North Center

North Center is the quiet achiever between Lincoln Square and Lake View: Roscoe Village and St. Ben's are both in it, and both are the kind of low-drama, high-livability pockets that people move to and then stop moving. Roscoe Street's little strip of restaurants and bars functions as a small-town main street inside the big city.

The Brown Line runs along the eastern edge with stops at Irving Park, Addison, and Paulina, and the housing is classic Chicago family stock: brick two-flats, greystones, and a growing number of new single-family builds. It skews owners over renters and strollers over barstools. If your priorities are good schools, a short train ride, and never needing the car on a weekend, North Center makes an extremely boring, extremely strong case.

North Center offers strong transit access: a car is optional for many trips. One car typically covers the gap that transit leaves.

With a Walk Score of 87, North Center is "Very Walkable": most errands can be accomplished on foot.

At roughly $12,000/year for 1 car, transportation is a moderate line item in North Center's true cost. The neighborhood is served by the Brown line.