Having a mini freak out!! (Chicago, Oak Park: rent, violent crime, home)

[MomOfOne5]

My family is relocating from Northern NJ to Chicago in Oct. My husband accepted a position in the city and we're both really excited (especially since I've always loved the city and wanted to live there). I grew up in Spanish Harlem in NYC and lived most of my adult life in Northern NJ and worked in the city so I'm aware how a city can be. I started coming on here to research neighborhoods to live in and then I started noticing all these posts on recent gangs wars, muggings, violence, Chicago's murder rates, safety on the El and how you can hear shootings in the outlining neighborhoods. I always thought you just had to stay away from certain areas of the city and you would be ok, but know I see that these gangs are spreading all over the city. I don't live in lily white suburbs (it's very mixed) but I've never had to stay away from a certain block in my town or heard shots outside and I'm only 5 miles away from NYC.

My main freak out is that my husband will be working in the loop and I'm so afraid something is going to happen to him on the train ride to/from and possible walk at night from work. He will probably go out after work for drinks once and a while and come home home during off/peak hours. Some people here have suggested just taking the train during peak hours for safety....does that mean that I shouldn't take the El train into the city during the day (2pm) with my 2 year old son?? I would naturally blame myself and feel awful if anything happened to either my husband or my son because I always wanted to live in the Chicago area! We were originally looking at the the NW neighborhoods but not we're currently looking at Oak Park(I've read not so great things about the Green line too but the town issafe for the most part) or further NW suburbs with Metra access.

We leave for Chicago at the end of the month to go look at places. The wheels are already in motion since the company is paying for our move. Please tell me it isn't that bad and I'm freaking out over nothing!!

[aragx6]

You are way way way freaking out and it's completely unnecessary I promise -- the vast majority of professional Chicagoans have never been the victim of a violent crime. This forum as well as the media gets a little over-excitable when it comes to crime. Almost all of it is relegated to places you'll never have a need to go.

[Chicago60614]

Good lord - you're fine! A vast majority of the crime is centered on areas of the west and south sides. Things DO and CAN happen in other areas, but overall they're safe. The quite safe areas of the city have almost 2 million people in them. Every time something happens people freak out, but that hardly means it's happening all the time or to everyone. I've taken the train at all hours of the day for 11 years now and never seen anything more than drunk bums being weird or a guy peeing. And this is from taking it every day for 11 years....

The metra is perfectly fine, the L is perfectly fine during the day and probaby just fine at night if you're not being stupid or passing out on the Red Line at 3am. Downtown is extremely safe for visitors, workers and residents.

Do not freak out. People come on here to vent and bring up every bad thing that happens. A vast majority of the time it's PERFECTLY FINE. There are a ton of professional, middle class and upper class people in Chicago. If it was as bad as you say - around 75% of the population would have moved out. As it is a large majority of the city is stable population wise, with the loses coming from the worst off areas on the west/south sides.

Where are you looking to move?

[marothisu]

Relax. Your husband has more of a chance of being hit by a car crossing the street than getting mugged, and even those chances aren't that great. The worst thing that's ever happened to me here was a drunk guy grabbing my arm while I was walking near a bar at 3am one night.

There's no gangs spilling into random areas. There might be people from gangs who come to some part of the city from time to time, but most of the big time violence here is gang on gang and happens in specific areas on the west and south sides (but there's still good, safe areas of the south and west sides) for the most part. There's been a few muggings, but that happens in any major city. Outside of a few centralized areas of Chicago which you have no reason to go into anyway, Chicago is a pretty safe city.

[Chicago South Sider]

I can't help but be a little repulsed after reading that post. People sure are a scary lot these days.

[rparz]

If you're not involved in the drug trade, you're far more likely to come home from someplace and find you've been robbed, than get shot at or something.

In other words, for most people living in the city, getting shot by a gangbanger isn't a top concern.

[MomOfOne5]

Thanks everyone. You know when you keep thinking about something over and over again, it gets blown out of proportion? I guess I just needed to vent. I've been to Chicago before, we were mostly in the Loop and one lunch in Humboldt Park for PR food and I never felt unsafe. Like I said, I love everything about Chicago but it wasn't until I came on here (and subscribed to the Tribune Breaking News on Facebook) and read negative posts and warnings that I started to get worried. No matter where we end up in the city, I'm excited to call Chicago my home

[chet everett]

If you spend all day watching news stories you will go insane. The fact of even the most "oh my gawd" types of randomn violence are rarely reported as saccurately and dispastionately as they should.

aragx is correct that violence rarely effects business commuters. Similarly a trip during the day on Metra or even the CTA from a nicer area to the tourist centric parts of Chicago is extremely unlikely to result in anything other than some frustration over how slow things are without offf-peak express trains...

Honestly you are probably ideally suited to living in Oak Park and so long as you avoid any whacky suggestions to live too near crime hot spots you will very likely have a pleasant stay. I'd rent in the nicest place you can afford and then shop for the best value in an area that will give you access to the best performing schools.

[rparz]

Originally Posted by MomOfOne5

I've been to Chicago before, we were mostly in the Loop and one lunch in Humboldt Park for PR food and I never felt unsafe.

If you can handle Humboldt Park you're going to be just fine.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by MomOfOne5

Thanks everyone. You know when you keep thinking about something over and over again, it gets blown out of proportion? I guess I just needed to vent. I've been to Chicago before, we were mostly in the Loop and one lunch in Humboldt Park for PR food and I never felt unsafe. Like I said, I love everything about Chicago but it wasn't until I came on here (and subscribed to the Tribune Breaking News on Facebook) and read negative posts and warnings that I started to get worried. No matter where we end up in the city, I'm excited to call Chicago my home

Don't pay attention too much to the news like that. It's good to know what's happening, but Chicago is a big city and you can't group the violence in every area. In fact, 75% of the homicide in the last 5.5 years has occured in only 25% of the neighborhoods here.

FYI, Humboldt Park is for the most part unsafe, haha. It's actually one of the most unsafe neighborhoods of Chicago except for a few areas of HP. There's normal areas, but there's a lot of areas you don't necessarily want to venture into.

But again, most of the violence here is gang on gang. Yes you do have the chance of being targeted, but it's more unlikely.