Thinking of relocating to the Albany Park/Avondale area (Joliet: apartment, homes)

[mz16491]

Hello,
I am looking for some help from some people on here please. In general is this a safe neighborhood? One that is mostly free of hearing gunshots, drugs, gangs, break ins, theft, etc. One where I could walk my dog at 9 or 10 pm and not have to worry about being the victim of a crime. My biggest thing is I don't want to live in an area where I have to fear for my life leaving or coming home from work after 10 pm hearing gunshots, or having drug dealers, gangs on the street corner, and possibly worry about being robbed. I am a white single male, and I am looking to move with my girlfriend that is of Mexican descent. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Drover]

Didn't you just say you were moving to Joliet?

On the off-chance that you're not pulling our legs: Avondale is better northeast of the expressway than southwest. Albany Park is a mixed bag with anything from million-dollar homes to apartment buildings full of immigrants whose kids occasionally like to shoot at each other. Generally speaking the best parts of Albany Park are those east of Kedzie and west of Pulaski.

In between Avondale and Albany Park is Irving Park. Overall Irving Park compares favorably with the nicer half of Avondale. The dividing line between the nice and "meh" parts of Irving Park is roughly Central Park Avenue, west generally being nicer/quieter than east.

There's a lot of room between "mostly free of gunshots/drug dealers/break-ins" and living in fear of your life. None of these places is Lincoln Park. A solid chunk of all 3 neighborhoods has some urban grit to them.