Top 5 Chicago Neighborhoods
Chicago has always been considered by many residents to have a neighborhood feel that provides a small town touch to such a large, urban city. Don’t be surprised to hear most residents claim that their particular neck of the woods is by far the best place in Chicago to live regardless of what neighborhood they reside in. Chicagoans have a great sense of pride in where they live, often due to the culture and history provided by each neighborhood. Below you will find Imagine Lifestyles’ Five favorite neighborhoods in Chicago. We are not just evaluating each neighborhoods by the luxury cars sitting in the driveway as we all know the vehicle could be a Chicago luxury car rental. This was not an easy task and we hope no one is offended if your neighborhood is left off because in all honesty we love all of Chicago.
1. River North
2. Lakeview
3. Logan Square
4. Gold Coast
5. West Loop
1. River North: Located just north of the loop, west of Michigan Avenue, and bordered by the Chicago River on the south and the west, someone got really creative when they deemed this neighborhood to be River North. Once a prominent warehouse district, River North is now a cultural hub of Chicago. Home to art galleries, urban professionals, and some of Chicago’s hottest clubs and restaurants River North is definitely one of Chicago’s greatest spots to live. River North also hosts Chicago’s highest concentration of restaurants and recently has seen a surge of openings from world famous Chefs. Chicago is very lucky to have such a wonderful neighborhood that residents and tourists both benefit from.
2. Lakeview: The second most populated neighborhood of Chicago with almost 100,000 residents, Lakeview is also very creatively named. Lake Michigan borders the East side of Lakeview, and many residents flock here solely due to the easy access to the lake. Home to Wrigley Field, Boystown, and some of the city’s most popular bars and restaurants, Lakeview is predominately inhabited by the city’s younger, fresh our of college crowd. The only thing negative side of Lakeview is the horrendous parking situation but with the wonderful public transportation system we have who needs a car anyways.
3. Logan Square: Located on the near North side of Chicago, Logan Square grabs the infamous Chicago slogan of being the next “up and coming” place to live. Residents of Chicago have seen this before, with numerous outlying neighborhoods suddenly becoming the next best place to be. However, we feel Logan Square truly deserves this honor and would definitely consider it an up and coming part of the Chicago social scene. Think elegant brownstones with a reasonable mortgage or rent payment and you can see the appeal of settling down here. Combine that with great parks, a wide array of shops and restaurants, and some of the cities best farmer’s markets during the summer and you have a great Chicago neighborhood. Easy access to the Metra is also another popular draw for the suburb workers who still want to live in the city.
4. Gold Coast: Think Manhattans’ Upper East Side to get an idea of Chicago’s most famous neighborhood, the Gold Coast. Located between North Avenue, Lake Shore Drive, Oak Street, and Clark Street, the Gold Coast is filled with some of Chicago’s richest real estate and some of the most expensive property in the United States. Mainly a residential area, the Gold Coast was originally created after the Chicago fire. Soon after the fire, millionaires began to settle there and the rest is history. If you can’t afford one of the many mansions in the Gold Coast, high-rises have recently flooded the area and provide a much more manageable rent or mortgage payment for us non mega-wealthy residents. With a location just minutes from downtown, the Gold Coast has everything you could need within a few blocks.
5. West Loop: Chicago’s newest neighborhood, the West Loop has been transforming the last 20 years from a Warehouse District to a spot filled with condos, restaurants, and plenty of nightlife. It is bordered by Fulton Street on the north, Congress on the south, Halsted on the east, and Racine on the west. The West Loop is becoming increasingly popular with the younger crowd that works downtown, with such an easy commute and all. Known as the loft district of Chicago, the abandoned warehouses of past have been remodeled brilliantly into some of the nicest lofts in Chicago. Once considered an “up and coming” neighborhood, the West Loop is officially up and has made its coming out party official.
Once again, we realize Chicago has many other fantastic neighborhoods and do not mean to take anything away from them. The five listed above are just our favorite places we enjoy spending time or residing in Chicago. Hate it or love it, they are Imagine Lifestyles Chicago’s top five Chicago neighborhoods. The only thing we know for certain is that an exotic luxury rental car looks good anywhere in Chicago.
On you way out check out our fleet of Chicago Ferrari rental cars, Chicago Lamborghini rentals and do not forget our fleet of Chicago Bentley rental cars.
Post by Imagine Lifestyles Luxury Rentals