Ummm. What makes you think there are only ladies here?
Anyway... You should call the utility companies before any digging so that they can come and mark out locations for wires etc.
Find out how deep those utilities are, and simply plant things that don't interfere with those utility lines.

does your area have codes for what can be done fence wise in a front yard?

If that is your electrical box, that is an eyesore in itself. I would put a horizontal wood slat fence in front of the chain link one, paint that electrical box and add some plants around it.

Have the utility company mark the lines (very important, and free), then build a 6 ft wooden fence, install sprinklers, and plant a few shrubs. Bye, neighbors.

I agree that a fence is the best and fastest option. To improve your yard, I’d start adding bushes and plants. In a season, it will break up the fence and, if planted in the front along the walkway, not so much a privacy barrier, but a sense of enclosure. Even something low growth will look attractive. Make sure that you check with the city to determine if there are any height limits, if you’re considering a fence in the front. it may just be me, but I don’t like a fence just on the sides - it seems incomplete, though bushes and low plants can enclose the space, also.

I less expensive solution but slower is to plant large prairies grasses along the border. Next year you wont see them.

Someone suggested painting the electrical box -- many utility companies don't allow that, so check with them when you call about having them come mark the buried lines.

100% agree with hatetoshop about confirming with the utilities, BUT just know that's a separate call from Miss Utility/Digsafe/whatever the utlity locator service is called in CA. The locator service is funded by the utilities, but totally separate.

re: the comment about finding out the depth, let me be the voice of experience here: trust no information about depth but your own eyes. If you ask the gas company here in VA they'll tell you lines are 24" down. A few years ago the guys were hand digging near the marked gas line and 4 inches down they hit it. Also, cable and phone companies here are notorious in new subdivisions for literally laying their lines on top of the soil right before the builder sods.

To the OP, plants are definitely going to be your easiest solution if you don't want to erect a new fence. Step one, call for a utility locate and see what that side yard looks like. If you think you can plant while staying clear of the lines (24" away to either side is ideal, but people are known to cheat it), go for it. If it looks like spray paint spaghetti on the ground, a fence may be the only option.

Check out these products from OZ BUILDING COMPANY, http://www.ozcobp.com/wap-oz.html They might be perfect for your situation, no need to dig and a suitable way to cover a chain link fence.

Plant a row of Podicarpus shrub/trees, add a mock decorative fence or some alternating privacy screens, adding climbing trellis type plants.

It's a 2014 post!!