GregCantRead

Hey D-- Congratulations! Emily's right about the Brown-->Blue. The area around Southport and Addison (just north of the Brown Line stop) is cute and has a great coffee shop and movie theater. There's a new grocery store, and the neighborhood's a little more family-oriented than others I've lived in. I haven't found it to be particularly diverse, which--for me--is a little off-putting, and I didn't have an easy time getting around town. From what I remember, apartments are around the same price as Wicker Park or Bucktown, but you don't have to deal with the crowds during Cubs games and there are a ton of great restaurants off the Blue Line.

Hi Sarah-- Congratulations! I used to live and work near UIC, and it's not all that thrilling. It's right on the Blue Line, so it's easy to get to, depending on what kind of commute you're looking for. A friend was going there, and strangely most of the people in her program lived in Logan Square, which isn't close to UIC at all, but it's only about a 30 minute train ride. University Village is a little bland for my taste. It's near Little Italy and just north of Pilsen, which has a lot of galleries, a few decent bars, cheap housing, and some really good Mexican restaurants. But, my car got stolen (and found in a week) and my apartment was broken into when I was living on the west side of Pilsen. it's easy enough to get to other places, but University Village has never really been a destination for me.