Is the logan square neighborhood in chicago a safe place to raise a family??? (Naperville: real estate, apartment)

[mzdetermined2012]

How is the logan square neighborhood of chicago, around wabansia and spaulding to be exact? Close by kedzie. Im moving there within the next two weeks but im hesitant because im not familiar with this area at all. Im a single mother raising two boys and my main two concerns are safety and good schools. Any gang violence, crime, is this a diverse neighborhood?? Please let me know....

[It'sAutomatic]

That's not Logan Square, and there are definitely gang issues around there. Diverse, yes.

[jonnynonos]

Well, if safety and good schools are your main priorities, I recommend you find an apartment in Naperville.

You are moving to a reasonably safe corner of Humboldt Park.

I would not say it is a good area to raise a family. Immediately south of there is a hotbed of gang activity, one of the worst in the country.

[ChicagoBay]

Wabansia and Spaulding is Imperial Gangster territory and it is literally one block away from one of the largest and most violent gang sections in Chicago - the Latin Kings of Humboldt Park. Run away from this area and never look back.

[Chicago60614]

It's a heavily Hispanic area right around there, maybe 80%. Gets a little whiter as well as safer if you go north/northeast, and it gets more dangerous to the south and southwest of there. It's near a park, but I certainly wouldn't trust the public schools there. Lots of gang violence in the area. I wouldn't worry as much as a "regular person" who isn't involved in the drug trade or are in a gang - but I'd worry if you're raising two boys in the area.

How old are your boys? If they're really young I'd look into finding a new place soon after you move. If they're grade/middle school or high school I'd find a new place before you get to Chicago.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by It'sAutomatic

That's not Logan Square

Google maps shows Logan Square going south to North, but Wikipedia only has it going south to Bloomingdale, which is a block north of Wabansia.

It's interesting how quickly things can change in a few blocks in that area. All this is pretty close to Palmer Square and some of the nicer parts of Logan Square, which appear to me to have many young professionals, some of whom have young children.

[tomcho]

The official community southern boundary is definitely Bloomingdale, but landlords and real estate agents have surely extended boundaries by way more than 1 block. This is a "minor" infraction.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Google maps shows Logan Square going south to North, but Wikipedia only has it going south to Bloomingdale, which is a block north of Wabansia.

It's interesting how quickly things can change in a few blocks in that area. All this is pretty close to Palmer Square and some of the nicer parts of Logan Square, which appear to me to have many young professionals, some of whom have young children.

Logan Square definitely ends at Bloomingdale, sometimes people mistakenly think it ends at Armitage, but either way it's not Logan Square. Even though it is sort of close to Palmer Square, there's a whole different thing going on in that area. It's not nearly as bad as areas to the South and Southwest (which is full of gangbangers dealing on every corner) but it's still pretty sketchy around there. Crime rates vary widely block by block, and the troubled blocks shift around a bit.

I believe Ames is the Elementary/Middle school for the area, and it's not a great school by any stretch of the imagination.

[chet everett]

If you are moving for access to schools that are of at least middlin' quality you really need to understand how the CPS local school attendance boundaries work...

Originally Posted by Attrill

Logan Square definitely ends at Bloomingdale, sometimes people mistakenly think it ends at Armitage, but either way it's not Logan Square. Even though it is sort of close to Palmer Square, there's a whole different thing going on in that area. It's not nearly as bad as areas to the South and Southwest (which is full of gangbangers dealing on every corner) but it's still pretty sketchy around there. Crime rates vary widely block by block, and the troubled blocks shift around a bit.

I believe Ames is the Elementary/Middle school for the area, and it's not a great school by any stretch of the imagination.

[lenniel]

If you're a single mom with two boys, your boys are going to be looking for some male role models (maybe they already have some in their life?) which means they will be prime targets for gang membership in that area.

I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin....I wouldn't move to that area if safety and good schools are high on your priority list.