What's the deal with Uptown? (neighborhoods, income, to live in)

[rubbersoul89]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I have been around the Wilson stop enough to know that 10-20+ cop cars is not a normal daily occurence.

to be fair, i do see large concentrations of cops along wilson between say truman and roughly sheridan all the time.

they seem to saturate that area, in my experience.

[marothisu]

You can say that timing is everything about any area. Hell I live in the Gold Coast and there was a shooting on a street 100 feet from my place and 5 cop cars there when I woke up. That doesn't mean it's always like that. It can leave a sour taste in your mouth, but logical people will say "I'll see what it's like another time or two to see if this is normal."

Was there last night and it was quiet in that area - I saw 0 shady looking people in the general area of where he is (a few blocks west of the Wilson stop) and walking back to the station at night did not feel ever that I should really, really watch my back. Most of the people walking around could be placed in Lakeview and you'd think nothing of it.

The deal he got on his place was really good too - 1400 or 1500 sq ft, 2 bed, 2 bath, in unit washer/dryer, hard wood floors, all new painted walls, granite counter tops in the kitchen and fairly new cabnitry, a galley, central air and heat, nice cellular/honeycomb blinds, etc for $1600/month total.

[Aleking]

Uptown lost quite a few high profile flop houses/SROs in just the last year and if that rate continues will likely be a very different neighborhood in just a few years. My concern is the alderman's preference for bland suburban schlock.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Aleking

Uptown lost quite a few high profile flop houses/SROs in just the last year and if that rate continues will likely be a very different neighborhood in just a few years. My concern is the alderman's preference for bland suburban schlock.

Bland as something out of a Chucky Cheese -- 20 Reasons Why Clark the Cub is the Worst Mascot Ever | Rally Caps

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I have been around the Wilson stop enough to know that 10-20+ cop cars is not a normal daily occurence.

Maybe not 10-20, but certainly four or five. I can't even count the number of times we saw huge police response to something in that general vicinity, or further east on Sheridan. It was common enough that my wife and I would frequently shake our heads as we saw squads racing north from Buena Park.

Frankly, that whole Uptown experience just wore me out after eight years. Especially the summers. And to be completely honest, we were not victims of much of anything in Uptown, other than occasional harassment by homeless weirdos. But there were enough incidents "too close for comfort" (like multiple times that there were shootings in an area just after we were there with the kids, etc.). In fact, a kid was shot in the buttocks in broad daylight at the end of my block while our condo was under contract, and we just felt like it was a nice kiss goodbye. I was happy that our buyers didn't get freaked out by the news reports.

[mjtinmemphis]

I was at Broadway and Wilson today and I will say I would not live in a neighborhood with a lot of vacant storefronts/lots, grown men standing on corners and outward signs of gang activity.

Two weeks ago in the area I heard gangster hollering and screaming at another gang banger and looked around saw they looked to be in their 40's.

I'm no snob but those are things that run me away with the quickness.

[marothisu]

^ How do you know they were gang bangers? The area around the stop is dodgy, yes, but there's actually shops and restaurants west. I actually had a really good meal last night while visiting my friend - some of the best middle eastern food I've had in Chicago actually.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by marothisu

^ How do you know they were gang bangers? The area around the stop is dodgy, yes, but there's actually shops and restaurants west. I actually had a really good meal last night while visiting my friend - some of the best middle eastern food I've had in Chicago actually.

I know they were gang bangers because they identified themselves as such as they where hollering and throwing up signs at each other. (I was shocked to see them being so old).

There where some gang related murders just east of Broadway as well as Sunnyside and Sheridan last summer. I don't know if I would call the area a war zone but I manage to see things that I don't like every time I am in Uptown.

Yes. 3 blocks west of Broadway is a totally different game. The alderman have a lot of exciting plans for the area (the new el station ect) but they will not see the gentrification until that little section of Wilson Broadway and Sheridan is taken care of.

[marothisu]

Makes sense. Yeah I know it's not perfect and things happen - things can happen anywhere. I had a shooting 100 feet from my place in the Gold Coast last year. Doesn't mean much of anything to me though because I know it's not normal. Obviously this is more normal in this stretch of Uptown, but it seems like people overstate it because the people look "shady" to them. My friend who moved to the area doesn't feel unsafe yet, he just mentioned that there's a lot of "legit Africans" in the area. He grew up for a little bit of his life in Angola so it definitely doesn't bother him at all.

A really fine dining restaurant opened up recently near the Wilson stop too with a head chef who has worked at Charlie Trotter's and Alinea. I'll be in the area a lot I bet, so it'll be interesting. I've hung out in the area a number of times and have seen shady people but I've never really felt threatened by any of them.

[Drover]

Things can happen anywhere, but some things happen more frequently in some places than others. And there's still a lot of things going on more frequently in the heart of Uptown than some people would care to put up with.