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You obviously have a car, so your priorities will be slightly different from mine, but I'll give you my take.

The South Loop gives you way better access to the rest of the city. However, it isn't some sort of urban paradise. Street-level retail stores/restaurants are still kind of sparse. However, there is an enormous Whole Foods that I wish I lived closer to. From what I've observed, 1Ls are happiest living in the South Loop if they're married or live with their SO or have lived in Chicago before school and know lots of people outside of Hyde Park. If I lived in the South Loop, I'd try to find someplace near the #2 bus--a very convenient express rush hour bus between the South Loop and the law school for those days you don't feel like finding parking.

Hyde Park is far away from the rest of the Chicago (I paid thirty bucks cab fare to get back from the Ukrainian Village the other day after the bus stopped running--that was painful), but it really does have its charms. I like seeing the pretty main campus architecture on my way to school every day, it's very nice to be so close to school/the gym, there are some funny dive bars, the campus film society is incredible, there's very good theater and classical music for very cheap student prices, etc. Plus a large majority of your fellow 1Ls will be in Hyde Park. I do not, however, recommend living in Regents--it's a rip off. Take a look at the university's Grad Student Housing, or try renting a condo through Craigslist.

thanks for the input, i really do appreciate it. i probably should have been clearer- i'm not going to u of c, i'm doing TFA at a school in Gary. I want to live in the city, for a whole variety of reasons, not the least of which is the SO's job downtown. Her situation probably means we'll be in the South Loop, just to compromise on the commuting situations, but I want to give Hyde Park a fair shake as well.

bumpity

Hyde Park. It's probably cheaper, and you'll be able to access the e-way quickly. Also, some prices in the south loop are really inflated, and parking is expensive. It's hard to find parking in Hyde Park, though, depending on the area.

yeah, parking is going to be a bitch either way. I wonder if the train is even a feasible option? either way, thanks for help

scat_cat wrote:You obviously have a car, so your priorities will be slightly different from mine, but I'll give you my take.

The South Loop gives you way better access to the rest of the city. However, it isn't some sort of urban paradise. Street-level retail stores/restaurants are still kind of sparse. However, there is an enormous Whole Foods that I wish I lived closer to. From what I've observed, 1Ls are happiest living in the South Loop if they're married or live with their SO or have lived in Chicago before school and know lots of people outside of Hyde Park. If I lived in the South Loop, I'd try to find someplace near the #2 bus--a very convenient express rush hour bus between the South Loop and the law school for those days you don't feel like finding parking.

Hyde Park is far away from the rest of the Chicago (I paid thirty bucks cab fare to get back from the Ukrainian Village the other day after the bus stopped running--that was painful), but it really does have its charms. I like seeing the pretty main campus architecture on my way to school every day, it's very nice to be so close to school/the gym, there are some funny dive bars, the campus film society is incredible, there's very good theater and classical music for very cheap student prices, etc. Plus a large majority of your fellow 1Ls will be in Hyde Park. I do not, however, recommend living in Regents--it's a rip off. Take a look at the university's Grad Student Housing, or try renting a condo through Craigslist.

Just had to comment on the shout out to Doc Films... I'm a projectionist there and am happy to hear that you enjoy it!

As for the original question, I lived in HP for 4 years and currently reside on the North Side. I'm not too high on the South Loop, personally, just because the area isn't really fully developed yet and has always seemed kind of barren to me. I don't know where your TFA school is in relation to the train station in Gary, but the South Shore line does indeed go to Gary from Chicago - it shares train tracks with the Metra Electric line and goes all the way to South Bend. You can catch it downtown at Randolph Station, or in other locations like McCormick place or the Museum Campus. There is also a station in Hyde Park itself at 57th street (very close to where I used to live) but I'm not sure if it stops at that particular station at a feasible time for you in the morning. Here's the schedule for it:

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how hard is it to get a street parking permit in hyde park? i will be keeping my CA plates/registration....

you don't need a permit to park on the street in Hyde Park. It's just a big free-for-all. If you live in Hyde Park, you just park on the street *unless you live in regents or similar that has parking. but most regular brownstone type buildings don't*. There's usually okay parking if you park overnight. During the day, it's another matter: there are some problems if you're trying to come from another part of chicago and park your car every day. You need to get there early, have excellent parallel parking skills, or pay for the parking structure on Ellis Ave, which is kind of a hike from the law school.

If you're really between South Loop and Hyde Park I'd live in Hyde Park. "South loop is a barren wasteland" comments are credited. If you want to live somewhere that isn't Hyde Park, why not try something like.... I don't know. Pilsen is very up-and-coming these days, but to each his own. Definitely more exciting than the south loop! Not to mention cheap. You'd have to drive from Pilsen though, there's no nice bus or train line to Hyde Park.

I personally hate taking public transport in Chicago in the winter. All that time spent standing around on frigid El platforms is not my favorite memory. And it's notoriously slow to get to hyde park on the bus or the el. Pretty fast around the rest of the city, but busing it to hyde park (or worse, training it) every day sucks.. Well IMO. I guess I'm outing myself as a giant snob here. Anyway, It's a commute that takes 15 min. in a car and 45-60 by bus or train. And if you can't work on the train or bus, you're looking at rather a lot of dead time.

If you have a car you can get anywhere in the city easily from Hyde Park. HP is not my favorite neighborhood, but between SL and HP I would pick Hyde Park . Either that, or I'd just bite the bullet and live north, in the Ukranian Village or lakeview. But South Loop is kind of lose-lose IMO.

edited to add Doc Films FTW!

neimanmarxist wrote:you don't need a permit to park on the street in Hyde Park. It's just a big free-for-all. If you live in Hyde Park, you just park on the street *unless you live in regents or similar that has parking. but most regular brownstone type buildings don't*. There's usually okay parking if you park overnight. During the day, it's another matter: there are some problems if you're trying to come from another part of chicago and park your car every day. You need to get there early, have excellent parallel parking skills, or pay for the parking structure on Ellis Ave, which is kind of a hike from the law school.

If you're really between South Loop and Hyde Park I'd live in Hyde Park. "South loop is a barren wasteland" comments are credited. If you want to live somewhere that isn't Hyde Park, why not try something like.... I don't know. Pilsen is very up-and-coming these days, but to each his own. Definitely more exciting than the south loop! Not to mention cheap. You'd have to drive from Pilsen though, there's no nice bus or train line to Hyde Park.

I personally hate taking public transport in Chicago in the winter. All that time spent standing around on frigid El platforms is not my favorite memory. And it's notoriously slow to get to hyde park on the bus or the el. Pretty fast around the rest of the city, but busing it to hyde park (or worse, training it) every day sucks.. Well IMO. I guess I'm outing myself as a giant snob here. Anyway, It's a commute that takes 15 min. in a car and 45-60 by bus or train. And if you can't work on the train or bus, you're looking at rather a lot of dead time.

If you have a car you can get anywhere in the city easily from Hyde Park. HP is not my favorite neighborhood, but between SL and HP I would pick Hyde Park . Either that, or I'd just bite the bullet and live north, in the Ukranian Village or lakeview. But South Loop is kind of lose-lose IMO.

edited to add Doc Films FTW!

Re: the parking structure. The lot at 55th & Ellis is just one of the structures available for parking permits. Both the law school and the Harris school have lots behind them where you can get permits to. If you buy a permit you have to put lot preferences on the form that you submit, so there's no guarantee you'd get a close lot, but at least one of those lots usually has spaces. I used to park in the Harris lot when I worked for the University and lived in Lakeview before law school. The passes are about $70-$80/mo, which is kind of a lot, but at the same time, a lot cheaper than the numerous parking tickets you will get if you park illegally in HP.... (I know)

hmlee wrote:The passes are about $70-$80/mo, which is kind of a lot, but at the same time, a lot cheaper than the numerous parking tickets you will get if you park illegally in HP.... (I know)

+1. seriously.

I think you probably get a better choice of parking lot if you're a law student than you do if you are an undergrad/grad student/ employee. Don't you think?

neimanmarxist wrote:

hmlee wrote:The passes are about $70-$80/mo, which is kind of a lot, but at the same time, a lot cheaper than the numerous parking tickets you will get if you park illegally in HP.... (I know)

+1. seriously.

I think you probably get a better choice of parking lot if you're a law student than you do if you are an undergrad/grad student/ employee. Don't you think?

Possibly. I would guess that they try to place the law students in the law school lot and the Harris people in the Harris lot... employees I thinkdo get better selection than undergrads / other grad students, though. Or at least that was what it was like for me.