South Loop: A Place to Work and Play

If you’re one of those 9-5ers (or 9-8ers), who still can’t seem to get to the office before 9:30, maybe the convenience of the South Loop is for you. This area is just south of Chicago’s downtown Loop (hence the clever name), and is a short walk or train/bus/cab ride to thousands of jobs in this over-achieving city. You can sleep later and get to work on time. As an added bonus, if you’re into the liberal arts and want to continue your studies – or just hang out with academic folk – Columbia College and Roosevelt University are both within the South Loop bounds and the School of the Art Institute is close by.

The major overhaul of existing housing and the development of lots of new housing make for a lot of shiny new options in the South Loop, where you can find both traditional and loft apartments. Studio apartment rent is about $1,100, one bedroom apartments are around $1,500, two-bedrooms are around $2,200, and three-bedrooms are approximately $2,700.

When you’re unleashed from your cubicle, the world will be your oyster in the South Loop. You can head to Soldier Field for a Bears game or to the Museum Campus, which is home to the Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, and Adler Planetarium. Or take in a concert or Broadway show at the Crown Theatre. And when winter finally decides to leave us alone, one of the biggest summer events in Chicago is held right in the South Loop; for one weekend in June the Printer’s Row Book Fair draws 90,000 people to browse and purchase new, used, and antique books. There are also author readings and activities for the kiddies. And you’ll be near the New Maxwell Street Market, so every Sunday you can sort through odds and ends for sale from hundreds of vendors, and purchase tamales, tacos, plantains, and the like.

Living in the South Loop gives you access to all of the trains, which eventually make their way to the Loop. The Red Line Roosevelt and Harrison stops are in the South Loop. Heading north on the Red Line will take you into the Loop, where you can transfer to other trains or catch any of the numerous city buses that trek through downtown. You’ll also have access to city buses on the major streets surrounding the South Loop such as Clark, Michigan, and Roosevelt.