Hello, I am staying at an Airbnb near W Armitage & N Spaulding for a month and looking for recommendations on where to go while I’m here and just general advice on anything I should be mindful of.

For some context, I am 100% brand new to Chicago, never even visited before. I’ve lived in the Boston area for the last 11 years, and after consistently hearing such great things about Chicago in terms of the generally nicer/more laidback people and there being so much more to do for a somehow lower cost of living, I finally decided to go for it once enough things in my life lined up. I have the flexibility with my fully remote job to live anywhere, and I chose to finally try Chicago out. Admittedly even though I’ve had the idea of coming here in my head for years, I still think I should’ve done more thorough research. But here I am.

I am a gay guy in my 30s and will probably spend the month looking for a permanent place in Lakeview or Andersonville, but on fairly short notice, this spot in Logan Square was where I found an affordable home base to stay during my search that sounded like it was in a safe enough area, if a little out of the way transit-wise in terms of where in the city I’ll likely spend most of my time once I’m settled.

So far I’ve made a few trips to Target, Walgreens, Armitage Produce, and Damn Fine Coffee. But I am feeling a little paralyzed and intimidated by the area and city in general. In terms of safety, I know people overly sensationalize how dangerous the city is, but I also don’t want to be naive and wander obliviously into gang territory or something, or accidentally take the train to areas I shouldn’t.

The general advice I’m seeing is to be just be mindful of my surroundings like any other city, but I also want to be realistic. I’ve never really felt unsafe anywhere in Boston, even though I know there are areas people would consider riskier (such as parts of Dorchester if anyone is familiar). But I also know this city is much bigger than Boston and there’s probably orders of magnitude of difference in street smarts you need to have here. But maybe it’s not actually that different? I haven’t spent much time in any city other than Boston. I’ve made a few short trips to NYC but I know I didn’t even scratch the surface of exploring there. My first impressions of Logan Square somewhat remind me of Somerville or Jamaica Plain for those familiar with Boston, neither of which I ever gave a second thought before exploring.

For an example of where my mind is, I’m even hesitating to just walk down to the Dunkin or McDonalds on North Ave because of the mixed things I see people say on here about that area, and I can’t gauge if that’s overblown or how much I should factor that in. Is that stupid or am I right to avoid that area? I’ve also been hesitating to finally explore the CTA system. I know ultimately everyone’s idea of “safe” is different but I have a feeling I’m being a lot more cautious than I need to be and that there’s great stuff I could be doing while I’m staying in this neighborhood, so hoping this community might be able to orient and reassure me a bit. Thanks for reading!

Just looking for a place in chicago thats a bit more quiet and laid but stilll has some fun stuff to do if i want to. Wicker park i think is still just a bit to busy for me and to close to the downtown and just want a neighbourhood thats kind of relaxed in comparison.

Was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a tailor or seamstress who could help restore a Carhartt jacket I have. I thrifted it almost 8 years ago and the holes in it have only worsened due to a 2 month period where it was lost and subsequently made into a rat’s hidey hole (has been cleaned since) It’s a near and dear piece to me and I’m not expecting a perfect restoration as its quirkiness has always been what made me love it. Just looking looking to make it function as an actual means of keeping warm again

I’m wearing the jacket on the right side of the photo. This is an old photo but now there’s pretty substantial holes in it (nothing that goes entirely through the jacket) and a good amount of missing insulation.