Ravenswood is far enough off the beaten path to be clean and quiet, but still close enough to the “hot spots” to lure a growing younger crowd into its predominantly family-governed streets. Ravenswood is located from Ravenswood Avenue west to the Chicago River, between Montrose and Bryn Mawr Avenues, and was once home to a large German population. Not all the original German families have flown the coop, and it shows in the charming restaurants, shops, and outdoor cafés. The area is diverse and always changing, and the Ravenswood El weaves through more as if giving a tour than as a mode of transportation.
Many small neighborhoods make up this area of the City. Transportation to downtown and the Loop is extremely convenient via the El, rents (though steadily getting higher as yuppies flee the more-expensive Lincoln Park) are still affordable in much of the area, and there is no shortage of any kind of restaurant, bar, shopping, festival or fair that you’d desire. Many of the older, working-family oriented neighborhoods are turning into spots popular with young professionals, and its becoming rare to come across a condo-free block, but there are still plenty of blocks of true neighborhoods here. It’s a feeling that will take more than black SUVs and Starbucks to drown out.
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