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Forget Lawndale anything. Heck if you're gonna live west of Western don't do it anywhere south of Augusta unless it's past 87th street
south lawndale/little village is really not all that bad. i mean guess it depends on you tolerance and yea theres a gang presence, but its generally working class Mexican families and retail corridors are lively. north lawndale is much more depressed.
south lawndale/little village is really not all that bad. i mean guess it depends on you tolerance and yea theres a gang presence, but its generally working class Mexican families and retail corridors are lively. north lawndale is much more depressed.
I guess call me crazy but "gang activity" doesn't sound like a great selling point considering Chicago has ruthless and violent gangs, not just simply kids slinging dope.
I go back to my original comment. Heck someone pointed out to me that Grand is a better diving line when going past Western away from downtown. Grand to 87th Street. Notice much of the eastern West Side and heart of the South Side (Englewood) is avoided by this rule. West is generally a bad idea between this dividing line.
Although if you ARE going West of Western but North of 87th, you can find good places past Cicero Avenue going west past Midway going South.
I don't think anyone is suggesting that gang activity is good. But there are different kinds of gang activity. Some is very violent, some not as violent. South Lawndale's homicide rate is about 1/4 that of North Lawndale, yet both are low income and have gang activity. The nature of the communities is very different. I think there is more fabric and social structure in South Lawndale, as Via Chicago suggests.
I'm looking for insight from people who live in East Garfield Park or within a 2-3 mile radius.
I'm a hopeful person. I look for the hope in every opportunity. I'm an outsider looking into Chicago and I want to know everything about East Garfield Park. First off, walking down the street, whether it's 6:00 Am walking to the train station, 7:00 PM getting groceries or at 9:00 going on a night jog, is there a chance I'll be getting harmed? I'm a normal white guy minding my own business. I'm thinking that if we invest in East Garfield Park we could really turn this neighborhood around. I mean is it that bad currently? What's your thoughts? I want to buy a 3 flat out here and most importantly I want my tenants to feel safe and have a good time living in this area. Can someone give a realistic overview of what the area is actually like?
I used to live at two different addresses within EGP: near Kedzie and Lake (specifically at Carroll and Kedzie) and near Harrison and Sacramento (specifically near Lexington and Sacramento). Honestly, I wouldn't buy there and I have a high tolerance for rough 'hoods (I'm a black female who have grown up in one of the roughest areas of Boston).
First off, the idea of walking to get groceries at 7pm is a nope because there are no markets in EGP. The closest is the Aldi's at Kedzie and Chicago (and I still don't know if that intersection is EGP, Humboldt Park, or the western edges of Ukrainian Village) and that closes wicked early, around 6pm. When I lived at Kedzie/Lake, the Pete's Market over by Madison and Western wasn't built yet but it opened up when I moved over to Harrison/Sacramento and I would often walk over there, not because it was a fun walk but because it was literally the closest option that didn't completely suck.
Whenever I walked to and from the train, I was always on high alert. No headphones, no distractions, keys in hand. One of my roommates (who was white) carried a small switchblade and still felt unsafe walking from the Kedzie green line stop. The walk from the Kedzie blue line stop is just as bad and only made better by the police precinct on one side and the CTA bus depot on the other. I don't know how the walk would be for a white man, but my roommates and I, regardless of race, never felt completely safe.
Also, people aren't jogging in that area. You may find an outlier jogging down Franklin Blvd, but otherwise, people aren't really on the streets unless they are hanging around outside stores/stoops. Heck, even when walking my roommate's dog, I rarely saw other dog owners out walking their dogs (not to say there aren't a ton of dogs in EGP, they just stay locked up in backyards). EGP is an area with few amenities and few reasons to be outside of your home. Even the playgrounds were rarely used--well, at least by children.
The area by Kedzie/Lake already had some diverse people moving in back when I lived there over 4years ago. Carroll especially is home to tons of artist lofts and workshops. I wouldn't be surprised if that chunk of area, especially further east towards California, has become overpriced. Even the apartment we rented over there was overpriced, $1200 for a renovated 2 bedroom next door to literal drug addicts who neglected their kids.
I don't think a white guy would stick out there. You would stick out over by Sacramento and Harrison. The only white people walking through that area either teach at near by schools and just got off the train at Kedzie or are buying drugs. However, last year this changed a bit when Riot Fest moved to Douglas Park; lots of concert goers took the blue line to Kedzie and walked down.
If I was going to buying EGP, it would ONLY be in the area north of Lake and east of Kedzie, as close to California as possible. I would NEVER rent west of Kedzie and back when I lived in EGP, would avoid going west of Kedzie as much as possible.
Honestly, I'm not sure what sort of tenants you can find to rent in that area. My roommates and I moved there because we got priced out of the North Side. The area is mostly Section 8 renters and it's very likely people looking to rent from you will be Section 8 families. Whether or not you want to get involved in that program is up to you. There are some young artists moving in but, again, mostly out of desperation/lack of options. No one is going out their way to live in EGP.
Most importantly, no one is having a "good time" living in EGP. It's a neighborhood with very few amenities beyond CTA access (and really just the train, the buses are bad), few shopping options outside liquor stores and corner stores, few green spots to enjoy (Franklin Blvd is a nice spot to walk down, but just barely), no fun hangouts like a bar or club or even a coffee shop, and literally little to appeal to the sort of long term renter you'd likely want. This is especially true south of Lake. I left EGP, and Illinois as a whole, after living in this area killed off any remaining joy I had left for living in Chicago. Living in EGP is pretty soul crushing: the filth, the poverty, the drug dealers, the overall lack of anything pleasing. Again, people living in EGP don't hang out in EGP, they just live there behind locked doors and barred windows.
If you still want to buy there, I wouldn't expect much change in the area for another 10 years minimum. I haven't heard of any major changes in the area that would revitalize it, just a lot of talk from flippers wanting to swoop in and buy up cheap houses in hopes that the area one day brings in Logan Sq rental income without any of the Logan Sq amenities.
Last edited by eevee; 01-18-2017 at 08:52 AM..
Reason: Ugh, typing on a phone, excuse the typos!
I don't think anyone is suggesting that gang activity is good. But there are different kinds of gang activity. Some is very violent, some not as violent. South Lawndale's homicide rate is about 1/4 that of North Lawndale, yet both are low income and have gang activity. The nature of the communities is very different. I think there is more fabric and social structure in South Lawndale, as Via Chicago suggests.
Call me crazy but I guess growing up around that means that a certain point I want to not be surrounded by it. I guess some people like the thrill of living in the hood and more power to them.
If you're looking for neighborhoods to make a turn, then it's usually by following adjacent neighborhoods that have done so and helped by access to the L.
For a neighborhood like Pilsen to Little Village, the neighborhoods are right next to each other and there are Pink Line stations interspersed pretty closely along the way.
For East Garfield Park, there are two L lines, Green and Blue. The northern part of the neighborhood served by the Green line doesn't really have a growing neighborhood to the east of it and the jump between Ashland and California stations on the Green Line are a good mile and a half apart so that's probably not happening too soon (an infill station between Ashland and California would help greatly though). For the southern part of the neighborhood served by the Blue line, there's Tri-Taylor to its southeast and the distancing isn't too bad. Perhaps you should look into the Tri-Taylor area?
If you're looking for neighborhoods to make a turn, then it's usually by following adjacent neighborhoods that have done so and helped by access to the L.
For a neighborhood like Pilsen to Little Village, the neighborhoods are right next to each other and there are Pink Line stations interspersed pretty closely along the way.
For East Garfield Park, there are two L lines, Green and Blue. The northern part of the neighborhood served by the Green line doesn't really have a growing neighborhood to the east of it and the jump between Ashland and California stations on the Green Line are a good mile and a half apart so that's probably not happening too soon (an infill station between Ashland and California would help greatly though). For the southern part of the neighborhood served by the Blue line, there's Tri-Taylor to its southeast and the distancing isn't too bad. Perhaps you should look into the Tri-Taylor area?
housing in tri taylor is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than in EGP. whatever you're gonna get in EGP, you won't get anything comparable to in tri taylor.
Call me crazy but I guess growing up around that means that a certain point I want to not be surrounded by it. I guess some people like the thrill of living in the hood and more power to them.
it has nothing to do with thrill, it has to do with living where you can afford. homes are available in south lawndale for under 100k, and the proximity to good jobs (by virtue of being along transit lines) is high. there is no such thing as a "Crime free area", and everyone has their own tradeoffs theyre willing to make. that said, Little Village is nothing like EGP and if youve walked through either you'd see the difference quite quickly
it has nothing to do with thrill, it has to do with living where you can afford. homes are available in south lawndale for under 100k, and the proximity to good jobs (by virtue of being along transit lines) is high. there is no such thing as a "Crime free area", and everyone has their own tradeoffs theyre willing to make.
Of course there is no such thing as crime free but you can also find roommates in safer areas. Or just carry.
Of course there is no such thing as crime free but you can also find roommates in safer areas. Or just carry.
i date someone in LV, so ive spent a fair amount of time in the area over the past couple years. i dont prance around at night with my phone out, but at the same time you shouldnt be doing that anywhere in a big city. again, my general take is that businesses=vitality=people on the street=general safety. LV is filled with mom and pop stores and a lot of active street life. there are children playing on the street. the homes are generally well maintained and occupied by long term working class families. there are lots of restaurants and food options and culture in LV. there are bakeries. citizens are engaged with local politics. there are festivals and parades in the summer. storefronts are occupied. basically, it is a fully functioning neighborhood even if it dosent specifically cater to your own tastes.
there is zero street life in EGP. there are no businesses aside from liquor stores, storefront churches, and funeral homes. EGP is a failed neighborhood and has been for decades. the differences between the two are quite stark.
Last edited by via chicago; 01-18-2017 at 11:14 AM..
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