Belmont Cragin (Chicago, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park: high school, income, quality of life)

[tompope]

8loody, I know this thread is a couple of weeks old now, but are you still around? What did you decide about the area around Belmont and Narragansett, or the larger Belmont-Cragin area? What was your interest in asking about it (e.g. looking to live there, looking to buy investment real estate there, just curious, etc.)?

I've always really liked the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood, but I'm well aware of its strengths and weaknesses, and I'm interested in how that area will develop in the future. I spent a lot of time there both as a child and as an adult, mostly in the area around Diversey and Laramie, and I think it has a unique character and down-to-earth charm, although it's also had its share of problems over the years. I'm not in a position to buy a house or a building as a long-range investment right now, but that would seem like a decent area to consider doing so, as long as one carefully selected the right property in the right portion of Belmont-Cragin. For now, the northern and western parts of Belmont-Cragin (around Belmont and Narragansett, for example) would seem the most desirable, but I could easily imagine the southern and especially eastern areas being in higher demand in the future. That may be a ways off, though. I suppose the short-term outlook doesn't look too good for Belmont-Cragin, but the long-range should be a lot better, I would think, at least depending on the economy. But I haven't spent much time there in several years, and haven't seriously looked in to buying property there. I'm interested in your opinions and experiences.

[Connie2345]

Really interested in this thread. I'm moving back to Chicago after more than 20 years and I'm out of touch with some of the areas. I've seen what seem to be nice apartments at Belmont and Oriole and another at Menard near Grand. Any thoughts on those intersections? I'd really appreciate your opinions. Thanks in advance!

[tompope]

Originally Posted by Connie2345

Really interested in this thread. I'm moving back to Chicago after more than 20 years and I'm out of touch with some of the areas. I've seen what seem to be nice apartments at Belmont and Oriole and another at Menard near Grand. Any thoughts on those intersections? I'd really appreciate your opinions. Thanks in advance!

Connie2345, welcome back to Chicago! As for the two intersections you mentioned, what are your criteria? What kind of information or "thoughts" are you looking for about them?

The area around Belmont and Oriole I would not consider to be in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood. I'm not sure what that neighborhood would be called exactly. It's near Dunning and Montclare, but I don't think I would quite consider it to be in either of those neighborhoods, either. But maybe I'm wrong. Regardless, it's certainly fairly different from the heart of Belmont-Cragin. It's much more suburban-feeling, and in fact, it sits right on the city limit (I believe) between Chicago and Elmwood Park. That area tends to be a little boring, but very quiet and pleasant. So it depends on what you're looking for.

The area around Menard and Grand, on the other hand, certainly is in Belmont-Cragin, and many of the strengths and weaknesses of the neighborhood as a whole are much in evidence there. Personally, I like the area a lot, and I think it has enormous potential to actually be a hot real estate area in the future if and when the economy and RE market ever improve substantially. It's a neighborhood with real, authentic Chicago character, historically largely Polish (for example, Mike Krzyzewski famously grew up right near there), with also a lot of Irish, Italian, and German people, but over the past 25 years it has transitioned to a mostly Hispanic area. That change has been accompanied by rising crime rates and increased gang activity, so it's certainly not the safest, quietest part of town. But it's not necessarily unlivable, and so it could actually be a pretty good place to live if the apartment you found is in a nice building. I actually have some friends who live sort of near there (just west of Hanson Park), and they're very happy there. For them, it still seems to be a pretty nice place to live, as long as you follow normal city precautions (lock your doors, don't leave valuables in cars, don't start trouble with gangbangers, etc.). They commute to and from the Loop everyday on the Metra train from the Hanson Park station, and also sometimes take the Grand Avenue bus, which is a convenient way to go all the way down to River North, the Mag Mile, and Navy Pier. They feel they have a real bargain there, since their same condo would have cost them three times as much if it was just a couple miles to the east in Logan Square or Bucktown. I'm still not sure I'd want to raise kids in the Hanson Park area currently, though. But if nothing else, there's certainly plenty of tasty Polish and Mexican food to be had in the neighborhood. So, again, it depends on what your criteria are, and what you're looking for in an area to move to.

I hope this helps!

[CHNY]

I am considering buying a place on Monitor so south of Grand between Austin and Central. I know nothing about the neighborhood except for what I have read on here, is that section safe? For the most part I (a female) would be living alone and I want to make sure I will be able to walk the dog and put out the garbage and come home late. Thanks.

[RingWalk]

I think it's largely a Hispanic neighborhood. I am not overly familiar with it, I've been there maybe a dozen times. It doesn't seem too bad. I would do some due diligence on EveryBlock. Buying is a big commitment for a neighborhood you know nothing about IMO.

[Drover]

Everyblock sucks any more. Redeye has taken over where Everyblock left off for archiving long-term crime data and making it retrievable in a way that you can determine long-term trends.

Chicago Crime Database -- chicagotribune.com

Personally, I wouldn't buy there. Rent there, maybe. Anchor myself there with a property purchase? Not unless I intended to use it as a rental property down the line.

[RingWalk]

Cool I'll check that out.

[North Side Brandon]

Cragin has really gone downhill over the last 20 years. My Cousin who lives in Elmwood Park now lived near Cicero and Diversey for years would never live there. Her children are half Puerto Rican btw and she speaks Spanish. Cragin is going to get even more low income residents as they are priced out of Logan Square and Avondale. It's only going to get worse for Belmont Central, Belmont Cragin and Hanson Park and Montclare.

[Chicagoist123]

Originally Posted by North Side Brandon

Cragin has really gone downhill over the last 20 years. My Cousin who lives in Elmwood Park now lived near Cicero and Diversey for years would never live there. Her children are half Puerto Rican btw and she speaks Spanish. Cragin is going to get even more low income residents as they are priced out of Logan Square and Avondale. It's only going to get worse for Belmont Central, Belmont Cragin and Hanson Park and Montclare.

I personally don't like Belmont Cragin. I find it to be a fairly ugly area with not too much to do in particular. Not very convenient either when it comes to public transporation. Actually very inconvenient.

[North Side Brandon]

Originally Posted by Chicagoist123

I personally don't like Belmont Cragin. I find it to be a fairly ugly area with not too much to do in particular. Not very convenient either when it comes to public transporation. Actually very inconvenient.

I totally agree. If you needed to be that far west I would do Jefferson Park or the O'hare area right by Cumberland and Higgins both have more to do and have better public transporation.