So how big is your neighborhood?

Well I'm finally here, and while I haven't had a chance to do anything yet, my wife and I did go out for a quick walk. It got me to thinking, what will I eventually consider my neighborhood? I have a feeling it will take me a while to figure that out, so I was wondering what everyone here considered their neighborhood?

Thanks in advance and see you around town.
SSDD

I live in the Andersonville/Edgewater neighborhood. However, I've yet to discover where Andersonville ends and Edgewater begins! It almost seems to be an interchangeable designation.

Sal Monilla wrote:I live in the Andersonville/Edgewater neighborhood. However, I've yet to discover where Andersonville ends and Edgewater begins! It almost seems to be an interchangeable designation.

It depends on whether you're buying or selling.

Edgewater is one of Chicago's 77 official Community Areas and thus has very specific defined borders that have remained unchanged for more than two decades. (Most of the CAs were defined in the 1920s, but Edgewater was split off from Uptown in the early 1980s.) Edgewater's official boundaries are Foster Avenue (5200N) north to Devon Avenue (6400N), and from the lakefront west to Ravenswood Avenue (1800W).

Andersonville, however, is just an informal designation for a neighborhood within Edgewater, and so its boundaries are fluid. It is technically correct to refer to any part of Andersonville as Edgewater, but the Andersonville name is considered more desirable, especially by people trying to sell property.

According to the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, Andersonville is the section of Edgewater from Winnemac Avenue (5033N) north to Elmdale Avenue (6000N) and Magnolia Avenue (1234W) west to Ravenswood.

Other Edgewater neighborhoods include the Bryn Mawr Historic District, Edgewater Beach, Edgewater Glen, Edgewater Triangle, EPIC and Lakewood-Balmoral. There's been some effort to designate the area around Clark Street south of Foster Avenue as SoFo, but it isn't catching on.

Headcase, you'll find that Chicago is more neighborhood-centric than many cities, and most natives use either official Community Area names or generally recognized neighborhood names to designate where they live.

Here's the city's map of North Side Community Areas.

Home is Albany Park.

But the entire city is my neighborhood. Particularly when it comes to culture and especially when it comes to food.

Cheers,
Wade

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I'm looking for something a little different. When you say that you are going to the "neighborhood store" or the "Italian Beef place in my neighborhood" how far can that be away? I figure if I can walk there in 10 - 15 minutes, I'm still in the neighborhood. Now I understand that I live in the Ukrainian Village, which is inside West town, but those designations don't fit for me. The Ukrainian Village is too small, while West Village is much to large.

I use the New Urbanism definition: one's neighborhood is the distance you can cover in a 10-minute walk. It doesn't really work in a sprawl city like Chicago, though.

Sal Monilla wrote:I live in the Andersonville/Edgewater neighborhood. However, I've yet to discover where Andersonville ends and Edgewater begins! It almost seems to be an interchangeable designation.

I'm with you on this. When people ask, I say I live in Andersonville/Edgewater. If I have to be more specific, I'd say West Edgewater.

The suburban definition might be the area where you can go and be fairly sure you will see people you have encountered before. Please note that this means your neighborhood, like your waistline, grows with longevity.

Anyway, I think one's neighborhood should be defined by familiarity, not geography.

Bob S. wrote:I use the New Urbanism definition: one's neighborhood is the distance you can cover in a 10-minute walk. It doesn't really work in a sprawl city like Chicago, though.

I like this definition. I live in Archer Heights. I'm not exactly sure where all the boundaries are, but anything within about a 10-minute walk (I'd make it more like 15-20 minutes) I'd consider my neighborhood. So, from about Cicero to Kedzie and 3900 S to 5500 S. I think I'm venturing into Brighton Park and possibly West Elsdon there, strictly, but it's close enough to be considered "in the neighborhood."

I'm within about a 10 minute walk to downtown Evanston, but I consider my 'hood to be centered about Dempster & Chicago - that's where all the local restaurants and other shops are ... (Blind Faith, New Japan, Sea Ranch, Noodle Garden, Siam Pasta Too [great rooftop], Dozika, and, of course, gp60004's own Weiner and Still Champion).

nr706 wrote:I'm within about a 10 minute walk to downtown Evanston, but I consider my 'hood to be centered about Dempster & Chicago - that's where all the local restaurants and other shops are ... (Blind Faith, New Japan, Sea Ranch, Noodle Garden, Siam Pasta Too [great rooftop], Dozika, and, of course, gp60004's own Weiner and Still Champion).

I do love the Weiner, if only for the ridiculous pun that is its name.
But that's my old hood, too. I used to work at Cafe Express for about 3 years back in my college days (mid-to-late 90s).