Where do all the hippy-types live in Chicago?

Hello-
I live in St. Louis right now, but I'll be moving to Chicago hopefully at the end of this summer. I still don't know where in the city I want to live, and I want to end up somewhere that attracts like-minded people. Is there any one neighborhood that is especially populated by "hippies" or especially earthy, liberal types? Also, where are the best vegan restaurants/no-kill animal shelters/head shops located, and are there any other spots that I should check out? I'm gonna be visiting sometime in the next few weeks and I want to know where all the important stuff is before I get there. Thanks!

 

The N. Side is where you want to be. Along the lakefront is so cool if you can afford it. Try the Chicago Diner for killer vegan food. It is right in the middle of "boystown". Almost all of the great clubs and music places are accessible from either the Lakeview or Bucktown neighborhoods. Yell at me if you need advice, a tour guide, burns, etc Enjoy Chicago !! Peace, Bob

 

stores: The Alley, Secrets...on Belmont and Clark
for inscense, candles, bongs, leather panties, posters, random stuff

 

the alley is soooo expensive...
pipesandstuff.com is alright.. i believe it's on clark..
there's also a hippie type shop called somethin amigos.. unsure of the whole name.
generally the whole belmont/clark area is overpriced and filled with rich hipster kids. i don't go over there anymore, unless i want really good thai food.
wicker park i hear is a cool area but also filled with hipsters.
the northside is where it's at.
i would tell ya about the cool bars but you're only 18 so ya can't get in :/ too bad.

 

All the stores there are part of the Alley..and it's very expensive for clothes n stuff...but for pipes not too bad..you can get good discounts if they like you
If you've never been to Chicago, it's still worth checking it out...

 

well, i'm not really a fan of the alley though. it's more of a place for metalheads...
and their piercings are EXPENSIVE as hell! yeah, that area is worth checking out.. but not worth spendin well earned money there!

 

There's a place in Dundee (I think), it's called Igor's

It's a good place to buy your stuff and the prices are not outrageous at all.

- Woodstuck

 

I don't want to start a flame war, but I would have to disagree with people about hippies being on the north side. In my opinion, there isn't a 'set' area where there's a lot of hippies. What I mean by that is that I can't think of anyplaces that are like telegraph ave. in san francisco.

In my opinion, the north side is mostly (MOSTLY) filled with rich and stuck up people....and kids with no money that want to be something they're not. I hope that kind of makes sense. I'm tired of everybody saying how great the north side is....when all it mostly is-is people trying to be somebody they're not.

I live on the south side, and things are way different down here. I find that people are more humble and down to earth. I would classify the south side more as the 'working' class, so I don't think that there are groups of 'hippies' around. But I do believe that we are more humble down here.

I don't know where-abouts you are looking, but Willow Springs is really nice. It's a suburb southwest of the city. There's the metra that goes to downtown Chicago, forest preserves surround the city... I don't know, I don't live there but it just seems quiet and down to earth there.

 

shit i lived on the southside and hated it. lots of crime and violence in the neighborhood i was in. i wouldn't recommend going to the southside to someone who doesn't know chicago well.
i love the northside. the neighborhoods are quiet and very family oriented while on the southside, at least the part i was in, all i could hear was gunshots and bums asking for money to buy liquor. however, hyde park is a really nice neighborhood on the southside.
rogers park is actually one of the cheapest places to live in the city!
pilsen is a cool area. ever been around there wiz?
i think there are cool areas spread ALL over the the city. personally, i'm just here for school and can't wait to leave. too damn cold. haha

 

Well....it all depends on where on the southside you lived. I have been to Pilsen before, and yes, it's a nice place. There's a nice little coffee shop called...god...i forget the name of it now. I was only there once but it was nice. Efebos. Bridgeport is also nice, but there's not much to do there. I live on the far southwest side of chicago; around Beverly and Mt. Greenwood.

I don't know, maybe I have to give the north side another chance. But just the general feeling I get is that the north side is for rich people who just think about themselves. See "Lincoln Park Trixie"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trixie_(woman)

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=(Lincoln+Park)+Trixie

Also, any city or part of chicago has it's good and bad areas. I don't think it matters if it's north or south...east or west...you just have to use common sense.

 

yeah lincoln park sucks though. that IS a place for rich white people.
andersonville, lincoln square, northcenter, and rogers park are ok places though! rogers park by the lake is great!
you should give the northside another chance, just avoid lincoln park because i totally agree that it sucks!

 

Ah, well, thank you for the information. I admit, the only place that I'm familiar with on the north side is the lincoln park area. I have been WAY up north once. I forget what neighborhood it was, but I have to say that I liked the area. I wasn't there long enough to see much of it, but the houses were beautiful. The area I'm talking about is where there is some famous Italian restaurant. I believe it starts with a S. Sargento's? Or is that the cheese?

So, it sounds like for nice people in Chicago, there are people all over the city that would be nice. Just like any city, you just have to use caution until you are familiar with the area.

 

I really like the Wilmette area. not in the city but the burbs of it, a lot of nice people and a cute town, go down by sheridan road and you see MASSIVE houses. im truely in love with it. im hoping tO live there when i gget older. near evanston and skokie is cool too.

 

good luck livin in wilmette. that place is a rich people's paradise.

 

i know! id need it. massive houses and my first true love, THE LAKE! i was in little italy...they call it somethin else now but i lived on clairmount, we had to move cause it was gettin pretty bad

 

I'm in the burbs, Dekalb

 

I'm a bit south of Chicago.

It's all about downtown and the north side for me. House of Hookah on Belmont is a blast. I love Boys Town.

PM me some time and I can tell you some awesome areas or perhaps we can go visiting!

 

I live west of chicago, near Rockford so i only get to go to chicago every once in awhile which really sucks! theres a lot of people near me or places i go in chicago, lets meet up sometime theres a lot of hippies out here, actually they got me into the hippie scene. the design the attitiude. id love to go to woodstock andin crystal lake they have a hippie shop. downtown rockford on broadway they also have a hippie shop called Minglewood, its great!

 

The store is called... Amigos. It is on Clark and its a pretty cool shop to look around in. I think its about 2 stores down from Secrets, and right across the street from the Alley

 

I'm originally from Romeoville(near Joliet)but now I live right next to DeKalb, about 10-15 minutes from NIU in a little town called Sycamore. In September I'm goin up to Madison, WI to finish up school,but I'll soon be moving back down to the Chicagoland area next summer!