Areas near MDW

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Drover

Because those areas are in the "city" and not the shiny part of the "city" and therefore are "icky."

Or they are not Naperville.

[chet everett]

The dollars and cents don't really add up. As the drama over the re-drawing of the wards highlights, the areas that have missed out on gentrification are experiencing an outflow of residents. Despite this outflow the rental prices for houses has not fallen off a cliff. I suspect this is due to the shift of people formerly stuck in a multi-unit building "upgrading" to a house. While this process may result in those renters getting a little more for their money in terms of space and privacy the long term trend of people unaccustomed to maintaining houses may have some negatives. More space means more things that need to be cleaned. Bigger yards that need to be mowed. Need to tenant provided lightbulbs instead of common area lighting...

The relative "ickyness" that comes from transient tenants is a negative factor that is hard to turn around...

I would not recommend commuting to MDW from Naperville. There are many other suburbs that are relatively close to MDW, have a higher quality of rental housing and generally are just a bit more expensive than areas inside Chicago. Of course if the OP needs access to the Orange Line those factors may be far down their list...

[chicago103]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The dollars and cents don't really add up. As the drama over the re-drawing of the wards highlights, the areas that have missed out on gentrification are experiencing an outflow of residents. Despite this outflow the rental prices for houses has not fallen off a cliff. I suspect this is due to the shift of people formerly stuck in a multi-unit building "upgrading" to a house. While this process may result in those renters getting a little more for their money in terms of space and privacy the long term trend of people unaccustomed to maintaining houses may have some negatives. More space means more things that need to be cleaned. Bigger yards that need to be mowed. Need to tenant provided lightbulbs instead of common area lighting...

The relative "ickyness" that comes from transient tenants is a negative factor that is hard to turn around...

Well that depends on exactly where you are talking about, I just don't think it a blanket statement to say the entire SW near Midway or along the Orange line is like that. Also many census tracts have very stable populations in those areas and I really don't know of many transient people renting houses where I live. Places like Bridgeport and McKinley Park are gentrifying and the areas right by Midway and west of it are still stable middle class. Now if you are talking about Brighton Park or parts of Gage Park then there is some truth in what you say.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by chicago103

Well that depends on exactly where you are talking about, I just don't think it a blanket statement to say the entire SW near Midway or along the Orange line is like that. Also many census tracts have very stable populations in those areas and I really don't know of many transient people renting houses where I live. Places like Bridgeport and McKinley Park are gentrifying and the areas right by Midway and west of it are still stable middle class. Now if you are talking about Brighton Park or parts of Gage Park then there is some truth in what you say.

There are some non-icky parts of the southwest side but the OP hasn't said that s/he is an urban pioneer or determined to squeeze the last possible dollar out of his/her paycheck. There are some beautiful suburbs within a short commute of Midway; Brookfield is probably the most interesting and diverse. Oak Park is *really* interesting and diverse and not all *that* far away.

The South Loop is also a good choice if you want to live in the city.

[chicago103]

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

There are some non-icky parts of the southwest side but the OP hasn't said that s/he is an urban pioneer or determined to squeeze the last possible dollar out of his/her paycheck. There are some beautiful suburbs within a short commute of Midway; Brookfield is probably the most interesting and diverse. Oak Park is *really* interesting and diverse and not all *that* far away.

The South Loop is also a good choice if you want to live in the city.

I agree that Brookfield and Oak Park are very nice suburbs and I enjoy visiting them. However I don't understand the urban pioneer part or squeezing every last dollar since the cost of living is actually a bit less in Garfield Ridge than Oak Park and Brookfield and Garfield Ridge is about as far from "urban pioneer" as you can get, in fact to many people wanting a city lifestyle it might not be urban enough. Since when is living in a 1950's or 1960's brink bungalow on a tree lined street considered being an urban pioneer?(that was a laugh). Honestly parts of Brookfield look pretty identical to where I live in Garfield Ridge.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Alacran

Why I said Suburbs, durr

I see. In hindsight that was perfectly clear, what with the way you lumped them in with city neighborhoods and then mentioned "the suburbs" as a seperate aside. Durr.