6.4 out of 10

West Town

Ranked 36th best neighborhood in Chicago
41.9023311929259 -87.689843003286
Great for
  • Public Transport
  • Internet Access
  • Resale or Rental Value
  • Eating Out
  • Parking
Not great for
  • Childcare
  • Parks & Recreation
  • Cost of Living
  • Lack of Traffic
  • Clean & Green
Who lives here?
  • Singles
  • Professionals
  • Families with kids
  • Retirees
  • Hipsters

Reviews

4/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 3/5
  • Safe & Sound 4/5
  • Peace & Quiet 4/5
  • Eating Out 4/5
  • Nightlife 3/5
  • Shopping Options 4/5
  • Parking 4/5
  • Public Transport 4/5
2yrs+
Editors Choice

"West Town - Change, But Maybe Not the Good Kind"

First off, the area shown on this map here isn’t West Town. West Town includes East Village and Ukrainian Village, and extends from Division to Grand, Western to the Kennedy.

Second, this review will be very biased, as my neighborhood is Ukrainian Village.

I have to first say that this neighborhood has long been very nice and neighborly. It’s good for families, singles, older people and younger ones too. The businesses, bars and restaurants are locally owned, and everywhere you go there’s a wonderful community atmosphere.

Unfortunately, this is changing rapidly. West Town is an area that’s been experiencing gentrification like crazy. Apartment buildings are being torn down left and right and replaced with very expensive condos. One down the street from me was going for $500,000. REALLY? This of course does not apply to all people buying these condos, but many of them have a really bad attitude towards the neighborhood and its residents. For example, the neighborhood association posted on their website that they wanted all businesses to get rid of the bars over their windows and that they wanted to start attracting only ‘high-end’ businesses and families to the neighborhood. The area used to be very diverse, and is growing increasingly NOT so. This is the reason gentrification is a problem. It pushes out long-time residents by overpricing the real estate and making them feel unwelcome in their own neighborhood.

That being said, I’ve always loved living in the area. It’s convenient and a real community, although I can’t say how long that will last.
Pros
  • safe
Cons
  • prices steadily increasing
Recommended for
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
  • Retirees
  • Hipsters
4/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 4/5
  • Safe & Sound 4/5
  • Clean & Green 3/5
  • Pest Free 3/5
  • Peace & Quiet 3/5
  • Eating Out 4/5
  • Nightlife 4/5
  • Parks & Recreation 3/5
  • Shopping Options 4/5
  • Gym & Fitness 4/5
  • Internet Access 3/5
  • Lack of Traffic 3/5
  • Parking 3/5
  • Cost of Living 4/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 4/5
  • Public Transport 4/5
  • Medical Facilities 3/5
  • Schools 3/5
  • Childcare 3/5
2yrs+
Editors Choice

"Middle Ground"

Dependent on how you look at it, West Town is really a couple of neighborhoods put together. It sort of encompasses Humboldt Park, Wicker Park, Ukranian village, East Village, and River West. The part of the map on Streetadvisor is kind of part of Humboldt Park, although that would be the area I would think of as West Town.

Being between Wicker Park and Humboldt Park, West Town is sort of a middle ground as a far as how nice the neighborhood is. I'm a big fan of Wicker Park, and would like to live there if the apartment prices weren't quite so high, and I see a good future for Humboldt Park, which could use a bit more gentrification to make it safer and nicer. West Town isn't a bad place, as it is just a bit nicer than Humboldt Park, but doesn't have the same price problems that I've found in Wicker Park. It's a pretty good area, close to better neighborhoods, and definitely on the rise. I'd give it a relatively high recommendation.
Pros
  • Close to Wicker Park
  • Good Atmosphere
  • Good bars and clubs nearby
  • safe
Cons
  • Some times it gets a bit loud
  • It feels like an up and comer that hasn't quite arrived yet
  • prices steadily increasing
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Singles
3/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 2/5
  • Safe & Sound 2/5
  • Clean & Green 2/5
  • Pest Free 3/5
  • Peace & Quiet 2/5
  • Eating Out 5/5
  • Nightlife 3/5
  • Parks & Recreation 3/5
  • Shopping Options 5/5
  • Gym & Fitness 4/5
  • Internet Access 5/5
  • Lack of Traffic 4/5
  • Parking 4/5
  • Cost of Living 3/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 4/5
  • Public Transport 4/5
  • Medical Facilities 3/5
  • Schools 3/5
  • Childcare 3/5
2yrs+

"Development abounds"

West Town is an area of Chicago that was forgotten for a lot of years, and it's kind of puzzling as to why. This area is very close to downtown Chicago as well as major traffic hubs. Yet, it remained an area that was consistently overlooked for growth and development. In recent years, however, that has changed as West Town has seen more and more development in a variety of forms ranging from new shops and large box stores to revitalization in housing. Yet, to this day the much of the West Town area is not quite as affluent as nearby areas.

The West Town area encapsulates the more well-know areas such as Wicker Park, which was the setting of a Hollywood movie, and Ukrainian Village. On the other hand, some areas such as the Pulaski Park area are quite overlooked.

The fact that West Town is home to the Wicker Park area means that there are all kinds of interesting shops, stores, art galleries, coffee shops, bars and restaurants. In fact, while you may not have heard of West Town, Wicker Park is one of the hotter and trendiest areas of the city. The fact that West Town was associated with high levels of crime of decades has done much to tarnish its image, but in recent years all the new development means that the area has changed considerably.
Recommended for
  • Singles
  • LGBT+
  • Hipsters
  • Trendy & Stylish

Travelling to West Town?

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Unranked Streets in West Town

"A quiet, residential part of town"
41.9048599900524 -87.6859392048432
"Quiet street in Ukrainian Village"
41.900223857271 -87.6938612893184
"Another Troubled Neighborhood"
41.8975266523566 -87.6903962616946
"Charming street in the Ukrainian Village"
41.8966610644208 -87.6867456934527

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