white family moving to Humboldt park. advice? (Chicago, Cleveland: to live in, restaurants)

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by butterflyliz20

well as a white puerto rican women who pays 1350 a month and owns 2 cars i havent been robbed living here on kedzie and thomas so if ur worried about crazy puerto rican people trying to rob u then dont be a show off and annouce how much money u have and just treat people like people and be nice people in humboldt park are nice and very neighborly as long as u dont act like if ur better then them. the families in humboldt park are doing better then they did a couple of years ago so dont worry u wont be targeted for robbery everytime they see u humboldt park it is an awesome place to live. on sacramento is the field house where u can workout for a low fee and lots of stuff for u and ur family to do like baseball and art and crafts theirs a pool on augusta and sacramento if u dont mind a lot of noisy kids its an ok place for a swim and not to far on chicago kedzie is a little mall aldis ,rainbow, rent a center and more hopely u will appreciate the cheap prices the best part of humboldt park is at night when u can sit on ur front porch and watch at least 30 racoons just walking around anyway the only problem in humboldt park is the police lots of them are racist they dont like hispanics or blacks so if u call and ur white they will come anyway good luck on ur decision ive been here 7 yrs and i never wanted to move to humboldt park but it depends on u and how u are dont bother nobody and nobody will bother u is what i always say

What led you to live in Humboldt Park? How are the schools? Is the neighborhood OK for your kids to go out and play at the park?
Just curious, and your thoughts may help the OP in making her decision.

[sarahdeanne]

Originally Posted by quigboto

sarahdeanne: Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Ok so we just spent 3 days in chicago almost exclusively public transport visiting neighborhoods talking to people (all very nice) and riding around with apartment finders. We have 3 top pics one is close to the line between Wicker Park and Ukrainian village, one in the heart of Ukrainian village, and one North central Lakeview. I also really liked Pilsen but the only place we had time to see was too small. I love the city. I love the helpful attitudes I've come across, I love the accents It was by far more difficult to find a place with in unit laundry than to find neighborhoods that we like. 3 days was not long enough to visit everywhere even on my "short list" but there will be time for that after the move! Thanks again folks!

-Sarah D

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by sarahdeanne

Ok so we just spent 3 days in chicago almost exclusively public transport visiting neighborhoods talking to people (all very nice) and riding around with apartment finders. We have 3 top pics one is close to the line between Wicker Park and Ukrainian village, one in the heart of Ukrainian village, and one North central Lakeview. I also really liked Pilsen but the only place we had time to see was too small. I love the city. I love the helpful attitudes I've come across, I love the accents It was by far more difficult to find a place with in unit laundry than to find neighborhoods that we like. 3 days was not long enough to visit everywhere even on my "short list" but there will be time for that after the move! Thanks again folks!

-Sarah D

Sounds like a really nice visit! Welcome to Chicago

[ole69]

Originally Posted by sarahdeanne

Ok so we just spent 3 days in chicago almost exclusively public transport visiting neighborhoods talking to people (all very nice) and riding around with apartment finders. We have 3 top pics one is close to the line between Wicker Park and Ukrainian village, one in the heart of Ukrainian village, and one North central Lakeview. I also really liked Pilsen but the only place we had time to see was too small. I love the city. I love the helpful attitudes I've come across, I love the accents It was by far more difficult to find a place with in unit laundry than to find neighborhoods that we like. 3 days was not long enough to visit everywhere even on my "short list" but there will be time for that after the move! Thanks again folks!

-Sarah D

You'll love Uk Village, I think. We lived right by St. Nikolai's for 3 years, and would have stayed if we could afford to buy there.

[WhaThe]

Originally Posted by sarahdeanne

We have 3 top pics one is close to the line between Wicker Park and Ukrainian village, one in the heart of Ukrainian village, and one North central Lakeview.
-Sarah D

My kind of people. Welcome to the neighborhood. Unless you end up in Lakeview that is.

[Haley Wood]

Originally Posted by sarahdeanne

Ok so we just spent 3 days in chicago almost exclusively public transport visiting neighborhoods talking to people (all very nice) and riding around with apartment finders. We have 3 top pics one is close to the line between Wicker Park and Ukrainian village, one in the heart of Ukrainian village, and one North central Lakeview. I also really liked Pilsen but the only place we had time to see was too small. I love the city. I love the helpful attitudes I've come across, I love the accents It was by far more difficult to find a place with in unit laundry than to find neighborhoods that we like. 3 days was not long enough to visit everywhere even on my "short list" but there will be time for that after the move! Thanks again folks!

-Sarah D

I'm glad that you were able to find places that you like! When I started reading this thread, it was heading in some really depressing directions. One of the reasons I want to live in Chicago is because of the diversity -- and not because I think or even want to change anyone, but because I enjoy the differences in people and think it is fun and interesting to see life from different perspectives and upbringings, whether the difference be ethnic or otherwise. Hopefully there are lots of others in Chicago who aren't just like me who will still want to know me, too.

[aragx6]

^And I'm sure you realized as you read through this thread, the OP didn't end up looking in the more dangerous areas she'd initially been talking about.

Regulars of this forum certainly have a tendency towards the brusque, but she listened to the concerns and adjusted her plans accordingly. I bet she ends up really happy in any of those places she looked.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by sarahdeanne

Ok so we just spent 3 days in chicago almost exclusively public transport visiting neighborhoods talking to people (all very nice) and riding around with apartment finders. We have 3 top pics one is close to the line between Wicker Park and Ukrainian village, one in the heart of Ukrainian village, and one North central Lakeview. I also really liked Pilsen but the only place we had time to see was too small. I love the city. I love the helpful attitudes I've come across, I love the accents It was by far more difficult to find a place with in unit laundry than to find neighborhoods that we like. 3 days was not long enough to visit everywhere even on my "short list" but there will be time for that after the move! Thanks again folks!

-Sarah D

I agree that once you start looking at what sorts of "amenities" are lacking MOST people tend to get a much more realistic view of what constitutes "a bargain". It is awfully hard to contemplate giving up something like an in-unit laundry when you've got kids that generate a lot of dirty clothes.

It really is not very different in 'burbs -- folks don't buy the tiny old houses and instead tear them down if they are in an otherwise desirable area. This is largely because the tiny homes built in like the late forties / early fifties are often not going to have things like a good sized laundry area, en suite master bath, family room sized to actually allow a sofa, playpen and other entertainment options. Even large families don't need 5000 sq ft but homes or apartments under about 1200 well designed sq ft. are just awfully tight. If the family needs three bedrooms and each of those are going to total over 350 sq ft that leaves precious little area for the kind of living that happens in kitchens and family rooms and basically nothing for storing sports equipment or musical instruments, let alone a big screen tv. I am sure that super active folks in Colorado or Northern California can take advantage of outdoor sports 12 months of the year, but in Chicago folks tend to spend a heckuva lot more time indoors and if a family is crammed together it is not good for anyone...

[sarahdeanne]

Ok so I thought it might be fun to give an update to all of you who took the time out of your busy city lives to vehemently debate my potential living situation and related topics. As well as for anyone who might be searching previous threads to answer their own questions.

My family moved to a place in Ukrainian Village last June. I say "moved" but we never actually got moved in. We stayed one month without all our things looking for another apt because even though we loved walking around the neighborhood and to Smith park and riding the 66 to the pier and everything else we did there, the apt we chose turned out to not meet our needs and we couldn't find another one on short notice in the area in our price range.

In July we moved in to a place in Logan Square (on Kimball ave just south of Diversey) We LOVE this spot. Close to the train, close to the park, great people, library, on and on.

Ironically, even as I enjoy being a part of the LS community we seem to have become even more connected in the HP community. We go to the Y on Lawndale (technically logan Sq but seriously). We found a great active community Church on Springfield and Hirsch. We ride our bikes down the beautiful boulevards and through the huge park on nice Saturdays. So after being here nearly a year as we consider purchasing a house we are back around to a discussion of buying in HP. We found a nice little rehabbed house with a great yard just south of bloomingdale which fits our family in every way. I have been a part of many conversations online and in person and there is quite a mix of ideas about whether or not people feel safe in an area. Everyone is entitled to a certain comfort level. It also comes down to common sense and taking precautions to keep yourself out of obvious danger. I am a firm believer that you cannot create a 100% safe environment and almost everyone who strives for that will be disappointed. I won't pretend that the issue has nothing to do with race. One of the things I have noticed in most every case is that we don't always know our own predjudices until we test them, and the more involved with like minded community members one gets (of all backgrounds) the less fear they have. Again the level of fear you have (no matter where you live) does little to effect the likelihood that you will be effected by a tragic event. Yet it does greatly effect your quality of life. That has been my observation.

[Chi-town Native]

Glad to hear it! We are 2 blocks north of Diversey just off of Kimball, loved the area when we moved in 10+ years ago and as Milwaukee starts getting some new life it is just getting better and better.

If you are avid bike riders living close to Bloomingdale may be a really sweet deal in the foreseeable future:

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