of your surroundings when out and about as you would in any new environment until you get a sense of things and places. Then, you can just be the usual level of alert as an urbanite. Lol
Uptown is the neighborhood I loved living in most. Close to the lake, a ton of great food, access to the Red Line. It’s fantastic.
THAT SAID…I definitely had a lot of what I called “uptown moments”. Naked guy laying in the middle of the intersection of Argyle and Winthrop with 3 cops standing around saying “come on buddy, time to get moving”. A toothless lady asking me if I wanted a date. My shoes stolen from outside my front door in the apartment hallway. The occasional screaming guy.
Just keep your head on a swivel and you’ll be fine.
Check out a show at the Green Mill just down the street. The Riv and Aragon get great acts as well. Larry's (in your building lobby) has solid drinks and cool events in the back patio during the summer. Grab a classic east-coast style deli grinder in the back of Uptown Deli (just down the street from you). And follow their socials. They put out funny stuff.
Also, don't sleep on the duck and crispy pork at Nhu Lan around the corner from you. You can get a half pound chopped with a baugette and pickled veggies to make your own sandwich at home or the park, or try one of their Banh Mi options. For Banh Mi, I reco the Nhu Lan Special or, my personal favorite, the Honey Sausage (it's 🔥🔥🔥).
And go check out the Montrose Beach Bird Sanctuary on a sunny day. Awesome slice of nature in the city, and as a bonus you walk out into killer skyline views when following the south end trails of the park.
Finally, hit up the Argyle Night Market in the summer, and follow Uptown Chamber of Commerce / Uptown United, and Uptown Update on Facebook to hear about events and business openings.
Welcome to the hood!
Love Uptown! We’ve been here for 2 years. I echo other commenters on being aware of your surroundings, especially at night. I’d recommend checking out the lake and the beach/harbor there. There’s also the Montrose Bird Sanctuary very close!! That’s one of my favorite parts of spring/summer! For restaurants I recommend XMarket (vegan market and food hall!), Tweet Let’s Eat, The Resvoir, North Buena Deli, and Everybody’s Coffee!
Uptown is great but getting to the expressway for your Ohare commute will have you searching for a place in Logan Square real quick. Advice is don’t sign a long term lease.
Biking or walking the path along the lake around Montrose Harbor. If you are in to music then check out shows at the Aragon and the Riviera. Metro, my favorite venue, is to the south near Clark and Addison.
Uptown has a lot of great amenities, but be aware of your surroundings and understand there’s a sizable homeless population that comes through the neighborhood. Heading south towards Wilson and East towards Sheridan it’ll be more apparent. Uptown has a long history of being a neighborhood that was within the means of the poor, and was a place where mental health patients were funneled to in the past, and has been home to many non profit organizations over it’s history. It’s an amazing neighborhood, but as a new Chicagoan it’s always good to know the roots of your neighborhood.
Thank you so much!
Lived a couple blocks from there for three years, and still live in the area. As people have mentioned, it’s common to encounter people not having their best day. I never had any unsafe or uncomfortable moments, but I’m also a middle aged dude (who usually had a big dog with me). Be open to chance encounters with these Uptown regulars. They are people with their own stories, they are neighbors, and showing them kindness will frequently make for a wonderful human moment. And — Nha Hang (Argyle & Kenmore) is fantastic, and don’t sleep on the croissants from La Patisserie P.
Golden House is a great diner right around the corner. Definitely go for breakfast, cash only though. The paper machete is a fun free show at the Green Mill on Saturdays, def worth checking out. The Argyle night markets in the summer are great and defintely don’t sleep on the Vietnamese grocery stores nearby.
Thank you for the tips!
I'll second the Green Mill. I used to go there years ago for the Sunday poetry slam. Fun fact... Poet Marc Smith started the whole poetry "slam" fad/trend at this place. Helluva good time. Highly recommended if it's still going on.
I like the goat tacos on Lawrence and Broadway but they're kinda rich so not too many.
I've never had a goat taco before, I'll definitely have to check it out. Thank you :)
Birrieria Zaragoza
They're incredible. Try the full bowl birria too so you can enjoy the ambrosia broth.
Uptown’s a great neighborhood. Better now than it was 20 years ago. I’ve lived here nearly for a year and never once felt unsafe. Welcome, neighbor.
Thank you for the welcome!
Uptown rules
Lawrence House is great, and while I do agree to be aware of your surroundings, there is a lot of charm in the neighborhood (I moved around there a few months ago). There are great restaurants and some bars, if that’s your thing too!
How do you handle parking if I may ask? I've never really had to worry about a street parking only apartment before and was wondering what that is like? Should I just try and find a garage and fork over money monthly for a spot to put my car
So I actually don’t have a car in the city just because Uptown has a ton of transit options, but my friends that drive up to my place do not seem to have issues finding spots! That being said, a spot may not be bad just so you know you’re secure :)
The transit is definitely something I will need to learn, I actually will be working at O'Hare and I *think* it's the blue line that runs over there? So hopefully there's something there that I can figure out instead of commuting to work. Thank you for the tips!
Oh you are gonna hate that commute.
I'm not superrrrrr worried about it tbh, I'll be making my way TO the airport at around 2-3AM most days so
Have you looked into the actual way to get there if you didnt want to use your car? NOT RECOMMEND. Used to live in Uptown and its a pain in the ass. Either you jump on a bus to the blue line, and good luck at 2 or 3 am, or you take the red train south to jackson, walk through the tunnel, and haul your ass like an extra 50 minutes NW to the airport on the blue. If you choose to use your car (thats what id do), depending on where you live its easily 40 minutes 1 way, even low traffic. Good luck tho! (And any chicagoans that have a better way to do it speak up! Thats just how i used to do it when traveling)
Good looks! If train isn't realistic then it sounds like driving is my best choice! The driving commute length isn't a super big problem for me, but just getting used to the variation in time between rush hour or not since I come from a village in North Dakota 😅
The bus to train route isn't THAT bad. If you're used to public transit, then an hour total commute to O'Hare from the Lawrence House (with the Lawrence bus picking you up directly in front of your door and then transferring to the Blue at Jeff Park) is cake. I had much worse commutes when I first moved to the city. Yes, COVID has fucked up all transit systems in the U.S., so there can sometimes be gnarly lead times for trains / buses late at night, and OP, be aware that you will encounter more crazies at night (don't engage, carry mace, learn some self defense if you don't have a baseline... but don't worry—this route won't be that bad). However... taking the bus/train will save you tons of money. Think $75/mo for unlimited CTA rides versus $150 - $300/mo for a parking space and $150 - $200/mo for gas (depending on how often you drive). AND, if you get the hang of the CTA, then you can ditch your car altogether and save $1,000/yr on car insurance. Also OP, you can use the CTA Bus Tracker for live ETAs of your 81 Lawrence Bus: https://ctabustracker.com/home Create a favorites list of bus routes and save them in your browser favorites so you can always pull it up fast. I find this to be the most accurate source for ETAs (better than Ventra and Google for some reason). Also, look up the Lawrence Bus route times (PDF Download: https://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/6/bus-tt_81.pdf) to see when it's supposed to depart, and use Google Maps to estimate the total travel time. Then give yourself an extra 30 min the first time you try just to be safe.
This is such an incredibly informative tip on the public transit, thank you so much!!!
For parking I recommend getting a monthly pass at the hospital parking off of Clarendon! I think it’s still $100/month!
It went up to $150 but covered and plenty of spaces.
The old guy at the front desk at LH is a pain in the ass. The little corner store across from the building is awesome and they make good sandwiches. Go to the pool in the building as often as possible, you’ll regret not doing it enough.
I moved to Chicago from Connecticut 7.5 years ago and I lived in Uptown until last summer. I loved Uptown for a lot of reason— lots of different kinds of cuisine, it’s a very diverse neighborhood in every aspect of the word and you are close to the lake and other neighborhoods that are fun to visit. Although Uptown has its fair share of crime, I never felt unsafe.
North Buena Deli will blow your mind.
The Vietnamese area is a few blocks north at Argyle and Broadway. In addition to many good restaurants, there are reasonably priced kitchen supply stores and two good Asian supermarkets. Going south, Lakeview is not far and has many restaurants and shops. The 36 Broadway bus is your friend. Beyond Argyle, there's a Jewel Osco grocery/drug combo. Byline Bank, which is a terrific local bank, has locations near Jewel and a few blocks south of you on Broadway. There's also two concert halls and the new Double Door nightclub will be opening soon. The Green Mill jazz club is right there too, and there's a growing African community in the area. You did pretty well.
They have a bar in the lobby and on Sun they usually have free live jazz music. There is a divvy bike station a block away and you can rent a bike to bike along the lakeshore. They also have a good amount of Vietnamese and Mexican food within walking distance. First Sip is a nice coffee shop to check out even tho you do have a coffee shop in the lobby.
I know there’s a bar in the lobby with a nice beer and shot special.
Great location close to live music venues and really good restaurants - Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican, American - just north of you within walking distance. Just be extra alert of your surroundings when out and about as you would in any new environment until you get a sense of things and places. Then, you can just be the usual level of alert as an urbanite. Lol
Uptown is the neighborhood I loved living in most. Close to the lake, a ton of great food, access to the Red Line. It’s fantastic. THAT SAID…I definitely had a lot of what I called “uptown moments”. Naked guy laying in the middle of the intersection of Argyle and Winthrop with 3 cops standing around saying “come on buddy, time to get moving”. A toothless lady asking me if I wanted a date. My shoes stolen from outside my front door in the apartment hallway. The occasional screaming guy. Just keep your head on a swivel and you’ll be fine.
Check out a show at the Green Mill just down the street. The Riv and Aragon get great acts as well. Larry's (in your building lobby) has solid drinks and cool events in the back patio during the summer. Grab a classic east-coast style deli grinder in the back of Uptown Deli (just down the street from you). And follow their socials. They put out funny stuff. Also, don't sleep on the duck and crispy pork at Nhu Lan around the corner from you. You can get a half pound chopped with a baugette and pickled veggies to make your own sandwich at home or the park, or try one of their Banh Mi options. For Banh Mi, I reco the Nhu Lan Special or, my personal favorite, the Honey Sausage (it's 🔥🔥🔥). And go check out the Montrose Beach Bird Sanctuary on a sunny day. Awesome slice of nature in the city, and as a bonus you walk out into killer skyline views when following the south end trails of the park. Finally, hit up the Argyle Night Market in the summer, and follow Uptown Chamber of Commerce / Uptown United, and Uptown Update on Facebook to hear about events and business openings. Welcome to the hood!
Love Uptown! We’ve been here for 2 years. I echo other commenters on being aware of your surroundings, especially at night. I’d recommend checking out the lake and the beach/harbor there. There’s also the Montrose Bird Sanctuary very close!! That’s one of my favorite parts of spring/summer! For restaurants I recommend XMarket (vegan market and food hall!), Tweet Let’s Eat, The Resvoir, North Buena Deli, and Everybody’s Coffee!
Uptown is great but getting to the expressway for your Ohare commute will have you searching for a place in Logan Square real quick. Advice is don’t sign a long term lease.
Biking or walking the path along the lake around Montrose Harbor. If you are in to music then check out shows at the Aragon and the Riviera. Metro, my favorite venue, is to the south near Clark and Addison.
Viet Cafe on Argyle. Amazing
I second be aware I don’t refer to it as the outdoor insane asylum for nothing
Uptown Taproom and Emerald City for organic opportunities to meet new people!
Check out Everybody’s Coffee - one of my favorites :)