Why People Flee The City Of Chicago (Evanston, Oak Park: apartment, rent)

[HOWELL_STREET]

Not everyone - - but some - - Chicago people have their own level of crime. I suppose one could generalize with this statement, for everyone and everywhere. If 'X' family is a decent family with no or very little personal history crime - - and if they have been attacked in certain areas of the city of Chicago - - then they have an interest in fleeing (moving) out to Chicago's suburbs. They have become frightened of their own Chicago (city) community. However, when long time residents of Chicago's suburbs spot this type of migration, then they also flee the close in suburbs in favor of further out western suburbs. When that happens, they leave behind expensive houses for some one else to buy. So why does that happen? One reason is that people migrate from Chicago taking their own level of crime with them. Perhaps 'X' family does not participate in violence - - murders, drugs, theft, gang wars etc. However, their own level of crime might be shop lifting or some other form of lesser crime. This type of people + crime migration is called the Domino Effect and is quietly increasing at a tremendous pace in the Chicago area suburbs.

Best Regards,

Carter Glass

[Manigault]

I grew up in the suburbs. When car thefts increased some adults said they knew it was the work of Hispanics from the city. I (and some others) knew that the car thefts were by a drug-addicted kid named Ira who was a native of the suburbs. Times change but people have their own misconceptions. Look at the recent notorious cases of Lisa Stebic and the Vaughn fellow. Was that street crime by new suburban arrivals? I think Evanston, Oak Park and Park Forest South disprove your allegations about the migration of crime.

Mr. Glass, you oft-repeated criticism of the city and of city denizens has become very wearing.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Manigault

I grew up in the suburbs. When car thefts increased some adults said they knew it was the work of Hispanics from the city. I (and some others) knew that the car thefts were by a drug-addicted kid named Ira who was a native of the suburbs. Times change but people have their own misconceptions. Look at the recent notorious cases of Lisa Stebic and the Vaughn fellow. Was that street crime by new suburban arrivals? I think Evanston, Oak Park and Park Forest South disprove your allegations about the migration of crime.

Mr. Glass, you oft-repeated criticism of the city and of city denizens has become very wearing.

Yes, I agree.

I don't know what your motives are, or any recent experiences you've had, but I read a couple of your own posts, (like saying its impossible to find an apartment under $800 in a place where you won't get shot.) You seem to make statements that generalize whole groups of people.

Many people who make up Chicagolands population may have roots in places like Effingham, or wherever. But those places have little opportunity, employment, or otherwise. So they move to a metropolitan area, and make there community there, raising their family, getting involved in church, school, and sports.

I like small rural communities too, but I have known young people that have gotten into trouble with drinking and drugs because there aren't activities to keep them busy. (Only a tiny percentage of them have ever done any farm work).

Just my thoughts.

[HOWELL_STREET]

Well, it is very easy for me to 'shut' up and abandon these Forums. However, I am trying to help people understand their own motivations and caveats in the Chicago areas. I tend to repeat myself due to the quantity of people who also ask the same questions over and over.
You also need to read, very carefully, what I exactly say. The 'OP' asking about an $800 per month apartment also injected a request of an $800 per month apartment with some free utilities. That is a paraphrase since I don't have the exact quote in my view. I still maintain, the if some of the utilities are free, then you cannot get an $800 apartment in the near collar counties of Chicago - - unless you want to live in the Ghettos.
So perhaps you are weary of my same comments over and over? On the flip side, I am also weary of people asking the same questions over and over. That is why I started my own original 'OP' Forums. For example "Carol Stream, IL". What are my credentials? Well, I have two college degrees and have gone to college for six years. I have also lived in the Chicago suburbs since 1941. I am also an historical author with short stories under my pen name of Carter Glass. You see, Carter is not my real name. My sister is also a Chicago area author and has written a definitive historical book of Chicago that Mayor Daley has personally endorsed. So now I challange you to state your own credentials in comparison?
Although the forums are quite fun for me, I take your critique in good stride and may consider abandoning these forums altogether.

Carter Glass

[nanannie]

Many of us hope you dont stop Mr Glass.Your posts are often interesting and informative.Also,It is nice to have another generations view on our area

[oakparkdude]

The problem with your posts, Mr "Carter Glass", is that you propagate "information" about the city and near suburbs that is outdated, misleading, and occasionally flat out incorrect. I'll admit, I actually do enjoy reading your posts for their distinct perspective, and when you write about towns that you know well (ie, the western suburbs), they can be quite informative, and I hope you continue to participate here.

However, you clearly have some strong negative biases against the city of Chicago (and Oak Park, btw). I don't think anyone is questioning your intelligence, education, or personal experiences. I do question your knowledge of Chicago as it is today, as opposed to twenty years ago. If I recall correctly, you stated that you would never set foot in the city of Chicago (or Oak Park) and have not for a long time. You're definitely entitled to your opinion and your theories, but, I'm also entitled to point out your bias, as well as correct your factual errors.

For those of us who currently live, work, or play in the city, it gets a little tiresome to rebut the inaccuracies that you post. Hopefully, we can do this in a respectful way.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by HOWELL_STREET

Well, it is very easy for me to 'shut' up and abandon these Forums. However, I am trying to help people understand their own motivations and caveats in the Chicago areas. I tend to repeat myself due to the quantity of people who also ask the same questions over and over.
You also need to read, very carefully, what I exactly say. The 'OP' asking about an $800 per month apartment also injected a request of an $800 per month apartment with some free utilities. That is a paraphrase since I don't have the exact quote in my view. I still maintain, the if some of the utilities are free, then you cannot get an $800 apartment in the near collar counties of Chicago - - unless you want to live in the Ghettos.
So perhaps you are weary of my same comments over and over? On the flip side, I am also weary of people asking the same questions over and over. That is why I started my own original 'OP' Forums. For example "Carol Stream, IL". What are my credentials? Well, I have two college degrees and have gone to college for six years. I have also lived in the Chicago suburbs since 1941. I am also an historical author with short stories under my pen name of Carter Glass. You see, Carter is not my real name. My sister is also a Chicago area author and has written a definitive historical book of Chicago that Mayor Daley has personally endorsed. So now I challange you to state your own credentials in comparison?
Although the forums are quite fun for me, I take your critique in good stride and may consider abandoning these forums altogether.

Carter Glass

Well, I guess I was a little critical in my postings.

While this topic I guess is on the wrong thread, let me correct myself.
I do understand that from the perspective of something raising a family, the standards are most certainly higher.

I do appreciate the fact that because I am young (in my mid-late twenties) AND NOT RAISING KIDS I can probably get away with living in a place that is slightly less than ideal. And not to be sexist, being a single young male, also means you are also perhaps less vulnerable, and it maybe ok to slightly lower your standards as far as finding a place to live.

Nevertheless, I have had friends that have rented places between $600 and $800 with some utilities included that live in places they felt safe in. I too am looking at places in the same range as well, now that I have been back in the Chicago area for about nine months and more situated work-wise.

So I do apologize; after reading the post concerning finding an apartment; and reacting like "what, I know several people who rent a place for under $800 and never felt unsafe!" I realize it is different if you have a family.

And then reading this post, it brought back to mind to me, the few times I have been stereotyped by a few people living in rural communities asking me about gangsters, etc. just because I'm from the Chicago area.

I've learned to ignore the kind of people that I don't want to have anything to do with, and in that respect I've learned to warm up to this area again.

Well, thats it. I hope this clarifies what I was trying to say.

[Chinolala]

Having lived in Chicago for over 40 years, I am not famliar with the Domino Effect. I grew up in the city and remain friends with many people that I met in grammar school. About half of them have left the city for the suburbs, while the other half have remained in the city limits. The ones that left the city, did not do so due to crime. They got married when they were in their 20's and move further out in order to afford a house. Others wanted a suburban lifestyle and moved for the better public schools in their suburb of choice. I live 3 blocks outside of the city limits and if I could afford to, I'd move deeper into the city. In all of my years of living in the city, I have been a victim of crime 3 times. Car broken into, tires slashed and mail stolen. That's it. My husband has been pickpocketed on the L train and once robbed on the L train. Both times, it was after 1:00 a.m. and he was not in a great neighborhood. That is not enough for us to "flee" to the suburbs. And as you said, many of the suburbs have their own crime problems.

[nanannie]

WOW,re; your experiences,thats alot of crime/victim ratio in my book!!!! If you can live with that and think its worth it ,,fine,,,Alot of us find those incidents horrid and worthy of a move elsewhere

[Chinolala]

Originally Posted by nanannie

WOW,re; your experiences,thats alot of crime/victim ratio in my book!!!! If you can live with that and think its worth it ,,fine,,,Alot of us find those incidents horrid and worthy of a move elsewhere

I should clarify something in regards to my prior post. The car break in happened in a very expensive Northwest side neighborhood of the city (Sauganash...for those of you familiar with it). I had 10 pairs of newly bought shoes in shopping bags in the backseat of my car and my car was parked in a parking lot. I assumed that because the neighbhoord was so afluent and that I had lived there for 20+ years without incident, that it was safe to leave them in the car. Point being, crime can happen anywhere and the criminal may or may not have lived in the area. When my tires were slashed I was in a neighborhood that I didn't live in, but not a bad neigborhood. My husbands' subway train incidents happened late at night on the Red Line on the South side of Chicago. Riding the subway that late, when the trains are pretty empty and going into bad areas, is asking for trouble and something he hasn't done since. So with that, we've only been victims of crime one time in an area that we actual lived in and that was the shoe theft from the backseat of my car. I suppose we could move far away, somewhere like Napervile or West Chicago, but considering that the only crime that we've experienced where we've actually lived, was a car break in, we have no intention to. That's what car insurance is for. I'm not going to lower my standard of living by double or tripling my commute to work and to friends and family over some shoes and a broken car window.