Near West Side or McKinley Park? (Chicago, Naperville: middle-class, rent, crime)

[unnoan]

Hi All,

I am having some trouble picking a place to live in. I have two places in mind one being in the Near West Side by the united center just west of Damen on Lake. The other is located in McKinley Park near Pershing and Western. Both places are similar in sq ft, cost of rent and amenities but McKinley does have free cable/internet, gym and a balcony. It mainly boils down to the location. I am single and don't mind being away from the night life but I would be traveling on the weekends to the inner city for the bars.

I guess it all boils down to what is a safer and better location?

[emathias]

Originally Posted by unnoan

Hi All,

I am having some trouble picking a place to live in. I have two places in mind one being in the Near West Side by the united center just west of Damen on Lake. The other is located in McKinley Park near Pershing and Western. Both places are similar in sq ft, cost of rent and amenities but McKinley does have free cable/internet, gym and a balcony. It mainly boils down to the location. I am single and don't mind being away from the night life but I would be traveling on the weekends to the inner city for the bars.

I guess it all boils down to what is a safer and better location?

Neither is the worst part of town, but neither are they among the safest. The Western/Pershing location is probably marginally safer.

Transit-wise it's kind of a toss-up. Damen/Lake is closer to downtown, but they're both a 10 minute walk to the nearest "L" station and Pershing/Western is right next to the 49/Western bus which will quickly get you to the North Side and may get bus-rapid-transit in the next couple years (of more interest if you were buying than renting, though), and a 5 minute walk from the 62/Archer bus that gets you to Chinatown and the South Loop areas pretty quickly.

The Park in McKinley Park is a really nice park, though. For me, that by itself would make the difference. In the summer you have a swimming pool right across the street, you have nice ponds, too, and places to have a BBQ or play tennis. It's a nice park.

From an amenities standpoint, too, you have more things withing walking distance for McKinley Park. There's a grocery store just over a 5-minute walk away, there's a Mexican market maybe 10 minutes walk from there, and a good Salvadoran/Honduran restaurant a bit south on Archer as well as some other restaurants and small shops within a 10-15 minute walk. Not much entertainment, but at least something. At Damen/Lake the nearest grocery store is at least a 15 minute walk, and there's almost nothing you'd want to walk to within 10 minutes walking except maybe the library at Madison and Hoyne.

So, if I were you, it'd be no contest - I'd pick McKinley Park, definitely.

[chet everett]

What is your budget? Is there some reason you are gravitating toward these areas? Neither comes to mind as particularly safe or convenient... I am often shocked at how little discount these marginal areas have so little "discount" compared to MUCH safer / more attractive parts of Chicago...

[Irishtom29]

I like McKinley Park and was considering moving there about a year ago but ended up somewhere else. The park is nice, the Orange Line EL goes through the neighborhood and there's good food shopping and good "regular guy" restaurants and taverns. Working class neighborhood.

[gomexico]

Neither.

[ChiNaan]

McKinley Park is fine in the safety department. Convenience-wise it's great for parking and pretty good for public transit access. It's really residential without a lot of smaller closely spaced "walkable" shops, but it has a Target, Dominick's, Jewel, etc., if you're into the larger store thing. It's next to Bridgeport which has more small/local type things, but Western is on the opposite end of McKP from there. The park itself is great, as others have said. It's maybe one of the nicest neighborhood parks in the city. The neighborhood is mostly working class or lower-middle-class families. It's a little on the boring side for me (not much nightlife, coffee shops, festivals, not many good restaurants to walk to, etc.), but for people who like a quieter, residential, almost suburban kind of feel without being way out on the edges of the city, it's a good choice. If I lived there I'd probably find myself going to Bridgeport, Pilsen, or South Loop for times I want to go out without traveling too far.

I'm not nearly as familiar with the Damen and Lake area, but from what little I know, I don't think I'd choose it over McKinley Park. Probably the best thing about it would be that you're kinda close to West Loop and the UIC area, but not really close enough for it to share the feel of either of those areas.

[andrew61]

Wasn't the Lake Street area just west of Damen ranked No. 2 on some list or other of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the United States? I seem to recall reading something like that.

I think you could certainly do worse than McKinley Park. As far as I know, that area is still reasojnably safe, although you might want to be more careful around its western fringes.

[chet everett]

Still curious as to why the OP is even interested in these areas. The limitations of the CPD site allowing searches in only two-week blocks of time tend to make cumulative crime harder to catalog... Chicago Police Department CLEARMAP - Crime Incidents

Everyblock is slightly more user centric -- Crime reports | EveryBlock Chicago

Here is a nice 7AM car jacking -- Robbery: Vehicular hijacking | EveryBlock Chicago How about a rousing early afternoon mugging? -- Robbery: Strongarm: no weapon | EveryBlock Chicago
Only a dozen homicides since '07, a mere four last year -- Community Areas - Mckinley Park - Tracking homicides in Chicago - Tracking homicides in Chicago | RedeyeChicago.com Yessirbob just a little slice of Mayberry...

[Savoir Faire]

Originally Posted by chet everett

What is your budget? Is there some reason you are gravitating toward these areas? Neither comes to mind as particularly safe or convenient... I am often shocked at how little discount these marginal areas have so little "discount" compared to MUCH safer / more attractive parts of Chicago...

Got some great suggestions in the burbs?? Let me guess, Naperville?? Wheaton? The land of milk and honey, where there is a rainbow and sunshine everyday?

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by Savoir Faire

Got some great suggestions in the burbs?? Let me guess, Naperville?? Wheaton? The land of milk and honey, where there is a rainbow and sunshine everyday?

Exactly. I get rep from people nearly every single time I call him out on his B.S. This time one of them commented, "Chet is a suburban realtor who is desperate for business." Of course, I know that, but that doesn't make him any less obnoxious. If anything, it makes it all the more pathetic.