<p>For those junior families thinking about summer college visits, keep in mind that U of C and Northwestern both finish up in early to mid June. So one could do a visit to the schools after a HS has finished and still see things in a more lively mode on campus. You might run into finals. Classes may not still be in session, but the students will be there and you'd get the feel.</p>
<p>Another note: If you do visit U. of C., and you are driving, you might want to see some of the changes taking place on the south side of Chicago. My wife and I bicycled today from Hyde Park to downtown, not taking the lakefront path, but up through North Kenwook, Oakland and Bronzeville (all names of Chicago neighborhoods). The changes north from Hyde Park all the way to downtown are amazing! We rode down Ellis Avenue, and saw blocks of new apartments, rowhouses and townhomes. The truly amazing thing was to see new greystones (a Chicago classic to match the bungalow...) that look in front just like the vintage properties. The renovation is keeping the feel of the neighborhood. </p>
<p>At any rate, it is truly amazing to see an area that was a true ghetto a few years ago transform into a middle class enclave. South, and especially SW of Hyde Park (in the Englewood neighborhood) you can still find the worst that Chicago has to offer. But not north. And soon, not to the west.</p>
<p>Newmassdad,
We just returned from Northwestern and Univ. of Chicago visits. Our daughter loved Univ. of Chicago, and honestly, I did too. We have concerns about her being so far from home, but after hearing all the terrible things about the surrounding area, the neighboring area did not seem that bad at all. We probably didn't actually see the worst of it, but then again, we are from New York City!
My question is: where are all the restaurants and shops in the area around the university? Except for a couple of small restaurants and a block of shops, did I miss something, or do the kids really have to travel far to get to restaurants and stores?
The residential areas around the campus were quite lovely, however. Are you from Chicago and/or does your child go to school there?</p>
<p>Restaurants and Shops? 57th street has some restaurants and several good bookstores. 55th by the metra tracks has a shopping center with grocery, drugstore, hardware, Office Max. 53rd street has a variety of small stores and a good selection of restaurants. Truth is, though, that retail is not a Hyde Park (or S. side Chicago) strength. Most kids go up to the near noth side, or downtown, depending on need. Since it is a city, public transit is feasible. </p>
<p>Yes, we live in Hyde Park this year. That's why the bike ride! Hyde Park has some of the nicest residential streets in all of Chicago. It is great for walks. But, as discussed above, you need to head north for some kinds of shopping. Since quite a few undergrads have cars (there are no restrictions for anyone), it is usually not hard to find someone to ride with.</p>
<p>My D goes to U of C, finishing her second year.</p>
<p>NewMassDad:
Hey, we live in Hyde Park too, near 53rd and Cornell. It's a couple of hundred yards to Lake Michigan, with a 30 mile lakefront bike/walker's path, courtesy of the Chicago Park District.</p>
<p>(Everybody) As NMD said, you can manage quite well at U of C without a car. There is an excellent express bus service to downtown Chicago (about 7 miles from U of C, which is also a decent bike ride). Metra also has a train connection.</p>
<p>I live in Hyde Park as well, right off of 57th Street.</p>
<p>Hyde Park is excellent for walks. It was gorgeous yesterday, so my mom and I walked over to Salonica. I am usually very busy, so I don't have much time to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather and neighborhood, but, when I do, I realize just how lucky I am to live here.</p>
<p>The only gripe I have about Hyde Park is the lack of clothing stores; there are none. I think Gap could do an excellent business here.</p>
<p>It sure is lovely to bike around Hyde Park. My teacher (who also lives in Hyde Park) thought so too until one day when some lady pushed him off his bike! This is probably just an isolated incident.. and, my teacher's absent-mindedness probably played a factor. But nevertheless, I found the story unbelievable (I mean.. who does that kind of thing?). We laugh about it now, but he was seriously injured and had to be absent from school for 2-3 months. He just recently started walking without crutches.</p>
<p>I am from Chicago - went to one of the better suburban high schools. Like most everyone in my high school, never considered Northwestern because it was so vastly overpriced compared to the rest of the Big 10 schools (perhaps familiarity breeds contempt), and did not consider U of C because the surrounding neighborhood was so awful that it did not seem like a college experience. I hope the posters here are right that the neighborhood has improved. I was a member of the U of C Track Club in the summers and while it was fine for summer track events, there was no way any one of us was going to run a 6 mile run in the local parks or streets outside the core of campus. So in the end it didn't seem like the place for me and others like me who desired freedom of movement and enjoyed the outdoors. I might add that if you can get over the safety issue, though, there is little doubt among many of us that Chicago may offer one of the best educational experiences in the world.</p>