Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park is the neighborhood on the postcard: the park itself, a free zoo, the lakefront, DePaul's campus, and block after block of restored greystones on streets that look like a period drama set. Armitage and Halsted host some of the city's best shopping and restaurants, and the Fullerton stop puts the Red, Brown, and Purple lines in one station.

It is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Chicago, and that's the honest headline. The counterweight is that almost nothing about daily life here requires a car: Walk Score 96, Transit Score 80, groceries and schools and the lake all on foot. For households that would otherwise buy a second car in the suburbs, the true-cost gap versus Lincoln Park is far smaller than the rent gap suggests. That's the whole thesis of this site, and Lincoln Park is exhibit A.

Lincoln Park offers exceptional transit access: buses and trains are frequent enough that most residents get around without a car. A car-free lifestyle is realistic here, which is the single biggest driver of the true-cost advantage.

With a Walk Score of 96, Lincoln Park is a "Walker's Paradise": daily errands almost never require a car.

At roughly $0/year for 0 cars, transportation is negligible line item in Lincoln Park's true cost. The neighborhood is served by the Red, Brown, Purple lines.