Anyone familiar with South Shore? (Chicago, Evanston: crime, homes, neighborhood)

[Lookout Kid]

My understanding is that South Shore is a relatively safe neighborhood for the South Side. Can anyone provide any stats to show that it really is dangerous?

[Lookout Kid]

Never mind... It looks like Drover has already done this. While South Shore isn't Englewood, it's probably a bit more dangerous than what most are comfortable with.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ml#post1133751

[hulk]

I personally am white and have lived at 79th and stony island for the past 6 months. I moved out because there was no place to eat well. no place to feel welcome other than the local walgreens and really no real secure feeling when i left home. My car was robbed and the sirens going constantly thru the night were annoying.

[skyeINIL]

Originally Posted by hulk

I personally am white and have lived at 79th and stony island for the past 6 months. I moved out because there was no place to eat well. no place to feel welcome other than the local walgreens and really no real secure feeling when i left home. My car was robbed and the sirens going constantly thru the night were annoying.

Just curious, which building did you live in?

Living three blocks from a hospital, you're going to hear sirens pretty frequently.

[AQUEMINI331]

The South Shore is not the best part of the city but there are places much worse. Coming from Detroit, it probably would be an improvement (no offense, but I'm sure you know what I mean).


My main gripes with the South Shore would be its lack of good public transportation and distance from cultural amenties (it takes a long time to drive from 71st/75th/79th all the way to the Loop, which is where you'd find the NEAREST cultural amenties.


Also, I knew people that stayed in this one buliding that I believe is in the 7100 block of South Shore Drive. They said that there was a fire there in the upper floors one time, and fire alarms did not go off and several people had to be taken in for smoke inhalation. This was a moderate fire that destroyed several units from what I understand, and took place a couple of years ago. That, coupled with the reports of property crime (which I would imagine is your main concern in that neighborhood, as opposed to violent crime or drug/gang-related crime) made me reconsider the South Shore and instead I ended up moving to Bronzeville, which truthfully, has only slightly less crime and is saved by the fact that the projects in that neighborhood have been torn down, as well as the fact that it's close to downtown which means that some of the spillover effect (i.e. gentrification) of the South Loop is spreading to Bronzeville, raising property values and attracting professionals to the communtity. I actually see the same thing happening in South Shore, about 10-20 years from now. But not now. Right now, I think we're beginning to see the VERY early, premature stages of gentrification on the South Shore. The potential's there. The infrastructure, the historical buildings, etc. are there. But I have to admit, crime does need to come down a bit, say to the levels of Bronzeville now. It doesn't have a long way to go to get there IMO, I would say the SS has only slightly more crime than does Bronzeville.


Hulk said he lived at 79th and Stony Island (not sure if that would be considered South Shore or Grand Crossing or whatever, but it's definitely in the vicinity). He cited an incident of property crime (car break-in) but truthfully, that sh*t happens EVERYWHERE in Chicago. Even if you live in Lincoln Park or the Near North Side, you stand a pretty decent chance of having your car broken into. This is a big city and that kind of petty crime is just typical of big cities like Chicago. The only way to get away from that is to move to the suburbs, and even then it could still happen.


Another thing - and Chicago natives back me up if I'm correct - but I think South Shore is one of those neighborhoods that get worse the further you go from the lake (i.e. the further west you go). 79th and Stony Island is pretty far inland. The high rises along South Shore Drive and the community immediately surrounding SS Drive as well as Rainbow Beach seemed pretty decent looking to me.


Anyway, compared to many parts of the South Side (especially Englewood), the SS is safe. But even I have to admit, that is a relative term. I also agree that if you're white, there's a 99% chance that you won't like it one bit. But there's exceptions to every rule. I've met white boys who survived in the hood and fared better than a lot of black people. *shrugs*


With that being said, if you can afford better, then you probably should consider somewhere else. But as I said before, if you're coming from Detroit, I doubt you'll see anything that you're not used to. I'm from Birmingham, AL and that's how I felt about the South Side of Chicago as a whole - dangerous in some parts, relatively quiet and safe but still working class in other parts, just like my hometown. The hood does not scare me, although as long as I can afford better, then I will indeed live someplace better. That's just using common sense. But i've been to the West Side of Chicago late at night (up until 2 and 3 in the morning) and ditto for Englewood. Nothing happened to me. I come from the inner city, and I know how to act accordingly. If you're like me, check it out, but at the same time, I would say that if you can afford better, do better. If you can't, don't worry too much about it. Spend some time in the area, walk the streets a little, and gauge a feel for it.


I wouldn't be surprised if you checked out the area and decided that you didn't like it and it was a little bit too rough around the edges for your taste, but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if you moved into one of those high-rises along South Shore Drive and decided that you liked it, or at least though it was OK.


Remember, no place is as good OR as bad as what people make it out to be. The truth in how good or bad a place really is lies somewhere in between everyone's opinions of it.

_

[nextjen]

My husband and I bought a bungalow in south shore at a great price. We have a new alderman, the drive downtown is 20-30 minutes, and the majority of our neighbors are great. On the other hand, a pizza delivery takes 1 1/2 hrs, slumlords who rent to unruly, overcrowded families are abundant, we are underpoliced (cause they're all in uptown) and junk food prevails. Sounds like Wicker park 15 years ago! PS-Hyde Park isn't all that safe - check the stats!

[nextjen]

Originally Posted by KevK

Are you black or white? If you are black it would be OK for you to move there but I would still advise against it. There is a reason it is cheap. In Chicago you get what you pay for and you will pay more to live there with busted car windows, stolen cars and/or burglars. Anytime you drive through a neighborhood and they have burglar bars on everything, that usually means it ain't a nice place to live. If you are white, it would be suicide for you to move there. You would not last 2 days!

Not true! I am white and still alive!

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

My understanding is that South Shore is a relatively safe neighborhood for the South Side. Can anyone provide any stats to show that it really is dangerous?

Crimes | EveryBlock Chicago

South Shore was the 5th highest crime neighborhood in the City (crimes since 6/15/07). It finishes ahead of Logan Square, Humbolt Park, Back of the Yards and even West Englewood. A friend of mine moved down there two years ago (he's African-American) and he likes it ok, though he was robbed at knifepoint once and complains about lack of amenities. It's getting a lot of "buzz" now so if that takes hold, and you don't get stabbed to death or something, it could be a gem in the rough.

[Drover]

It's working on being a gem in the rough. There are some good things going on down there and it's obviously got lots of potential because of its lakefront location and transportation options to downtown... but it's got a long way to go.

[prairiestate]

Actually, South Shore is now officially gentrified! They have a Starbucks! Well, ok, that doesn't mean a whole lot, as Starbucks has been expanding like crazy. I'm white, have rented a bike up at 63rd St. beach before, and have rode through South Shore for several blocks. I survived, but admittedly was not 100% comfortable with it. There are still too many empty storefronts, too many dollar stores, liquor stores and other low end businesses, and too many young guys with their pants down around their ankles hanging out on the street corners. I do hope the neighborhood pulls itself together better, as I would love to live in South Shore. I would be reasonably comfortable being one of the only white people around as long as I felt safe there. It is a beautiful neighborhood, with lake access, great train service on the Metra Electric (why is everyone talking about driving downtown?), and it's not all trendy and overcrowded like the north side.