Introductions

Greetings, I've been a long time viewer of this forum and anything Chicago, and I thought that it was time for introductions. Additionally, I have a question for anyone with the time to respond. After spending some time (7 years) in the sunbelt for career and school, my wife and I have decided on Chicago as our final city for settling down for the long-term. It wasn't a hard decision when you factor in the cost of living, walkability, culture, transit and beauty of your city. I am from the midwest originally, so the winters don't scare me at all. In fact, I miss the snow. Anyway, I have a quick question. We won't be moving for two years (after school), but I'm very excited to be researching the real estate in different areas around the city. From my previous visits, I remember liking the feel of Old Town, Lincoln Park and Andersonville. However it has been a few years since I have been to Chicago, and there are soooo many neighborhoods to consider. Plus, I haven't hit all of them and I'm sure that there are many that I'm overlooking. My question is this....if you were looking at the list of criteria below, what neighborhoods would you consider to be a good match? 1) Walking distance to trains (live w/out cars) 2) Walking distance to restaurants, bars, shopping 3) Diversity/Urban Flavor 4) Homes that aren't seriously expensive 5) Residential enough for kids down the line 6) Lots of trees and older architecture Thanks in advance for any input. We are going to be taking a trip up there in the spring, but I'm so excited that I find myself doing research almost daily. I figured that I would go to you guys, as you seem to be so knowledgeable of Chicago. I guess at some point (still a ways off) I will need to get a good realtor. I look forward to contributing to this forum! Cheers!>