Chicago areas

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

I wouldn't have objected if Jandur stated: "in general people who post on city-data don't want to live there" [south side] or even "in general white people...", but the way he/she originally stated it just raised my hackles a bit, especially since the OP gave a minimally descriptive initial post.

Totally valid gripe to me and personally, I'd like to see more mention of those areas. It just sucks to have to caveat it with, "Everyone's personal safety threshholds are different, and you need to be particularly careful/do a lot of research on an prospective place as things change dramatically on a block by block basis."

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by jessme2

My daughter is moving to Streeterville..that is a good area then?

Yes, that's a safe area. It is an urban environment, however, with all that such entails.

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by Jandur

I don't see why people get so defensive about the south side. In general people moving to Chicago don't really have a desire to live there.

Which is not really accurate. I have three sets of college classmates, who when moving to Chicago, all ended up in Hyde Park. One moved to Hyde Park after graduating from college 30 years ago. After moving to Chicago, I moved to the south side from Rogers Park.

So, the south side is a draw for some folks moving from other areas. However, as we have seen, many moving guides and guides to living in the city do not include it in their descriptions. I guess people really need to expand their circle of friends.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by SpikeDurden

Take a look at this map of Chicago neighborhoods (doesn't include the south side):

http://www.dreamtown.com/images/neig...rthcentral.jpg

What you're looking for is anything north of "The Loop" and east of the river with great choices geared towards your interests being Ravenswood, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, North Center, and Old Town.

In general, the farther north you get from downtown (downtown= The Loop/River North, Gold Coast, Streeterville, Near North), the cheaper the housing. The closer you get to downtown, the more expensive.

Nice so you just chop off the whole south side wow

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by Jandur

I know its a generalization, and I made sure to use the word general a couple times just to be clear

Of course not everyone is a white yuppie but I think it's pretty clear that most of the people that come to this forum for moving advice are. I mean, when do you ever hear someone say "I'm looking to live in the city itself, but no where too dense. I would like to live an an area that is car friendly, and has lots of blue-collar and city workers as residents."

I'm not knocking the south side at all, I have friends in Beverly and they are some of the coolest people I know. People that gravitate to this board generally don't seem to gravitate to the south side, and I don't see why thats a big deal.

Your probably right a caucausian white male or female is not really going to be scouting out englewood for a a cool place for THEM to hang out on the weeknights and weekends

guess it just kind of blows when perceptions are the truth
its not racist it is just the way the area unfolds with its division lines
why bury the truth to the matter

[AnnabellaK]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Your probably right a caucausian white male or female is not really going to be scouting out englewood for a a cool place for THEM to hang out on the weeknights and weekends

guess it just kind of blows when perceptions are the truth
its not racist it is just the way the area unfolds with its division lines
why bury the truth to the matter

Hmmm....Englewood is a pretty extreme example i.e most people of any color will not seek out Englewood for any reason. Head east to Hyde Park and Kenwood and you have some of the safest community areas in all of Chicago's 77. I think Hyde Park was Number 5 safest last time I checked. So, sometimes, perception is far from reality. Just ask all those poor folks who thought that investing in condo conversions in Uptown, Rogers Park or Albany Park was a sure bet, coz it's on the north side right

[knitgirl]

Another zombie thread. The OP has probably already made their decision about where to live.