This Area in Chinatown? (Chicago, Canton: fit in, real estate, rent)

[5991619]

Just west of Wentworth (main strip right?) and north of Cermak. Those few blocks, essentially the area just west of the main Chinatown area. Is that small area pretty safe? Is there a visible Chinese street gang presence? Can I please get an idea on rent and how a white boy might fit in? Thanks in advance.

[5991619]

No one?

[MannheimMadman]

That part is the main quadrant of Chinatown. Like, where the square is and everything, right? I've been there day and night and never had a problem. That's where some of the best restaurants are.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by 5991619

No one?

"Visible Chinese street gangs"?

I've been all over Chinatown, and while I don't doubt that there are Chinese street gangs in Chicago, I've never seen evidence of them operating in a manner that would do anything to discourage tourism in Chinatown. In Chinatown, Chinese organized crime groups probably have a lot more power than street gangs and would make it very clear to any street-level hoodlums that doing things that scared off customers will not be tolerated.

The bigger issue for most Chinatown residents that I've known (all of whom have been Chinese) has been street crime by non-Chinese criminals. A lot of them are quite suspicious, whether justified or not, of the subsidized housing on Archer, west of Princeton.

Assuming you're not fluent in either Mandarin or Cantonese, I think your biggest issue finding good deals in Chinatown will be getting access to the primary market for available housing. Word of mouth and Chinese-language signs are often the biggest method of finding tenants there. Part of that is just people doing business in their own language, but part of it is a deliberate effort to maintain the Chinese character of Chinatown. It's not in Chinatown's best interest to make it easy for non-Chinese to live there. Is that technically illegal? Maybe, but I, for one, would be more than happy to let it slide to maintain such a vibrant ethnic neighborhood.

[andrew61]

I'm curious as to why you want so badly to live in Chinatown in the first place. To each his own, I guess, but as a "white boy" you're going to stick out like a sore thumb, even if you do manage to find a place. Just sayin'.

[paytonc]

Almost all of the housing NW of Wentworth & Cermak, but within "Chinatown" (which has arguably bled over into Bridgeport west of the railroad tracks and south of the freeway) is within the Chinatown Square development -- and most of that is either townhouses or senior housing. There are some condos around Ping Tom Park, I think.

IIRC, the real estate agency in charge of the residential there is Richland Realty. If you really want to live there, it's probably worth giving them a call. However, you'll find some great deals in equally safe and convenient locations just outside Chinatown, in Bridgeport or the Near South Side.

[tonythetrout]

This has been brought up already:

Chinatown?

[tonythetuna]

If you are worried about being safe in Chinatown then you should be worried about being safe anywhere in Chicago.

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by tonythetrout

This has been brought up already:

Chinatown?

You need to come up with an original name.

[tonythetrout]

Originally Posted by tonythetuna

You need to come up with an original name.

Hello Avengerfire. Been back to the political forum lately?