Avondale / Irving Park, Chicago, IL

Blue-collar in both pride and feel, Avondale has been growing in recent years due to its comparatively cheaper real estate market. Although now more than 60% Hispanic, its strong Polish history is evident in both the commercial and physical nature of the area, with almost as many options for sausages as there are for down home cantinas bursting with Latin flare.

The communities of Jackowo and Wacławowo collectively make up the Polish Village, a place where the former mayor of Warsaw, Paweł Piskorski, declared the kielbasa was the best he’d ever had. Although “trendy” probably isn’t the word to describe Avondale (unless “trendy” has an entirely different meaning in Polish), great simple pubs and traditional eateries are the norm, both catering to a mix of mellow hipsters and blue collar Joes in the need for a few cheap pints to go with their golanka.

Irving Park comes from similar heritage, and though home to several beautiful Victorians that architecture buffs go goo-goo over, it remains a fairly quiet part of town. Those looking to get a little rowdy, however, won’t be left empty-handed thanks to a small but popular collection of whiskey dens and stellar local live music venues that call the Park home.