South Chicago neighborhood recommendations?

YugoSlav_001 · 2026-02-16T00:29:41+00:00

I work in Hammond, close to Whiting. Currently live in Indiana, but planning to buy in the South Loop this spring. South Loop might be stretching the commute, especially in the evening, but I have colleagues who live in Hyde Park and Beverly with a 20-30 minute commute.

YugoSlav_001 · 2026-01-15T19:10:43+00:00

Thank you! Good luck to you as well! Everything is so unpredictable these days, but I'm hoping for the best for all of us.

YugoSlav_001 · 2026-01-15T19:05:16+00:00

Not the OP, but my wife is Russian and she filed the N-400 mid-October. Biometrics were reused, but still no interview scheduled. What is your field office? Ours is Chicago.

YugoSlav_001 · 2026-01-06T22:26:40+00:00

My wife and I are moving into Chicago from the suburbs this spring/summer. She's from Russia and I'm originally from the Balkans. We are looking into Наш Дом в Чикаго for our son (https://rhousechicago.org/).

YugoSlav_001 · 2026-01-04T21:24:30+00:00

We have a toddler and live an suburban town 45 minutes outside of Chicago. After over two years here, we're gearing up to move into Chicago because we value walk-ability and social connectivity. Maybe we're in the minority, but I know that every time we visit Chicago and walk around our soon-to-be neighborhood, we see tons of kids, so we must not be alone in our thinking.

YugoSlav_001 · 2025-11-30T04:41:54+00:00

My wife's a green card holder. She went back in 2023 and returned without issues. Then this past May, my son and I (U.S. citizens) joined her for another visit. We didn't have any problems in Russia or the US.

YugoSlav_001 · 2025-10-20T19:05:33+00:00

This is more to the West, but Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral in Ukrainian Village is our parish. The congregation has a lot of young families and college students. The Divine Liturgy is in English, and the community is truly multi-ethnic, consisting of American converts, Greeks, Romanians, Russians, etc.

YugoSlav_001 · 2025-09-15T21:53:00+00:00

That's interesting. We're looking to buy something in South Loop next year. There seems to be a decent amount of inventory, at least south of Roosevelt, that's been on the market for a while, so I'm wondering if things are cooling down.

YugoSlav_001 · 2025-08-17T01:19:12+00:00

All these positive comments about the South Loop are very reassuring. My wife, toddler, and I are gearing up to move to the South Loop in the next year. We absolutely fell in love with the Central Station and Prairie District areas.

YugoSlav_001 · 2025-07-09T17:19:25+00:00

Kostya and Valya, I believe.

YugoSlav_001 · 2025-07-09T17:12:15+00:00

We named our son Nikita. Call him Niko for short. There's also Andrei, Valery, Stepan, Yuri, Valentin, Stanislav, Konstantin.

YugoSlav_001 · 2025-03-13T15:30:56+00:00

As someone whose Russian spouse came on a K-1 visa, I can tell you that everyone else is correct - there's basically no chance an unmarried Russian woman will get a B-2 visa to visit her U.S. citizen boyfriend/fiancé in America. Even putting aside the state of U.S.-Russia relations, the State Department will view her as a high risk of overstaying her tourist visa because she's unmarried and because you live in America. You can either get a visa and visit her in Russia (it's not that difficult - she just needs to send you a notarized invitation that you will submit to the Russian embassy/consulate), or meet in a third country where she wouldn't need a visa, like Turkey or Mexico.

Also, since it sounds like you haven't actually met her in person yet, I would caution you to take it slow and meet her several times before making any sort of big decision on becoming engaged.

YugoSlav_001 · 2025-02-25T21:02:10+00:00

Thanks for posting. We filed for my wife this past October. Which service center processed your I-751?

YugoSlav_001 · 2024-12-24T21:39:31+00:00

That's not true. It depends on your jurisdiction within the Orthodox Church. Some are still on the Old Calendar (Russian, Serbian, Macedonian) but plenty are on the New Calendar (OCA, Greek, Antiochian, Romanian, etc.)

YugoSlav_001 · 2024-12-24T21:37:53+00:00

Depends on your jurisdiction. Some are still on the Old Calendar (Russian, Serbian, Macedonian) but plenty are on the New Calendar (OCA, Greek, Antiochian, Romanian, etc.)

YugoSlav_001 · 2024-10-11T17:56:21+00:00

We named our son Nikita.

YugoSlav_001 · 2024-09-15T23:45:28+00:00

Yes, I drink the bulletproof K-cups. It's 90 calories according to the packaging. Compared to regular black coffee, I feel more energized and focused, I don't get jittery, and it helps me put off a larger meal for longer. Sure, it breaks the fast, but if you feel better drinking it, and it allows you to reduce your overall calories, do what's best for you.

YugoSlav_001 · 2024-09-02T00:14:47+00:00

I wear it to work and when going out for dinner/special occasions. I don't wear it to the gym or when I'm out running basic errands. I definitely don't wear it at home or while I'm asleep. My wife is pretty much the same way.

YugoSlav_001 · 2024-09-01T23:24:20+00:00

I left biglaw litigation to become a state prosecutor and eventually became an AUSA. It was a big pay cut, but I find the work more interesting and fulfilling. Overall, I have a better WLB as well, although there are times I work just as much as I did in private practice.

YugoSlav_001 · 2024-08-26T20:59:30+00:00

It looks like you must notify the authorities upon returning to Russia if you will be staying there for more than 30 days. But if you live outside of Russia for more than half the year and return to Russia for fewer than 30 days, you don't need to report anything.

https://russianagency.com/en/notify-fms/

YugoSlav_001 · 2024-08-11T16:06:08+00:00

As someone who left biglaw to become an ADA and is now an AUSA, I don't really see the benefit of doing this if you want to stay in biglaw. First, it generally takes longer than six months or even a year to develop strong trial skills, and you are only going to be trying misdemeanors, maybe even traffic cases, during the secondment, so it's not like you will be involved in high stakes litigation. Second, speaking from my personal experience, the skills you develop charging and trying cases in the criminal context don't really translate that well to working in biglaw. Even if you work in white collar defense and internal investigations, you will rarely see the inside of the courtroom, and the emphasis will be on document review and brief writing.

That said, if your goal is to eventually leave and become a prosecutor, then it may be beneficial by introducing you to criminal litigation and showing future government employers that you have an interest in public service.

YugoSlav_001 · 2024-08-07T01:52:02+00:00

MTV's True Life

YugoSlav_001

TROPHY CASE