South Side Characteristics? (Chicago, Schaumburg, Washington: house, neighborhoods, high school)

[lookingforino]

I am interested in learning more about the South Side, what makes it special and its personality. I'm currently staying in the North Side, and it seems as if people refer to neighborhoods up here, but lump all of South Side together when talking about it. For those living in SS, do you think this is true, or is it because the North Siders don't know or understand the South Side?

Do SSiders think of themselves as a product of their neighborhood in SS, as they do in the North?

Do different SS neighborhoods have their own personalities?

What characteristics of the SS and its inhabitants makes it unique and different from other parts of Chicago?

For those that live in or know the SS personally, is its personality different to you than the reputation it has among other residents of the city?

Thanks for any help.

[nanannie]

Growing up,I was not allowed to date any guys from the Southside.My parents considered them "dee's dem and Dosers" who all wore "cicero T's" and black knee sox with their shorts,and were all destined to hang in bowling alleys and unsavory pool halls......So,,I married one.

[j33]

Haha! My dad worked on the south-side most of my life growing up (I grew up in the south burbs, or as some northsiders and north suburbanites have jokingly called quipped 'south-side lite').

A good example of the difference between the south-side and the northside in my opinion is my 'uncle' who owns a beautiful house in Beverly, is well traveled, opened minded and intelligent, married to an artist, but still lives in the same neighborhood he was born in, never went to college, and made his money working midnights in a factory, and oh yes, has the accent to boot.

[Manigault]

"Do SSiders think of themselves as a product of their neighborhood in SS, as they do in the North?" I think very much so. SS Irish think they are distinct from the Irish on the NS. SS black folks look down on black people on the West side. There are SS Polish and north side Polish people, too.

"Do different SS neighborhoods have their own personalities?" Definitely! Many areas in Bridgeport, where the mayor's mom lived all her life, are now populated by Asian folks. Chatham is a lot different than New City.

"What characteristics of the SS and its inhabitants makes it unique and different from other parts of Chicago?" It is terra incognita for the north siders. One can live cheaply near the lake; get to the airport in half an hour and one can park on the street. There's also the Museum and the UofC whch you won't find anything like on the north side. Jackson Park and Washington Park are huge and you can watch the folks play cricket in Washington Park.

"For those that live in or know the SS personally, is its personality different to you than the reputation it has among other residents of the city?" The problem is that it is a very diverse area. Places like Chatham, Avalon Park and Beverly are stable, middle-income neighborhoods but unknown to the people who publish neighborhood guides and to the relocation services. The basic reputation is, as seen from threads on this forum, that it is an area to be avoided at all costs. Also, since there are really more consumer attractions on the north side than on the south side, most people on the south side are far more familiar with the north than vice versa.

[NSH]

Well I think the Daily Southtown newspaper ad campaign from a few years back sums it up. "Northsiders just don't get it" (referring to both the culture and the newspaper)

Do southsiders think of themselves as products of their neighborhood?

Big Time! Even in more of a microcosm universe than on the northside. Within every neighborhood are maybe half a dozen catholic parishes, Example would be when someone asks where are you from you would not say "Mt Greenwood" you would say "Christina or Queen of Martyrs"
Then this someone would ask where you went to high school, then start listing names of people you may or may not know.

Do south side neighborhoods have different personalities?

Again, Big Time! Areas like midway, garfield ridge and scottsdale are largely Polish, Mexican and Italian so you get a lot of culture from those countries,
Areas like Beverly Morgan Park and Mt Greenwood are largely Irish and African American so you get that culture when you are in this area.
You have ghettos like Englewood and you have feature neighborhoods like Hyde Park.
The big difference is that many people will spend their entire life on the south side but you will never see someone from Morgan Park moving to Garfield Ridge. The culture shock would be too much to handle.

The homes and land layouts have not changed much because big money developers have little to no interest in properties down here, which is fine we have little to no interest in big money developers

What characteristics of the SS and its inhabitants makes it unique and different from other parts of Chicago?

The south side "inhabitants" are for the most part born and raised in chicago and feel a very distinct bond with the city and the streets and sidewalks we grew up on. We write songs about it, have t-shirts printed up to show our neighborhood pride etc etc,
The north side "inhabitants" were born and raised in maybe Mexico, Warsaw, Kansas City, Prague, Schaumburg, New Delhi, or Dubuque, and moved to chicago in search of a job and have no real tie with the city.

is its personality different to you than the reputation it has among other residents of the city?
What reputation do we got!
My advice for you is to see for yourself, and make your own judgment, we are not that far from the northside, maybe 20 minutes away, c'mon down!

[lookingforino]

Well, what do the South Side neighborhoods have in common with each other? Do they share values (or have priorities in their lives) unique from other areas in the city?

[NSH]

Have you tried contacting the South Side Chicago Board of Tourism (http://www.thesouthsidechicagoboardoftourism.com/ - broken link)?

[j33]

Originally Posted by lookingforino

Well, what do the South Side neighborhoods have in common with each other? Do they share values (or have priorities in their lives) unique from other areas in the city?

The only thing they have in common is that they are south of Madison St.

[southsida]

The south side is segregated except for Hyde Park. You could argue Beverly beacuse African Americans and Whites live next door to each other, but thats about it, they don't interact and there's a sense of tension. Hispanics and blacks have somewhat learned to live side by side in some areas like the eastside, Marquete Park and few other spots. But for the most the south side is in a sad state right now. People for the most don't think of themselves as a product of their neighborhood as much as they do a product of their gang or race, it's a whole different city from the north and even west sides the attitudes are so different. In my opinion the north side is racist too. The only reason it's so popualr is beacuse it has the most whites. Northsiders should stop living in fear and experience all parts of the southside. Go to the famous doughnut shop in Roseland (Old Fashion doughnuts) , Marquette park is beautiful, go to the famous Daleys diner for breakfast on 63rd right off of cottage not to much the hundreds o great taquerias. The southide is just as unique as the Northside, but most people don't take the time to explore it.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by lookingforino

Well, what do the South Side neighborhoods have in common with each other?

1) They are south of downtown
2) That's about it