Bucktown & Wicker Park
The Lowdown: Bucktown / Wicker Park
Artists, bike messengers, young professionals and the occasional nut job melt together to make the western neighborhoods of Bucktown and Wicker Park. Prior to the recent real estate boom, both neighborhoods were refuges for starving artists and Latino immigrants. But now, Bucktown has been on the up and up for the last few years with Wicker Park trailing close behind. The artists have moved out and the eclectic eateries and fancy boutiques have moved in. As the former location of MTV´s “Real World Chicago,” Bucktown is a fashion and dining hot spot. The majority of the residents are young, but not just-out-of college young. The million-dollar-plus single-family houses along tree-lined streets are home to couples with small children who can be seen with their stylish munchkins wearing the latest gear from the local Psycho Baby Boutique.
Express Yourself: Things to Do Individuality, self expression and the arts are still alive and well in Bucktown despite the rise in real estate prices that has caused some artists to move further west or south. The neighborhood hosts the Around the Coyote Art Festival every year in the fall and the winter, as well as the annual Bucktown Arts Festival in the summer. Go into many of the local restaurants and you´ll find flyers plastered on the walls announcing the next performance of one of the area´s many local bands. The heart of Bucktown is at the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue, North Avenue and Damen. Along these three main commercial streets, you can find everything from trendy maternity wear, dessert spots, coffee shops and night clubs.
Wicker Park: Edgier and in Skinny Jeans Wicker Park is just a few blocks south of Bucktown. Most of the action in Wicker Park happens on the rapidly evolving Division Street. As a scruffier alternative to Bucktown, Wicker Park´s popularity has been increasing steadily during the last few years thanks to slightly greater affordability. Now, new businesses are popping up faster than one the local hipsters can shave off his soul patch. Wicker Park is less congested than Bucktown. Parking is easier for visitors because unlike in Bucktown, the majority of the streets are not limited to permit parking. Still, some residential sections of Wicker Park are still on the cusp of gentrification.
