Artist, real estate agent and Single mom moving to chicago from memphis (rental, house)

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by artbyaweirdo

Well being from memphis I never ever hear about random killings like I hear about them in Chicago. There definitely weren't 80 shootings here on the 4th.. In fact there were none at all. Everything's not about statistics. I can drive through, shop and even hang around in "the ghetto" here and wouldn't have a problem at all. .none whatsoever. Dont know if I can say that about Chicago.

And I felt safe in every city I've lived in.

Some posters want to defend their city. 80 shootings is not very flattering for any city. I don't care how you are looking at it. And it should be embarrassing as it is. Looking at statistics that isn't comparing apples to apples is not helpful nor insightful for a relocation thread.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

Some posters want to defend their city. 80 shootings is not very flattering for any city. I don't care how you are looking at it. And it should be embarrassing as it is. Looking at statistics that isn't comparing apples to apples is not helpful nor insightful for a relocation thread.

Actually looking at statistics is the best way to compare apples to apples. Comparing raw numbers of two cities of vastly differing sizes or feigning shock at X number of crime incidents without taking population into consideration is a sophomoric exercise. A city the size of Memphis should be embarrassed about 10 people shot on Mother's Day. But do their residents ever have to tirelessly deal with a media spotlight whenever they have weekends that, person-for-person, are every bit as bloody as ours? Why not?

As for defending my city... yeah, I'm going to defend it against the tireless barrage of sensationalistic crap that makes it possible for people to judge it from considerably more crime-plagued cities like Memphis without so much as a hint of irony or perspective. And I'm not going to make any apologies for it.

[natsherr]

As stated earlier by another poster, Memphis is significantly smaller than Chicago, and that is what makes the crime such an issue here. For Memphis being such a small city, there should be better control of the crime. I think we have around 700k people in the Memphis city limits. And Chicago has how many? 2 million-ish?

My feelings are that all major cities are going to have crime, you can not escape it. The best thing to do is to make yourself aware of areas that you probably shouldn't be in. Use a map, draw some boundaries, really familiarize yourself with where you are, and pay attention to your surroundings.

I would also say that Chicago issues may be in national news more so than Memphis because Chicago is an internationally attractive city with a higher population. I was honestly surprised how quiet 4th of July was here this year. Last year, there were two shootings within a mile of my apartment and I'm supposed to be living in one of the safest zip codes in the city. When I first moved to Memphis, I was terrified to leave my apartment. Now, there really isn't an area of the city I wouldn't drive through during the day, but now I know where I shouldn't go at night. You won't find me driving around Hollywood and Chelsea after dark or even around Park and Lamar....

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by natsherr

As stated earlier by another poster, Memphis is significantly smaller than Chicago, and that is what makes the crime such an issue here. For Memphis being such a small city, there should be better control of the crime. I think we have around 700k people in the Memphis city limits. And Chicago has how many? 2 million-ish?

My feelings are that all major cities are going to have crime, you can not escape it. The best thing to do is to make yourself aware of areas that you probably shouldn't be in. Use a map, draw some boundaries, really familiarize yourself with where you are, and pay attention to your surroundings.

I would also say that Chicago issues may be in national news more so than Memphis because Chicago is an internationally attractive city with a higher population. I was honestly surprised how quiet 4th of July was here this year. Last year, there were two shootings within a mile of my apartment and I'm supposed to be living in one of the safest zip codes in the city. When I first moved to Memphis, I was terrified to leave my apartment. Now, there really isn't an area of the city I wouldn't drive through during the day, but now I know where I shouldn't go at night. You won't find me driving around Hollywood and Chelsea after dark or even around Park and Lamar....

Memphis city limits has 655,000 residents.
Chicago city limits has 2,715,000 residents.
City of Chicago is 4x larger.

Memphis metro area has 1,316,000 residents.
Chicago metro area has 9,520,000 residents.
Chicago metro area is 7x larger.

[natsherr]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

Memphis city limits has 655,000 residents.
Chicago city limits has 2,715,000 residents.
City of Chicago is 4x larger.

Memphis metro area has 1,316,000 residents.
Chicago metro area has 9,520,000 residents.
Chicago metro area is 7x larger.

Thanks for the statistics. I was being pretty general.

[artbyaweirdo]

Well this turned out to be exactly what I didn't want it to. Blah

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by artbyaweirdo

Well this turned out to be exactly what I didn't want it to. Blah

I do apologize if I was part of the mess. Choosing a new city is a major decision especially when children are involved. Chicago can be a great place to live at the same time it can be a nightmare depending on the person. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and get everything you need to get out of it to have a good life.

Good luck on your move.

[Ace Rothstein]

One thing that I don't believe was mentioned that will be important is daycare. Daycare in desirable areas is going to run you at least $300 per week, if you can get a spot somewhere.

[artbyaweirdo]

Well from what I've read, most colleges offer childcare. I could be wrong though. I was hoping to use my extra financial aid to cover the cost

[artbyaweirdo]

So just to update... I'Ve decided against Chicago and settled on Charlotte. I visited Chicago a few weeks back and was treated so terribly by people not of my race. Like, what did I do wrong? It happened about 10 seperate times!?? I was born and raised in Memphis and I dont get that kind of cold shoulderish prejudgememt here. So...oh well Chicago. Who knows anything about Charolette rentals? Im specifically looking for a rental house in walking distance to a good elementary school.