What are the best places to live in Chicago as a 27 year old professional?

I am locating there for work in the Loop on Lasalle Street. Where should I live if I dont want to use my car? How much is reasonable for a nice one bedroon? How much would I spend on utilities in the city?

Public Comments

1. You'll probably want to be near or on an L or bus line. The most popular areas for young professionals are Lincoln Park, the Gold Coast, and Lakeview - basically along the Red Line, surrounding the North/Clybourn (well, just north and east of there), Fullerton, and Belmont stops. The whole area between North Avenue, Irving Park, the lake and Ashland is packed with young professionals who use public transport in and out of the Loop. One bedrooms range from $850 to $2000, depending on amenities; utilities are typical for any major large city and in some apartments are included.
2. I take it by your wording that you have a car that you don't want to drive regularly. If that's the case, you'll want to live along the blue line -neighborhoods like Wicker Park/Bucktown, East/Ukrainian Village, or Logan Square. The neighborhoods close to the loop on the red line have substantially less parking. The further away from the loop you get, the less you'll pay. Wicker Park/Bucktown is more trendy than Lincoln Park (which is more yuppy/frat jock) but really, it's all kind of yuppy that close to the city.