I’m a 20 year old student. I’ve completed two years at a CSU on the central coast in California. I’m looking to change majors to economics and figure now is as good a time as any to make a big move. I’ve always wanted to live in Chicago (though I’ve only visited once). This is all going to be a big adventure and I could use some guidance. What are some good city or community colleges in the downtown area? My ultimate intention is to enroll at a community college for a semester before transferring into a four year university in the city, assuming all goes well.
I’ll being looking for apartments once I square away which school I’ll be attending. I’d like to live downtown where there’s lots to do in the arts, museums, parks, dining, etc. Any recommendations on a neighboorhood and corresponding school?
Lots of fun and funky neighborhoods to choose from: Lakeview (and its subset Wrigleyville), Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Andersonville… you can’t go wrong with any of those. Lincoln Park, Gold Coast, and Old Town are also nice, and closer to the Loop, but spendier. Living right downtown is very expensive.
There is an extensive network of Chicago City Colleges in the city, many downtown, and mostly reachable by public transportation. I recommend you check their websites to see which fits your needs. If you want to jump directly to a four-year school, there are the University of Chicago (famous for economics), U of I at Chicago, DePaul, Loyola, Northwestern, and I’m sure others I’m forgetting about.
Good luck! You’ll love Chicago, I guarantee it…TRM