HELP! I'm lost and don't know where I am!

[Lookout Kid]

I've been in Uptown for 6-1/2 years now, and it's a strange neighborhood. It really felt like we had the criminal element on the run in 2005 when I moved in, but there have definitely been some very concerning flair ups from time to time. It's amazing to me the trouble that one bad building or bad block can cause to the surrounding area, regardless of how nice it is. Or even one bad resident in some cases!

On the other hand, the commercial development of Uptown has been accelerating as of late. I get e-mail updates from the new Alderman, and there are several developments to be excited about coming soon (new restaurants, an ice cream shop, new bars, etc.) The gentrification pressure of the early 2000s has slowed a bit, but the equilibrium of commercial development (which always lags housing by a few years) has yet to be reached. I think the neighborhood is continuing to improve in spite of the recession and real estate bust.

[A2DAC1985]

Is it okay to claim a neighborhood as your (current) home, and not actually live there?

[MannheimMadman]

Well, how would you actually do that?

That's like saying I live in Majorca, Spain. How does that make any sense whatsoever?

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

Well, how would you actually do that?

That's like saying I live in Majorca, Spain. How does that make any sense whatsoever?

Say, I live in Lakeview. And let's say that a lot of people know what Lakeview is like. And let's say those people have "Street Cred", would it be acceptable to claim Austin or Englewood as home?

Maybe the people you're talking to value a "Diversity" that isn't in Lakeview. Can that person say they live in Chinatown or Albany Park?

Maybe friends are coming up for the weekend and they are White Sox fans. Can I tell them that Bridgeport is my home because that's where the White Sox are, and that's why they're coming up to visit?

[chet everett]

The first problem may be giving two toots about "street cred"...

Certain posters ought to spend a little less time dreaming up scenarios that do nothing to increase the utility of posting...

Anyone that wishes to peruse older maps will see that most cartographic representations of urban areas make some effort to distinguish legal boundaries for those who have a need to have that specific info while the general regional map gives an overview of the broad urban / suburban / rural boundaries that matter to most travelers and residents.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I've been in Uptown for 6-1/2 years now, and it's a strange neighborhood. It really felt like we had the criminal element on the run in 2005 when I moved in, but there have definitely been some very concerning flair ups from time to time. It's amazing to me the trouble that one bad building or bad block can cause to the surrounding area, regardless of how nice it is. Or even one bad resident in some cases!

On the other hand, the commercial development of Uptown has been accelerating as of late. I get e-mail updates from the new Alderman, and there are several developments to be excited about coming soon (new restaurants, an ice cream shop, new bars, etc.) The gentrification pressure of the early 2000s has slowed a bit, but the equilibrium of commercial development (which always lags housing by a few years) has yet to be reached. I think the neighborhood is continuing to improve in spite of the recession and real estate bust.

Yeah, been in Uptown for almost 4 years now (Buena Park) and the neighborhood is very confusing to define. The outer edges of Uptown are all pretty nice, areas south of Montrose, areas north and west of the Broadway/Lawrence area, places along the lakefront as well as the western areas. It's just that pocket centered right around Sheridan/Wilson/Leland/Broadway that just won't break. The strange thing is even at the worst areas, you still have plenty of young professionals living in new condo buildings right near "ground zero".

The Target did help, as well as the closing of that shelter along Broadway. It kinda pushed the whack areas up Broadway a little more towards Wilson.

It's basically like two neighborhoods superimposed onto one physical area. You have the young professionals, families and older immigrants, people running around to Starbucks and jogging all the time, taking care of their lawns and living in a pretty nice neighborhood. Then you layer on the gangs who basically ignore everyone else in the neighborhood and just go after each other in this pointless and never-ending fight. I'm surprised at the lack of robberies or attacks on non-gangbangers in the area. It's known for its shootings and attacks, but it's almost always gangbanger on gangbanger. The normal civilian area usually ignored and go about their lives.

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by A2DAC1985

Say, I live in Lakeview. And let's say that a lot of people know what Lakeview is like. And let's say those people have "Street Cred", would it be acceptable to claim Austin or Englewood as home?

Maybe the people you're talking to value a "Diversity" that isn't in Lakeview. Can that person say they live in Chinatown or Albany Park?

Maybe friends are coming up for the weekend and they are White Sox fans. Can I tell them that Bridgeport is my home because that's where the White Sox are, and that's why they're coming up to visit?

Now you're just making up stupid scenarios for the hell of it.

It's the same as me asking about the outcome of a lion mating with a tiger. Do you get a liger?

These recent threads asking where Chicago starts and ends and "where you're from" are an absolutely ridiculous waste of space. If someone is curious enough, they can look and see where the borders of Chicago are. Boom. End of story.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

Now you're just making up stupid scenarios for the hell of it.

It's the same as me asking about the outcome of a lion mating with a tiger. Do you get a liger?

These recent threads asking where Chicago starts and ends and "where you're from" are an absolutely ridiculous waste of space. If someone is curious enough, they can look and see where the borders of Chicago are. Boom. End of story.

I wonder if the hosts of City Data can devise a test like alcholics have in their car to make sure that we don't get too posts from people that seem like they are not in full control of their faculties...

[A2DAC1985]

I would like to thank the last couple posters for their kind words. It truly is a blessing to have such helpful information given with such generosity and warmth, that it is a breath of fresh air.

I mean, I show up in a city that I've been to before, and honestly love (I feel like I should have been born and raised in Chicago), and I'm genuinely confused at to what living in an area this large is like. Because my only frame of reference is that backwater known as Indianapolis, and how the suburbs around that city are, I'm confused about the dynamics of "neighborhoods" and "burbs". Hell, even the Expressway signs say "To the West Suburbs"... something I didn't even knew was "official" interstate sign verbage until I drove through and saw it.

I know that *some* people back in my home state would go out of their way to let you know where they live, and that they are proud of it... Proud of it until it doesn't suit their need at the time. There are even some people who have never lived in the city of Indy, but yet will wear it on their sleeve so as to not give the impression that they live in the middle of a corn field... even though they do.

And then there are *some* people that would never for a second think about linking themselves with the city because it would be "beneath them". Or they would absolutely never go to a certain area(s) because it is not up to snuff, so to speak.

Which brings me back to the wise answers and sage-like advice I received from a couple posters in regards to claiming other neighborhoods as "my" own.

Spoken like true masters of wisdom, knowledge, and humility, I received the answer I was looking for.

Was it plain to see? No, not at first. But that is the difference between people with knowledge, and those without. The answer was almost like a parable. Something I could imagine Jesus, Confucius, or Buddha revealing through a story or a cryptic message... those posts were that profound and enlightening to me, the person who isn't quite sure of the world around him and is desperately seeking the right answers, that I think I just may know what the answer is:

You live in the neighborhood you live in. Misrepresenting that is a serious "No-no". Also someone who lives in Chicago, lives in Chicago. Anyone who lives outside Chicago can still say they're from Chicago.

Alas, my search for truth has brought me to the answer I was so desperately seeking. And I have no one but a couple insightful, endearing, and genuinely warm and loving posts from a couple people to thank for this revelation.

I would remain lost if it was not for the selfless nature of a couple people to take the time and share their knowledge of things much greater than I.

Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[knitgirl]

Yes, Andersonville is a subset. I'm not going to say what the "definitive" boundaries are, but starting at Foster on Clark and then north is the heart of it.