Ep. 1: Living in Lincoln Square, Albany Park, Ravenswood Manor, and more with Eric Scull!
Eric Scull is an early adopter of podcasting (co-host of MuggleCast, among others) and is a longtime Chicago resident by way of Pennsylvania. In this eposide we discuss what it's like to live in the Chicago neighborhoods of Lincoln Square, Albany Park, Ravenswood Manor, Irving Park, and more.
The Living in Chicago Podcast is where I, Jake Lyons, get to interview all kinds of people about the Chicago neighborhoods they live in, work in, and play in. This way, you can learn about the lifestyle pros and cons of various neighborhoods directly from the people who live there (or maybe even learn something new about your own neighborhood!)
Local businesses mentioned:
Podcasts Eric hosts
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Want to be a guest on the show?
livinginchicago.com/guest-form
Watch on YouTube: youtu.be/yEeIgSqq9sU
Real Estate in areas discussed:
thechicagohomesource.com/albany-park/
thechicagohomesource.com/lincoln-square/
Real Estate Quick Start Questionnaire
https://www.thechicagohomesource.com/form/
Note: the following transcript was generated automatically and not checked closely for spelling, grammar, or accuracy
Jake Lyons: Welcome to Living in Chicago, the podcast where I interview real Chicagoans about the neighborhoods that they live, work and play in. I'll be your host. My name is Jake Lyons. And in this episode, which is actually the first real interview episode ever of this show, I interview Eric Skoll. Eric is a longtime friend of mine, a longtime resident of Chicago who has a lot of great experiences and things to share about the neighborhoods that he's lived in and is an even longer time podcast host. He is the host of the longest running Harry Potter podcast known to man.
For all of you Harry Potter fans out there, go check that out. The link will be in the show notes. And he's just a veteran of podcasting and is gracious enough to help me on some of the technical side of these things and all that. But in this episode, we get into some of the neighborhoods that he has lived in and worked in and played in along the way. A lot of the conversation will revolve around some neighborhoods that he's jumped around between in the northwest side of town. He's been in some other areas too.
I think he did a little River North, a little Oak Park out there before. But for the most part, we focus on the part of town on the sort of far north side, a little bit west. Pretty much thinking if you're familiar with Irving Park Road north of that, north of Montrose-ish and then west of Western. Kind of between Western and Pulaski or Kedzie is the general area that we spent a lot of time talking about in this sort of that Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, Albany Park, Irving Park. We spent a little bit of time actually talking about he thought he lived in Albany Park, but by the letter of Google Maps law, he actually lives in Irving Park. But we don't really talk a whole lot about Irving Park because he's kind of on the very fringes of that. So for a lot from a more of a lifestyle standpoint, he would consider himself more Albany Park or Lincoln Square where he's spent a lot of time living right in that actual neighborhood in the heart of it, which we spend some time talking about. And just to kind of go over some, just a quick couple little factoids about these neighborhoods.
So if you're following along on video or if not, Lincoln Square, niche.com is a place that I like to go every once in a while. It's kind of like a nice little, you know, they do a pretty decent job of giving a little report card based on reviews and public data and how that compares to the average nationally on certain things and stuff like that. If we're talking Lincoln Square on niche.com, overall grade on there is an A, some of the better grades that it gets are on good for families, nightlife, diversity, health and fitness, commutes, outdoor activities. Those all have A's or A pluses, A minuses, some C's that it gets are housing, cost of living, which makes sense. You know, it's a, it can be a pricier place to live compared to some other places. Weather, which, you know, not a whole lot, anyone can do with that at Chicago.
So weather is going to be what it's going to be. Crime and safety gets a C, you know, any, any kind of a letter, any letter grade that's being assigned to any Chicago neighborhood in terms of crime and safety. Consider that this is compared to the national mean. So, you know, Chicago is a bigger city. So compared to just think of the most average town in America you can think of. And that's what we're comparing Chicago to is not exactly apples to apples. But, you know, if you're comparing it, it'd be more interesting to maybe compare that, that letter grade to other. Neighborhoods in Chicago and, you know, maybe if you were to skew it or weight it a little bit differently, you know, it might look a little different on that.
So that's, you know, that's a quick, quick little snapshot of Lincoln Square. If you're, if you're looking to buy anything, their median home value, at least according to this is 422,000. I'm a real estate agent. I could, I could go into much more specific stats on that, you know, it's obviously going to vary very widely if you're trying to get a house or a condo or, you know, how big you want all that kind of stuff.
I mean, that's, you know, there's a lot that goes into all that, but that's a decent enough number to throw at you for just kind of one catchall number. And then if we're heading over to Albany Park, the overall grade that it gets on there is a B plus. So the, again, outdoor activities, good for families, nightlife, diversity, health and fitness, commute, those all get high, high grades. Crime and safety is again, a C, public schools is coming in at a C plus, according to this, however they, however they grade that cost of living, housing, similar C. You know, and again, these are all based on, according to, you know, compared to national averages and things like that. So Chicago, big city is going to be a little bit more expensive of a place to live than some, you know, your most average town in America that you can think of.
But if you're comparing it to, you know, sort of the other bigger premier cities in America might come out a little bit more favorably compared to those, but, you know, it's all relative. These are just quick, quick little catchalls, you know, nothing, nothing to completely base any opinions on, you know, hope that that's what the point of the show is, is to, to actually hear from the people that live there on what is the day to day life really like there and things like that. But, you know, I thought it might be helpful to kind of get at least a quick little snapshot of what we're getting into before him. And you know, with that, I will go ahead and get right into our interview with Eric and I hope you enjoy it. And hey, if you do, please leave a review or a comment, you know, up to five stars is what you can give us. Hope you do. And here is our interview with Eric.
All right. Joining us for the inaugural episode of the Living in Chicago. Podcasts. What a treat. What an honor. We have a podcasting legend coming on here and showing me the ropes and teaching me a little bit of tech stuff behind the scenes and then around this interview.
But this interview is going to be awesome as well. We have Eric Skoll. If you have been around the Harry Potter scene at all, you was a pretty decent chance that you'll recognize Eric. He has, is it the most downloaded Harry Potter is up there, right?
Eric Scull: We've been probably, yeah, we couldn't say because we don't know everyone else is down the numbers, but we will say we were the first, the first Harry Potter podcast.
Jake Lyons: That's fair enough. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. You've been doing podcasts for, you said what, 18 years? 18 years. That's insane. That is, I think that's longer than podcasts. I've even been a thing. You're somehow you doing podcasts, pre-date podcasts.
Eric Scull: It's almost, that would be really funny. We were doing it before it was cool. No, it was almost the beginning of podcast, when podcasts have actually been around a real long time, but in terms of other people being able to access them and what makes a podcast, how we'd recognize it today, happened in about early 2005 and essentially iTunes at the time launched their Apple podcast directory, which allowed for the first time really the world to go mainstream on podcasts for people to be able to download podcasts easily without needing a million different links for each podcast that they were trying to download. So yeah, it was about 2005. We started in August. We are not the first podcast, but we are the first Harry Potter podcast.
Jake Lyons: Gotcha. Sorry, my internet, looks like my internet went out a little bit there, but so you were saying that basically in 2005 Apple created a way for everyone to actually access their podcasts and that's...
Eric Scull: But thank you for having me on. I'm excited to talk about my favorite topic that isn't Harry Potter is living in Chicago, so I'm thrilled.
Jake Lyons: Well, well, you're in the right place. Right on. So, all right. So we were chatting a little bit before we got on about what to even call the neighborhood that you live in. And this is kind of a nice little case study in Chicago neighborhoods in that sometimes it's not super straightforward the neighborhood that you even live in. Because so technically your address, so we don't give you the exact address, but basically what Montrose and Kedzie is would be kind of like the nearest major intersection, right? Yeah.
Eric Scull: And crucially just south of Montrose as we've learned makes it...
Jake Lyons: Yes. Yes, it does. So you're just like a couple blocks south of Montrose, which would technically, according to Google Maps, the almighty Google Maps anyway, would place you in the Irving Park neighborhood. But I feel like, I don't know, in terms of actual lifestyle, you probably don't really see yourself as living in Irving Park. You're probably doing more Albany Park things or even Lincoln Square things, right?
Eric Scull: It's exactly as you said, the Albany Park is the neighborhood I thought I lived in until last night when we were chatting. And my supermarket is in Albany Park. All of my good eats that I enjoy are in Albany Park. So, yeah, it turns out I've been eating and shopping in a different neighborhood. But here's the thing, what really is the the defining line, even as a realtor, what's really the difference if you cross the street and it's a different neighborhood specifically? I understand if you're talking generally about neighborhoods, you're like, okay, this neighborhood is great. It has a lot of parks, but that's not a more specific thing that like living here. I know where my grocery store is. I'm proud to live across the street from one, basically. So I guess the line's kind of blurry is what I'm saying. Yeah, for sure.
Jake Lyons: And yeah, there's a lot of areas that are like that. The River North area is always kind of my classic example of like, technically, that's called the Near North Side, but within the Near North Side, you have River North, Streeterville, Gold Coast, Old Town, all these different subcategories of neighborhoods that every intersection in Chicago wants to kind of have its own little identity.
Eric Scull: I was going to say, isn't Old Town just like one block on Wells Street between Division and whatever the next street up is?
Jake Lyons: Basically, yeah, pretty much up to North a little bit. Yeah, just north of North, basically. Yeah, it's not a big area at all. But, well, let's actually take a step back here. So you've lived in Chicago in general for how long now? 15 years. 15 years, okay. And you're originally from Pennsylvania? Yep. Reading Pennsylvania.
Eric Scull: Reading. Reading. Reading, I'm sorry. No, it's a hard. It's a confusing one yet. We're famous for being on Monopoly. The Reading Railroad is one of the four railroads that you can buy in the game. Nice.
Jake Lyons: That is actually, that's a pretty legit claim to fame.
Eric Scull: Thanks. It's like, you may have heard of us. We're on Monopoly. Yeah. But yeah, the Reading Train lines used to connect like the whole Northeast. It was a major, major kind of company. So that's all gone and gone away. But growing up, I grew up in that town. It's about 45 minutes from Philadelphia. And that was fine. But I found Chicago pretty young and absolutely fell in love with the city and everything it has to offer. Been here ever since. Cool.
Jake Lyons: Because I imagine most of your peers growing up were probably, if they were going anywhere, where they were probably going obviously to Philadelphia or New York or Boston or, you know, they probably more East Coast centric would be my guess. I mean, I don't know. Maybe I'm just stereotyping, but, you know.
Eric Scull: You're exactly, you know, you're right on the money. Because a lot of the people, so like I did some theater in high school. And the major schools that, you know, pretty much everyone I know went to was either Temple in Philadelphia or NYU in New York. So those, and then so my friends from high school to this day, people I'm connected with over Facebook, I should say, are still in either New York or Philadelphia. But that was not me. Yeah.
Jake Lyons: Well, nice to have reasons to visit at least, you know. That's true. It's so full cities. But yeah. So what, what drew you to Chicago over, over those other places?
Eric Scull: I ended up, I was in a relationship actually where the girl was from Iowa. And that was very much, you know, Chicago had been where she had had family and visited before. And so when it came time to start my second year of undergrad in like for colleges, I applied locally to Chicago and got into DePaul.
And so that then facilitated. I had toured, I think, like Northwestern and a few other schools, but DePaul totally spoke to me. So I moved to Chicago more or less sight unseen.
To be honest, if I'm, if I'm really talking about why I'm here in Chicago, I had a brilliant experience the very first time I was ever in Chicago was for the fifth Harry Potter book coming out. And this was in 2003. So five years before I'd lived here. But I had visited because there was a special midnight release party in Oak Park on Oak Park Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Oak Park. And they had transformed all of the shops into Harry Potter shops from like Diagon Alley and things. And I had such a great experience due to my work with the Harry Potter website, mclnett.com and things.
I got to like kind of emcee that event. I was very young, but it was it was a really great and I would say formative experience that always left a impression on me. And so when the time came just a few years later to actually figure out where I wanted to live over the next couple of years, because I left home at 18. I really didn't look back to Reading. I felt like the town I'd grown up in had nothing to offer me.
And jobs weren't really in my field and that kind of thing. The big city was so welcoming. And speaking really quickly about Philadelphia, New York, LA, I had visited those places growing up. And a lot more often you could get a bus for pretty cheap to New York. It'd be there in about 90 minutes and I was always in Manhattan.
And that was fine. But something about Chicago is I've used the phrase my speed. There's just something about it. Everything from the people to the way it's laid out to you know, there's just a lot to love in the Midwest. And I felt an immediate connection that was more than nostalgia and more than some of its parts to Chicago. And that's why I've been here ever since I could see myself here indefinitely.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, I always kind of explain Chicago as like it's a lot. It kind of has all the amenities of a New York City, but there's just more, you know, feel as claustrophobic, you know, still that Midwest kind of vibe kind of attitude, I guess, a little bit more, you know.
I don't know. I kind of think that a lot of the reputation of New Yorkers being whatever jerks or whatever is a little overblown, like the few times that I've visited, everybody's fine. You just have to break them out of their zone a little bit. Because at a certain point, it's like you can't even blame them because there's so many people that it's a sensory overload. So why would you stop and consider the humanity of this other person who's next to you?
Eric Scull: There's millions of them everywhere. Well, that's just it. Yeah, I mean, everybody's trying to go on to that little island. Everybody who lives in, you know, they're commuting and they're coming from Jersey, they're coming from Connecticut, they're coming from Massachusetts every friggin' day. Having to get from some train to some bus to some train, you know, or sit for hours and trying to get into a tunnel to get onto that.
Again, the tiny little island, it's not ideal. I respect the heck out of the history of New York, but Chicago, you mentioned it being more spread out or more, I don't know, just room to breathe, less claustrophobic. It's the alleys. The best thing that ever happened to Chicago is it burned to the ground.
Jake Lyons: Because they were able to rebuild. Yep, and it just so, they built it so smart with a dedication and enthusiasm to, you know, kind of rejuvenation and new forms of architecture and stuff. So yeah, I don't need a wax, but you and I are clearly both lovers of Chicago. But yeah, I just found the city and I was blown away and it continues to offer so much to me.
I'm very proud to live here for sure. Yeah. And you've lived in a bunch of different areas, right? So you mentioned, I think I saw Oak Park was the place that you've been for a while and what are all the kind of different spots, different neighborhoods?
Eric Scull: Yeah, so I did at one point live in Oak Park and it was, as I mentioned, mostly because of that formative experience I had. But it was actually my, probably like my sixth place I lived was Oak Park. The reason I talked, I actually listed the previous place I lived is because I actually see them all as one area.
So again, we're crossing neighborhood lines technically here. But I started out, I did start out in a studio in the Gold Coast. And I think it might have been Streeterville. But the kind of money I was paying for the size of the place I was getting was way overblown even then.
This is 2008 and yeah, that was just not realistic. So the neighborhood I moved to from downtown was Lincoln Square and literally, I can promise you it was Lincoln Square because it was on Lincoln right beneath or above the sign that says Lincoln Square. So, so it was right above Dagerberg Academy of the Martial Arts.
So it was heart, heart, heart of Lincoln Square. And while I have moved five or six times since then, they've all been within a few blocks of like my previous place. So I've been in a westward trajectory. So technically, even after I first moved, I was no longer in Lincoln Square. It became kind of Ravenswood Manor. And now, as we know, I'm in Irving or Albany Park or would they, is there a separate neighborhood called Old Irving or is it just referred to that kind of colloquially?
Jake Lyons: Yeah, so it's kind of a subcategory of Irving Park. It's kind of similar, similar to what I was, you know, it's under the umbrella of Irving Park and then there's Old Irving Park. Yeah, so Old Irving Park is a little bit a little bit more west, a little bit more toward over by the highway.
Eric Scull: Got it. From where? Yeah, so I'm not into Old Irving. Yeah. But yeah, so, you know, I kind of tend to look at it all as being either Lincoln Square or the Ravenswood area. And so that's kind of how I conceptualize it. But I think what it is really is I found the neighborhood for me. And again, just like finding Chicago and feeling spoken to, I love everything about Lincoln Square and Ravenswood Manor in general.
Eric Scull: Well, essentially the very end of the brown line, you know, everywhere from Kimball to Western is I think a really great area due to its proximity, its connection to downtown via CTA. If you want to go downtown on CTA, it's only a 30 minute, you know, train ride. But when I first moved from the Gold Coast to Lincoln Square, even being in that bustling heart of Lincoln Square, I started sleeping better and I didn't know why. And after a little bit of reflection, I was like, oh wait, when I was living on LaSalle Street, the bus would come by every six minutes and it would raise and it would lower and it would, you know, even overnight and the ambulances and the sirens and the emergencies stuff, you know, living downtown was loud. And Lincoln Square, again, even the heart of Lincoln Square was quiet.
And I started sleeping better because I wasn't getting interrupted sleep at all. And so here you are, you have this neighborhood, halfway out of the city, still well within city limits. Of course, the people who come in tourists think it's forever away. They think it's another state.
Jake Lyons: But no, we're only halfway out. Yeah, it feels like Canada to them. But it's 20 minutes on the train, you know, and then you're out and you get these tree-lined streets, tons of eateries, lots of local haunts, lots of bars and pet friendly apartments. Actually, I was a former girlfriend told me I was going to get kicked out of my neighborhood because I didn't have a dog, you know, so it's like, or a baby. You need either a dog or a baby to live in Ravenswood, Mander. That's what I was told about. But I was like puppies and strollers.
Eric Scull: It's the land of puppies and strollers. The land of puppies and strollers. But I'll tell you what, even without those things, I love it here. And so that neighborhood, that vibe of what I'm like latching onto here is just peace and quiet while still having all of the, like you said, you use the word amenities.
That's exactly right. Like I just feel like this neighborhood being here gives me so much. And you know, the component that I'm sure we'll talk about more soon is money because it is not the most expensive neighborhood to live in Chicago. And in fact, the whole trajectory of where I've lived, the apartments have been, I would say probably the average rate for apartments in Chicago.
I never once had to consider not living in Ravenswood, Ravenswood, Mander, Lincoln Square due to it being much cheaper anywhere else. So I found it to be very agreeable, you know, as things were rising. So too was my income. So it was fine. Yeah.
Jake Lyons: You mentioned some of like the, you know, bars, restaurants, haunts, things like that. What are a couple of the ones that you frequent either the most or that you would most recommend or, you know, things that you've grown attached to?
Eric Scull: Yeah, it's actually been sad. I was in Lincoln Square over the weekend and, you know, right on Lincoln and just reminiscing about some of the places that have long gone. Unfortunately, Chicago has lost the Chicago Bra House, which was a big, great. Have you ever just eat there?
Jake Lyons: Not really. I went in there, Emma and I like peaked our heads in there one night and it was really crowded and we were just like, nah, you know, but it looked really cool and they didn't, it wasn't even like a COVID thing. They just decided, I think they shut down like before COVID even. Yeah.
Eric Scull: Maybe I'm gonna get an hour off of it. I think they did. Yeah. No, I think they did. And now, you know, it's now it's a medical office or kind of urgent care. Which yes, I need urgent care because I'm so shocked that the Bra House is no longer there. But no, you know, honestly for your buck, depending on cuisine, I'm thrilled because Albany Park in particular is the most ethnically diverse and for cuisine as well neighborhood in Chicago. They have a taste of Albany Park, which is an annual festival and really showcasing all of the cuisines you can get here. You know, I'm a block and a half from this amazing Mexican place. There's tons of Middle Eastern.
You know, I can get pretty much everything that I want. There's an Easy Street cafe on Irving Park, I think just east of Sacramento, west of California. I shout out that place specifically because they do a mac and cheese pizza, which is just absolutely game changing.
And they have cheese curds as well, which I go for. But yeah, other specific places, let's see. So the Mexican place I go to is called El Tezcal. And that's just, there's never anybody in there, but it's the best food you've ever had.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, I know that place. It's on Montrose and, kind of right there, right?
Eric Scull: Like Montrose and Ketchum. Yeah, right there, right there. But I will say, one of the places that I lived catty corner from that I just adore and still to this day, I'm thrilled about, is called Rockwells. Rockwells Neighborhood Grill, or Rockwells Bar and Grill. And it's right off the Rockwell brown line stop.
It's two doors down from there. And they have a rotating beer list. They have great food.
I always get just the burger that's there. And it has been one of those places where long after I moved away from there, I still take people and they still have a good time. They still really like the food.
Everybody finds something they like. And it's a local neighborhood place. You really, I've never seen it advertised. You know, you would never know, but it does good business because it's the best thing in the neighborhood.
Jake Lyons: This episode is presented by my website, theChicagoHomesource.com, the best resource with the most search parameters for seeing what homes are currently available in the area you're looking in or for checking the market around your own Chicago area home.
Visit the website and order, fill out the quick start questionnaire via the links in the show notes to learn more about our perfect home finder program where we combat the lack of attractive options on the market by proactively going out and finding off market opportunities on homes that meet your specific qualifications. Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that place. And that whole, that little area right there around the Rockwell stop, like that, that kind of true Ravenswood Manor area, because Ravenswood Manor is a very small area, but it's so nice. I mean, it's how it borders along the river there. And I think there's only, I want to say there's only like, there's a very small number of houses that actually have dock slips, you know, that you can actually be on the river and they're all right there. It's only like nine or 10 that have it. Wow.
Yeah. And there's, you know, all the parks that line that line the river along there that, you know, public access parks and things like that. It's a beautiful, beautiful area. One of my favorites.
Eric Scull: Yeah, I think, I think one of the smallest parks in Chicago might be there too. Buffalo Park, I think it's called. It's a tiny little triangle where Manor and California meet and it's like, you know, 10 feet wide. But it is, it has the sign, you know, Chicago Park District. And I think it's got to be one of the smallest parks in Chicago. Without it.
Jake Lyons: What, what would you say are, what are some reasons why somebody wouldn't want to live here? Have you noticed any, you know, cons or even like, we've seen any kind of safety concerns in your time living here or anything like that?
Eric Scull: Um, I guess like from a safety standpoint, I've not seen more crime than you would expect in a big city. And also even then, I think it's much less crime than you would expect in a big city. But then you kind of hear about in other neighborhoods. There has been, I think in the most general sense, um, you know, somebody did get shot out of off of like the Kedzie, uh, or the, uh, yeah, the Kedzie Brown line, uh, stop. There have been, um, occasional, uh, you know, gunshots or things like that that are, you always read about the day after and kind of go, Oh, that's what that was, you know, car backfiring.
I mean, nobody's been murdered on my street. Is that the barometer that we're going for that I know about? But, but yeah, it's, it's, it's one of those things. I would say that Chicago is grossly mischaracterized, um, on the world stage. Uh, national politics loves to call Chicago a war zone. Um, and I don't think that's fair. It's obviously very biased.
It's obviously very false, uh, you know, being used to paint liberal cities as some kind of, you know, awful thing. Um, I have always felt safe, uh, in these neighborhoods. I, you know, it's like, I, it happens, but it's not a concern of mine and it's not, I've never had to worry about going out in daylight, um, nor has my girlfriend, I will say, um, so it's not just, you know, I'm male privilege thing that I'm talking about here. So, so no, I really don't see crime as being an issue in this neighborhood specifically. Um, and generally the Ravenswood area has not ever struck me as being a dangerous place. Um, as far as why people wouldn't want to live here, I can't really think about it. Some people do need to be a little bit closer to like the red line for work. Um, and so even just going to Belbaum on our fuller, to needing to transfer can be rough. So those people tend to move, uh, into the, the Eastern more neighborhoods. Um, but that has not been me.
So I've never needed to look at it. Um, I know Edgewater, Avondale, you know, those are kind of really cool neighborhoods too. Uh, they have a lot of the same things that Irving Park does. Um, but I'm happy here.
Jake Lyons: Yeah. Yeah. I think that I would agree. That's probably what it comes down to is just your, your proximity to the things that you need to be closer to. Cause you know, I do a lot of work downtown and things like that. And I, I lived in Lincoln square before I moved, I live in Albany Park now for pretty close to you. Um, you know this, but you know, for the listeners and, uh, you know, Lincoln square felt far enough away cause you know, it's like you're, you're not really that close to the highway or Lake Shore drive. So it's just like most of your commute time is just getting to the thing that gets you to the thing. Um, and this is driving wise, not, you know, public transit.
Um, and then moving to Albany Park that way is like definitely added, you know, another whole, another like 10 minutes, which does, you know, it does matter sometimes like, uh, when you're, when you're used to it being a 30, a 30 minute drive to downtown now it's, you know, 40, 45, depending on traffic. And so it was like, yeah, it was definitely a thing.
Eric Scull: Yeah. Here's something I'll say like, so I have a control test here, right? Because there was the one time I lived in Oak Park. So I moved from, you know, two or three apartments that were in Lincoln square fully out to Oak Park. I lived, um, in Oak Park itself is actually kind of small. People, it's like a suburb, but it's within the city limits. Um, it's east of Harlem.
Jake Lyons: It's on the CTA. So yeah, it's well, it's on the CTA. There you go. Um, but here's the thing. So it's, uh, again, you take the green line out. It's about 30 minutes to get to the Austin stop, which is where Oak Park begins. And it's, you know, the same distance to downtown in terms of time, um, on the CTA, uh, from Lincoln square, but it feels a lot further out. I think living in Oak Park, you're kind of in a bubble. You're kind of, it feels disconnected in many ways to actually live there.
Then it does in Lincoln square. Getting that perspective was huge for me. You know, Oak Park, we moved to actually shorten a commute out to Oak Brook. And it was a nice medium between living in the suburbs and living in the city, but it didn't feel ultimately like I was living in Chicago. And so I kind of gained that extra perspective of what it's like to be even close and accessible on the L, but to not feel attached to the city. And well, um, you know how I feel about it? Cause they move right back to Ravenswood right after. Yeah.
Yeah. And I feel like Lincoln square and Oak Park are actually like this lifestyle wise are pretty, you're going to get a pretty similar vibe. Cause even like some of these cities are some of these neighborhoods within Chicago almost feel like their own, their own little village. Like, like Lincoln square, you feel like you're in like the downtown of like a quaint little village somewhere,
Eric Scull: you know, and Oak Park is a village. Exactly.
Jake Lyons: Yeah. Yeah. So you, so you have a solid sample size. You've been, you know, been around, you've been here for 15 years. What, what would you say, um, how have these neighborhoods or the city in general just in your, in your observation changed over the years?
Eric Scull: Um, it's been, uh, a bit rough, I would say because, um, I've seen the struggle sort of like the economic struggle of, uh, everyone is raising prices. Um, and, you know, I have also had my share sample size of the landlord experience, um, because I have only rented and I think that's another important thing to kind of shout out, um, is I'm not a homeowner yet. Um, and so from the renting perspective, I've seen the way that various landlords handle their properties. Um, and, or in some cases don't handle their properties and, uh, it's been interesting to see as, you know, sort of costs got tighter, uh, the ways in which these, um, you know, landowners are, uh, sort of reacting or responding to that like economic tightening, I want to say, um, the actual neighborhoods, you know, we just end up losing more of those, uh, businesses that we love. Uh, you know, their lease is getting raised past the point where business can no longer make sense. Um, so I've seen a lot of businesses leave, uh, because their rent is too high.
And that's been kind of the unfortunate thing about it. Or you'll see entire strip malls, um, bulldozed for more apartment buildings. And it's like, well, there were things that people would go and see and do in those strip malls and now they can't so much, you know, yes, we need more housing. Um, but not at the expense of some of these, you know, places to go and do and eat and be merry. Yeah.
Jake Lyons: Yeah. You need, you need places to live, but you also need reasons to live there. That's a great way of putting it. Yeah. I say that about the south loop a lot. I mean, I like the south loop, but the south loop is just like these gorgeous high rise, you know, they're just like building them like crazy. It's like all these gorgeous high rise, like apartment buildings and stuff. But then once you, once you're like down there in the heart of the south loop, it's kind of like, well, I mean, yeah, there's a couple like, there's a couple restaurants, I guess there's some, there's a couple of things to do, but it's not like, you know, yeah.
Eric Scull: I mean, they all close at five PM or aren't open weekends. You know, it's like, what the hell? It's like, oh, we do the majority of our business for the commuters, for the people that work downtown and we don't need to be open for literally anywhere, anyone else. It's like, oh God, living down there must be awfully have to do takeout all the time or, you know, delivery. Yep. Exactly.
Jake Lyons: What is one story or memory that encapsulates your experience here?
Eric Scull: That is interesting. Story or memory. I think it's a few years ago, figuring out that the park by me, which I, there's a lot of parks by me, but I would say Horner Park specifically, which is between Montres and Irving, east of California to the river. And Horner Park is a wonderful park. I go there multiple times a week. Now there's a dog park there. The hiking path that's there is exactly a mile.
So you can do a circuit and measure, you know, your distance and stuff, which is something that I do. But no, just going to a movies in the park event, I think they were showing back to the future. And Horner Park has like a little hill at the north end, south of the tennis courts. And on that hill, you know, it fits so many people.
And at the bottom, you know, they have the screen going. And I think just taking in a movie, taking in a movies in the park movie. It was a, you know, beautiful night.
Not too hot, not too cold. That felt like the, you know, real encapsulation of what it meant to live in the neighborhood was just go take in a movie in the park, bunch of strangers, bring a picnic blanket and walk home to three blocks, whatever it was. Um, it was a lot closer even than walking to the train.
So I just think that that kind of experience, that kind of laid back, um, environment with things that being in a big city provide like public movies, um, really is just the, the icing on the cake and the cherry on top of living here. Yeah. Yeah.
Jake Lyons: Movies in the park. I haven't done that in a while. I kind of forgot about that, but yeah, I've done that quite a few times. That was that. That is a really cool thing that we do. And it happens all over the city.
I mean, pretty much, you know, every neighborhood has something like that going on throughout the summer. I remember the first one of those I did, um, it was right. It was in the, the Tribune building downtown, like in that plaza right there, kind of like by the Apple store, right there by the river. Cool. Uh, they, they set up a giant projection there and played the dark night.
Eric Scull: Oh my God.
Jake Lyons: Famously, famously shot in Chicago. Yeah.
Eric Scull: The only, the only, the only thing, the only thing cooler is if they did it be in front of the board of trade, because that's where the truck in the movies literally.
Jake Lyons: Oh my God. But yeah, you know, there's a lot of, that's another element. The pride in Chicago, especially when they're doing a Chicago thing, like the dark night, that was huge when that was filming here. And you know, you couldn't get down on lower Whacker for like a month, but, you know, it was really, really awesome. Uh, you know, getting to be a part of what you felt like cultural history is like Chicago is Gotham. And it's funny though, because the adverse effect too, like Gotham in the movie is the most crime, addled, like, you know, horrible place where like you think being anybody must suck to be there.
Um, but at the same time it raises the, the awareness and it, and it, it, that movie in particular, the dark night, um, really drew attention to like the architecture and a lot of like the cool spots and things. So a little bit of, you know, column A, column B. Yeah. Well, I think that's all I got for you for the, uh, for this portion of it. What, uh, what, what are you working on these days? What are you excited about? Yeah.
Eric Scull: I mean, I'm again, just thrilled to have come on here. So thank you for that. Um, and I do love Chicago. I do love my neighborhood. Um, right now I'm, uh, just continuing the podcast. Uh, and, um, we mentioned my Harry Potter podcast is called Muggle Cast.
Um, it is, uh, still weekly, uh, after all these years, after all this time. Um, but you can find that wherever you find podcasts. Um, and then I have a personal podcast, uh, which is currently on hiatus, but I did enjoy doing it and it's called Thank You for Speeling. Um, those who've listened to this episode, you know, I probably talk quite a bit, uh, very passionately, but this podcast was about talking passionately with friends about things that they like to do.
Um, so we did about 30 episodes or so, um, including some informational, um, episodes on COVID when that was first happening, uh, with my friend who does research and very scientific brain, which I am not. Um, you can learn a lot. You can have a lot of fun just by checking out my podcast.
Um, again, thank you for Speeling, S P I E L I N G. And, um, most recently, uh, Buddy of Mine and I went through the Last of Us HBO series and a whole season was dedicated to rewatching or watching for the first time that show while it was airing. So it's really just my personal, gonna make this show anything I want, be as regular as I want it to be, have full creative control, and, um, it was well received.
Jake Lyons: Awesome. And I'll have, I'll have the link to both of those in the show notes for this too. Yeah. Yeah. I still, um, I still need to catch the last episode of, of The Last of Us. I've been, been lagging on that, but I've been very taking my time with that show. Are you unspoiled?
Eric Scull: Um, what do you mean? Like, uh, do you know what happens in the last episode of that show?
Jake Lyons: I don't know. I never, I never played the game or any of that. So yeah. Awesome.
Eric Scull: I, I look forward to you seeing it and then talking about it immediately with me afterwards. Okay.
Jake Lyons: Now that I know, I will, yeah, definitely, I'll get, I'll, I'll get that done this week and I'll let you know. Awesome. Cool. All right. Well, hey, Eric, thank you so much for your time and your thoughts and everything else, all your help. And, um, I don't really know what, uh, how to sign off. So I guess I'll just, uh, say, um, bye.
Eric Scull: I say, I assume there's music playing.
Jake Lyons: So, bye everybody. There's probably going to be some kind of music playing. Maybe I don't know. We'll figure that out. All right. Cool. Thanks. Bye.
