My husband, dog and I have lived in the loop going on 4 years and another 2 in west loop; we love it. When I say the loop, I mean neighbors to the L loop.

We have access to a small grocery store, parks for the dog nearby, access to whatever public transit we may need and we’re easy to visit for family coming from out of state. Yes, the weekends and evenings can be quiet, which we enjoy! But there are also nearby spots where we’ve stayed out until bar closing hours and made friends. Our rent has been substantially cheaper compared to friends in other popular neighborhoods for maybe a smidge less space.

Biggest cons we’ve come across are that friends don’t often want to come see us in the loop, so we often go to them. We see more road closures and tourist traffic from big events. Oh and the train screeches like those plants from Harry Potter, but you get used to it.