UChicago Immediate Neighborhood in Hyde Park

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>Ah fair enough. Outside of the Art Institute, though, Jackson & Michigan stop is a little south of where we’d usually go. We’d usually go to the North Michigan Ave. area, the near northside, or the northside, and all of that is at least 45-60 minutes away. Outside of tourist stuff and museums, there’s not a ton on South michigan.</p>

<p>Either way, if you want to make steady use of Chicago and go to UChicago, be prepared to have much longer periods of travel than folks at other comparable urban universities.</p>

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<p>Interesting, Cue7, how Brown has been replaced by Columbia (that’s quite a sly swap!) on your examples list. </p>

<p>I think it’s safe to say that those Chicago commute times you list for world class art musuems, shopping, entertainment, dining, and sports are still <em>way</em> less for UChicago students than they would be for Brown students. (Let’s hope that Gap store is one of the <em>really good</em> ones!)</p>

<p>It’s also important to note that access to grocery shopping has dropped off your list as well. Now the focus is on world class museums, entertainment, and sports. It’s kind of a moving target keeping up with you.</p>

<p>Seriously, I don’t dispute your claims about CTA times in Chicago or about the sleepiness of Hyde Park. My point is that in terms of the broad overall picture–and even more so in your most recent terms of access to world class museums, sports, and entertainment–I think UChicago is clearly far better off than Brown, Dartmouth, and Cornell. I also think it’s overall better off than MIT, Penn, Princeton, or Yale. Harvard is a more difficult call, since it’s more of an apples to oranges comparison. I’d say Harvard (and also Penn, Princeton, and Yale) is clearly better off in terms of local shopping and dining, but UChicago is better off in terms of city (Chicago is a far richer slice of life than Boston). But clearly Columbia beats them all in this regard.</p>

<p>And for all the lack of a super nearby subway stop to UChicago, I agree that this is a problem. But even so, those times to everywhere but (possibly) the northside are still less than they are for Northwestern students ;-)</p>

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<p>Rlmmail:</p>

<p>Per Calexico’s comments, I’ve just decided to leave out Columbia, which seems to just beat out UChicago in terms of location (at least most seem to find NYC more appealing than Chicago).</p>

<p>Anyway, students need to be realistic about Hyde Park and Chicago. I think we’re pretty much on the same page - UChicago students have access to world-class resources - probably better than anything in Philadelphia and maybe Boston - but it’s harder to get there, and the immediate neighborhood is sleepier than West Philly or Cambridge.</p>

<p>That’s the cost/benefit analysis that every student needs to run. Would it be better for me to have a better museum 40 minutes away, or be in a more college-friendly neighborhood with a slightly “worse” museum 20 minutes away?</p>

<p>From my perspective, for a college student, I actually think there are better college-friendly environments that are more amenable to this age group. IMO, Chicago gets a lot better after you turn 21, whereas Boston or Philly are more enjoyable earlier on. </p>

<p>Again, to each their own, but when I was at UChicago, I felt like I was traveling constantly to get to the offerings I wanted.</p>

<p>(Also, to be clear, my target would be to have BOTH - a college friendly neighborhood, with good amenities like convenience stores, restaurants, bars, AND easy access to world class resources like museums, entertainment, sports, etc. This may sound greedy, but there are elite colleges out there with both - namely, in NYC, Boston, and Philadelphia.)</p>

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<p>The point about turning 21 deserves a little focus of its own. There’s no question in my mind that Chicago is waaay more exciting than Philadelphia (where I live). If I were 18 or 19, however, and on a limited budget, it would be more of a tossup. College students (and under-21s generally) are a much more important part of the community here and in Boston than they are in Chicago or New York, and there’s much more to accommodate them. You can do a lot more here as an 18-year-old, for a lot less money, than you can in Chicago.</p>

<p>The Penn-Chicago-Columbia comparison is especially relevant, because the three really had similar image problems with their neighborhoods. Columbia never really had to do much to deal with that, because Manhattan got so thoroughly rich and gentrified that it essentially changed Columbia’s neighborhood. Penn developed a systematic plan about 20 years ago to upgrade the whole University City area, and it has been extremely successful in its efforts. (Maybe too successful, if anyone is familiar with the sometimes-hilarious current controversy over kindergarten slots at the Penn-sponsored local public elementary school.) Chicago has been aggressive at building university buildings, like Penn, but has been much more tentative with non-academic development, for whatever reasons.</p>

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<p>Just came back from my D’s O-week. I have been to UChicago twice this year. The other time was in April. Since my memories are still fresh I would like to update this thread.</p>

<ol>
<li> Many college guides put UChicago into the category of urban setting. Quite opposite, it should be called suburban or college town. It is true that it has Chicago’s zip code and only seven miles away from downtown but you hardly feel it urban at all. Hyde Park is a quiet neighborhood. You do not see heavy traffic or busy streets there. Majority of people you see are students or university affiliated personnel. </li>
<li> There are a lot green spaces around the campus which is sandwiched by two large parks east-west. There is a block-wide green field called mid-way separating north campus and south campus. I saw lab school children playing in it on weekdays and some soccer practices on weekends too.</li>
<li> The Hyde Park area close to campus feels pretty safe from sunrise to sundown. I stayed in downtown both times and commuted to campus every day. In the morning between 8 and 9 there were hundreds of people coming out of Metra train to the campus. There were lot happenings during the day too. I have noticed about after 5PM in the afternoon UChicago policeman and policewomen would pop up to stand at the corners of major blocks around the campus. I estimated there might be one policeman per square block. One day I stayed there at 9PM I still saw policemen patrolling. I am not sure how late they will stay patrolling.</li>
<li> UChicago has 11 residence halls littering around the campus and its neighborhood. Most of the halls are on campus and the others are several blocks away – 10 to 15 minutes walking from the main quad. It will be hard if it is dark and cold. Fortunately the university has recently installed a night-ride program. Its buses leave from main library every 15 minutes and stop at every hall from early evening to early morning. </li>
<li> The Metra train from downtown to UChicago is convenient and fast – about 20 minutes to 59th street. It runs two or three times per hour during rush hours. The only complain I have is that the train station at 59th Street/UChicago is very depressing. The ticketing booth has collapsed to the ground completely and become a sink hole to the street below. I wonder how long it has been this state and why it has not been repaired at all.</li>
<li> There are a few bookstores on campus and they do sell some basic convenience stuff. There is a Walgreen close by and a CVS several blocks away. There are not big department stores in Hyde Park but there are some small grocery stores or restaurants there. Most of the stores are located around 53rd /55th streets on the east side of campus – 10 to 15 minutes walking from the main quad.</li>
</ol>

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<p>Just returned from O-weekend / opening convocation too. The campus really was showing well. Maybe it was the summer of growing and grooming. This was wife’s first visit and she was astonished (pleasantly) at the beauty of the campus.</p>

<p>On another note, this was my first time hearing Pres. Zimmer and Dean Boyer speak in person. I was incredibly impressed with both. Pres. Zimmer radiates brilliance without trying and he clearly has the traits of a top leader. As for Dean Boyer, was there ever a man more suited for a place?</p>

<p>All speakers took time to convey to parents how seriously they take the education of the young people. Even my son was impressed with how they emphasized that the students’ families are now part of the UChicago family. Not sappy or phony at all, just matter of fact and therefore convincing. </p>

<p>Finally, as we were leaving the parents reception on Monday, we ran into the alumni representative who spoke at the opening convocation (don’t remember her name, sorry). Unprompted, she re-emphasized how everyone at the University, including alumni like her, take the responsibility for educating our children very seriously. I thanked her and told her how her saying that may us feel even better.</p>

<p>Looking forward to the webcast of Provost Rosenbaum’s “Aims of Education” speech tonight.</p>

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<p>Indeed. The campus is very beautiful IMO. I like the most is the main quad. It is surrounded by neo-gothic buildings and it is spacious. People can lie down, walk, or play on it.</p>

<p>I am also very impressed by the halls inside Rockefeller Chapel and Harper library. They look grand and gorgeous.</p>