W. Touhy/N. Paulina in Rogers Park (Lincoln, Sheridan: section 8, real estate)

[tinabeen]

Hi everyone. I’ve been reading this forum for a few days now and it’s been pretty informative so I thought I’d post a question for the local experts. =)

I’m moving to Rogers Park in September. I’ve learned from you all that it’s pretty much a street-by-street case when it comes to how safe the neighborhood is. Can anyone tell me what the W. Touhy/N. Paulina area is like? Although I’m moving there with my boyfriend, I’m concerned about walking to the EL alone. I’ve been reading that the Jarvis stop is pretty “sketchy”. Will walking home alone at night (well, 6-7pm-ish) be a problem?

Does anyone know around how long the red line from the Jarvis stop takes to get to the Loop? Do you think it’s better to commute from the Rogers Park metra stop? It’s pretty much the same walking distance.

I’m really excited about moving there and I’m keeping an open mind. I’d just like to learn more about the specific area I’m going to be living in. Thanks in advance.

[Manigault]

The Rogers Park metra stop is far from Touhy and Paulina; at least much farther than the el. 6-7ish is an ok time, even in the winter when it will be dark out. Currently, the red line takes about 45" to rumble into the downtown. These are my estimates: I have no experience with the Jarvis el stop. I would refer you to mapquest which can show you exactly how far away Metra is and the CTA site which can supply the scheduled times for trains and particular stops. Good luck!

[Drover]

First of all, the Touhy/Paulina area is a little sketchy. As Manigault says, you should be all right walking home during times when there are others milling about, having just gotten off the trains themselves. I wouldn't wander around by yourself at later hours though.

You might as well take Metra downtown. For starters, you're closer to the Metra station (only two blocks away) than to the Jarvis or Morse L stops. Second, I'd say 45 minutes on the L is pretty optimistic considering the condition of the L line north of the Sheridan stop. By comparison, the Metra train will have you downtown in 20 minutes. Additionally, your commute will be cheaper with a Metra monthly pass ($58) versus a CTA 30-day pass ($75). However, the Metra pass will only be honored for your "Zone Pair" (Zone A to Zone B and vice-versa) whereas your CTA pass will be honored across the entire CTA system. Even so, I'd go Metra for the commute and pay for the CTA on a per-ride basis.

[tinabeen]

Originally Posted by Drover

First of all, the Touhy/Paulina area is a little sketchy.

I'm so sorry to hear that. The lease is signed and we're pretty much just waiting for them to paint the apartment and do some maintenance upgrades. Guess I should ask them to install an alarm system since we're a first floor unit. Elevated first floor, but first floor nonetheless.

So what kind of sketchiness are we talking about? One of my co-workers got me pepper spray as a joke. Maybe it's not so funny anymore..lol.

The metra seems to be the way to go. The longer I can stay in my warm, comfy bed on those winter mornings, the happier I'll be.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate your honesty. Looks like we wont be going for any romantic strolls to the beach after dark.

[Drover]

When I say "kinda sketchy" what I mean is that this isn't exactly the 'hood. But, you will have less-than-ideal neighbors living amongst you in the neighborhood who may not exactly possess neighborly manners. Drug dealing and moderate gang activity is a fact of life in the area. (For that matter, so are yuppies. It's an odd mix up there.) The good news: they are typically far more interested in bothering each other than bothering you. The bad news: them bothering each other creates quality-of-life issues for the rest of the neighborhood.

Seriously though, pepper spray might not be a bad idea for those walks home after dark.

For a run-down on the seedy side of north Rogers Park, check out The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park -- but do so with a grain of salt and an understanding that it's extremely one-sided. There are good things going on in Rogers Park too.

[tinabeen]

Yuppies, drug dealing, and gang activity. That's actually kind of funny. I'm still going to keep my mind wide open. The good thing is that I can see comedy in pretty much anything.

Oh I'll be be rocking the pepper spray, no doubt.

Thanks again for the info, Drover. Hey, just curious.....how does one become a Space Moose anyway?

[blakeandahalf]

I've been reading this forum for the last couple weeks. I currently live in Rogers Park and wished I'd read the posts about Roger's Park a year ago. Oh well, you live and learn. Thankfully i'm moving to Lincoln Square next Tuesday.

It's definately been a learning experience living there. I've been jumped and mugged there, and I have seen countless fights and two attacks.

I do live close to that intersection, but given that RP is a place that changes literally block to block I couldn't tell you if it's bad or not.

RP is and can be a beautiful place, so don't feel discouraged by my post (I hope i'm not a debbie downer . Despite all of the things that have happened to me there I don't regret moving there. Many of friends who'll continue to live there love and swear by it.

I still see it's good side and there is a good side. But, as for me, I welcome a change.

keep the faith, stay alert, and you'll be just fine.

[mohammed wong]

just like Broken Heart of Rogers Park is something to be taken with a grain of salt,
so should you take anything said on this forum
the people here are more faint at heart when discussing the livability
of neigborhoods and if you look at the majority of posters here,
they prefer suburban living, or atleast highly gentrified neigborhoods
they are primarily in the Risk Averse category,
whereas people in Rogers Park are Risk Aware,
the Risk Oblivious people currently live in the middle of Austin with no fear for their lives. It can be an informative forum, but it does have its biases.
and the posters can be less enthusiastic about urban living,

check out skyscrapercity forum
its kindof the opposite of this place
there you can see what development is planned for different neigborhoods of chicago and other cities around the world and you can get
other peoples' perspectives on say where you are moving to,
there is a thread dedicated to moving to chicago, it has a sticky under the general chicago heading


seriously though Rogers Park is fine, yes you have to watch yourself,
but look at Lakeview, women were attacked there over the summer
because mr rapist ahole man knows that young hotsy totsies live there,
so nothing is perfect.
pepper spray is a good idea for women in general IMHO.

[Drover]

"Risk-averse?" One of the posters in this thread got mugged, you ...........

Mohammad Wong is another "source" to be taken with a grain of salt. He thinks RP is going to gentrify any day now. Of course, that has absolutely nothing to do with what you're going to have to put up with TODAY versus the mythical "some day" that's just waiting to happen any minute now. And he's also the type who can glibly write off the opinion of someone who was mugged as being "risk-averse."

[mohammed wong]

Originally Posted by Drover

"Risk-averse?" One of the posters in this thread got mugged, you ...........

Mohammad Wong is another "source" to be taken with a grain of salt. He thinks RP is going to gentrify any day now. Of course, that has absolutely nothing to do with what you're going to have to put up with TODAY versus the mythical "some day" that's just waiting to happen any minute now. And he's also the type who can glibly write off the opinion of someone who was mugged as being "risk-averse."

its going to gentrify?
you must not understand what gentrification is, its a slow and steady process, there are people that move in earlier than others and get a much better deal on real estate like in the 80s and 90s in wicker park and bucktown,
are you to say that these areas werent gentrfiying during that time?
it was, gentrification is a slow and steady process until it hits the tipping point
which is when anyone would find the area a nice place to live,

right now that stop is sheridan just north of addison on the redline,
otherwise you will see that most people would just be scard ****less for some reason.

please define gentrification,
and then outline exactly how rogers park isnt gentrifying.
you can be mugged anywhere,
my parents lived in lincoln park in the seventies
on the north side of it by lincoln and wrightwood,
and that was considered the bad side of town,
bus barns were at what is now jonquil park at sheffield and wrightwood,
there was also a junk yard for old cars,
the playground was littered with broken glass, there was a rundown old gas station where the seven eleven was on the corner,
people were very pessimistic about where we lived there,
its all a matter of perspective, there was a knife fight in front our building there,
we had to constantly kick people off of our front stoop and it had alot of litter
who wouldnt buy in that area of lincoln park in the seventies if they knew
what it would be like today?

Rogers Park of the eighties and nineties is totally different of the rogers park of today, there are more businesses on morse and glenwood,
there are renovations going on,
Morseland is an awesome bar, the Morse theatre at the corner of wayne and morse is undergoing a multimillion dollar renovation,
Leonas has outdoor seating now, There is an upscale bistro on pratt and sheridan, Common Cup is on Morse and greenview,
there is Dagle and Beli and a great new italian restaurant on jarvis,
Yes there are still drug dealers on Morse, but more and more they are sticking out like sore thumbs
compared to who lives there, the minimall on morse and the low rise hovel of storefronts across the street
need to go and then they wont have a place to hangout,

kindof reminds me of wickerpark and bucktown in the nineties,
still rough, but new businesses and new people fixing up the area,

i guess gentrification for some people is an incompletely understood process

you could be mugged anywhere,
especially if you dont use your head,
what makes Rogers Park a place that is different from other areas that are gentrifying is that its so so dense, and that section 8ers were funneled up here during the teardowns of public housing,
this artificial concentration of poverty is coming to an end,
for one the 1340 w morse block building is doomed as well as the hellish four plus one to the north that extends to lunt.

four plus ones are being condoconverted, or fixed up or they will be demolished,

gentrification isnt about a mythical someday,
its a process that has been in motion since the seventies,
I have seen it in action since I was a little kid living on the
bad side of Lincoln Park. And I havent seen anything yet that has been able to stop it.