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Clearly, you don't really know what you're talking about. Parts of the south side of Chicago are actually lovely. Chicago draws comments from people who like to assume it's all bad....proving they haven't a clue.
Clearly, you don't really know what you're talking about. Parts of the south side of Chicago are actually lovely. Chicago draws comments from people who like to assume it's all bad....proving they haven't a clue.
True story, President Obama came from the southside.
I'm confused on the people saying Camden. 20 years ago, perhaps, but the city has gone through tons of revitalization since I last lived there in 2007.
I'm confused on the people saying Camden. 20 years ago, perhaps, but the city has gone through tons of revitalization since I last lived there in 2007.
As I said before, I think Camden wasn't nearly as bad as people make it sound.
As I said before, I think Camden wasn't nearly as bad as people make it sound.
Camden is like a Compton on the east coast.. small city outside big city, high murder rate all ghetto, "better" now currently but can still give the blues..
Chicago’s south side really doesn’t belong super high on this list. There aren’t that many areas I’d consider desolate or apocalyptic like you see in Detroit or Gary or St. Louis. Some, but not many.
Now, would I suggest the average Steve go explore the South Side? Probably not. The tension is THICK. Very few places that I’ve been that make me feel the way Chicago’s rougher South Side neighborhoods do, like Englewood. Ditto areas of the West side, most notably Austin.
I remember going through some neighborhoods in DC. I was with my family, no clue what we were doing or why we were pokin around. Must have been the early 90s? I’d say that gave me a similar feeling.. Not burned down or apocalyptic, but felt very tense. 90s NYC, specifically the Bronx, used to give me that feeling too. Maybe it still would, but haven’t been to the Bronx in 20 years.
In all of my time in Detroit, it’s always just looked abandoned. You can go many blocks and see not a soul. It looks horrific, but it’s never given me the feeling above.
Chicago’s south side really doesn’t belong super high on this list. There aren’t that many areas I’d consider desolate or apocalyptic like you see in Detroit or Gary or St. Louis. Some, but not many.
Now, would I suggest the average Steve go explore the South Side? Probably not. The tension is THICK. Very few places that I’ve been that make me feel the way Chicago’s rougher South Side neighborhoods do, like Englewood. Ditto areas of the West side, most notably Austin.
I remember going through some neighborhoods in DC. I was with my family, no clue what we were doing or why we were pokin around. Must have been the early 90s? I’d say that gave me a similar feeling.. Not burned down or apocalyptic, but felt very tense. 90s NYC, specifically the Bronx, used to give me that feeling too. Maybe it still would, but haven’t been to the Bronx in 20 years.
In all of my time in Detroit, it’s always just looked abandoned. You can go many blocks and see not a soul. It looks horrific, but it’s never given me the feeling above.
I think the thing with Chicago's southside is while it isn't "bombed out" or desolate with tons of boarded up houses, vacant lots and overgrown abandoned urban grit, it has a pretty high crime rate and the city is losing population.
I doesn't seem like it has an incredibly bright future if things keep going like they are, but I did read that Obama is putting his library in the area, so that could spark some development and be a huge neighborhood spark for future development. I'm excited to hear this news, I did not know that.
Nice post. Chicago's south side for the most part is very intact, and many parts look fairly nice. You will see a murder site on TV in a neighborhood that has manicured lawns and well kept homes. Hyde Park, Beverly, Morgan Park, and Kenwood have some beautiful homes and good safe neighborhoods; places like South Shore are not all that safe, but still beautiful.
My mom always taught me not to paint something with a broad brush, because you will always be wrong. Detroit, on the other hand, unfortunately does have many decayed areas, but again, Palmer Woods, Boston Edison, Corktown are exceptions to the rule and Detroit has some nice areas as well. I will say that Highland Park, adjacent to Detroit, has to be one of the worst areas I have visited ( because of my work ) with burned out houses.
Areas of New Jersey from Philly to Trenton I found to be depressing. Trenton and Camden are a depressing type of ghetto, and unlike some areas you think will just turn around, I never got that sense.
Highland Park area of Detroit is probably the worst looking ghetto I've seen. Some neighborhoods of New Orleans pre-katrina and Gary Indiana. Flint,MI probably for smaller cities, it has such a large percentage of abandoned buildings due to the job losses just like Detroit.
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