If you live in a certain pocket of Chicago, you could be living in one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world and you might not even know it.
After surveying more than "20,000 city dwellers" along with local experts, Time Out magazine earlier this week released its list of the "51 Coolest Neighborhoods in the World," based on measures like culture and nightlife, affordable food and drink, walkability, a sense of community and more.
The global list is wide-ranging, spanning pockets from San Diego to Santiago.
In the U.S., only six neighborhoods made the list -- and one of them is in Chicago.
Folks, welcome to Avondale.
Avondale, on the city's northwest side, is directly west of Lakeview and just north of Logan Square. Although the northeastern tip of it is about a three-mile walk from Wrigley Field, the neighborhood is fairly large, crossing over I-94 and bordering Bricktown, Belmont Gardens and Irving Park.
Coming in at No. 16, Avondale won for its ties to the Polish community, top-rated Mexican food and array of eccentric small businesses -- which includes a bug museum and a horror-themed coffee shop -- in addition to opportunities for both growing families and solo residents.
"Avondale is a rare place that feels equally welcoming to families, arty twenty-somethings and working-class Chicagoans," Time Out says. "And as the neighborhood deals with rising rents and other symptoms of gentrification, community organizations are hard at work to make sure it stays that way."
If you're itching to spend a day filled with Avondale-style cool, Time Out suggests starting it with pastries at the Loaf Lounge -- whose chocolate cake was made famous by the FX show The Bear -- enjoying the Polish cathedral-style architecture at the Basilica of St. Hyacinth, eating tacos at Taqueria Mazamitla and then knocking down a few vintage pins at Avondale Bowl.
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In 2021, Andersonville, on Chicago's north side, snagged the No. 2 spot on the same list.
Rounding out the 2022 list's top 10 coolest neighborhoods are Colonia Americana in Guadalajara, Mexico at No.1; Cais do Sodré in Lisbon, Portugal at No. 2; Wat Bo Village in Siem Reap, Cambodia at No. 3; Rigewood, New York City at No. 4; Mile End in Montreal, Canada at No. 5; Barrio Logan in San Diego, California at No. 6; Shimokitazawa in Tokyo, Japan at No. 7; Clifton, in Margate, UK at No. 8; Barrio Yungay in Santiago, Chile at No. 9; and Cours Julien in Marseille, France at No. 10.
The full list of 51 neighborhoods can be found here.
