Safe area with Studio Apartments along Green Line? (Chicago, Niles: lower-class, crime)

[Nikita1101]

Hi Everyone,

I just moved to Chicago from out of state and I am a student at IIT. I need your help in deciding where to live. Thank you in advance!

I am a female late 20s. Some of my classes finish at night (9pm ish).

Since the Green Line pass through and stops at IIT, I thought maybe it is a good idea to live along Green Line. What would be a place that's safe and also close to travel to a green line station?

Or if I live close to IIT, (like Lake Meadows, Prairie Shore, South Commons etc.), will it be safe to walk/bike/skateboard around 9-10pm in this area?

Thanks guys!

[oakparkdude]

What's your budget? Also, don't forget about the Red line.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by Nikita1101

What would be a place that's safe and also close to travel to a green line station?

I have friends who live around Ashland and Grand who commute via the Green Line daily (the Lake & Ashland stop). They love the area, you're close to East Village/Ukrainian Village, not too far from Wicker Park.

[RianAlive]

I'm not extremely familiar with the IIT area (I'm assuming it's the 35th Street main branch), but this is what I can say for certain:

-The Green Line has a reputation (emphasis, "reputation") among for being the most dangerous of the rail lines; whether or not this reputation is accurate, appropriate or deserved can be the basis for great debate. Out-of-towners often assume the Red is the worst because they know the infamy of the South Side and think the line that goes farthest south is the worst; this is not necessarily the case, but again, debatable thing is debatable. In either case, it's not a fear about either of the 35th street stations being horrid, but rather by the time a northbound train pulls in, you get on and, in addition to normal people who won't bother you, there will already be sketchy people on the train coming up from the south. What is certain is that the CTA can have dangerous people of all kinds, anywhere, at any time of day, but the geography and demography of it all can freak some people out.

-THAT SAID, I've heard that for the area it's in, IIT security runs a rather tight ship. Students in the campus's radius are usually fine; the hard part is knowing where that radius begins and ends, and I feel under-qualified to define it. I went to high school with somebody who commutes to IIT from the Niles* area, and while she was fine, she didn't want to talk about school. Whether this was safety-related or just not wanting to talk about school (understandable). (*I am not recommending living in Niles--it is too far away--just using it as a reference point.)

-Disregarding safety, the Green Line has a similar, less-inflammatory reputation that keep people shying away: its service is atrocious. People who use it frequently lament that it gets placed at the bottom of the totem pole for priority in entering the loop, where several lines merge. To a degree, I can attest to this: waiting at Clark 'n' Lake to get a train to get me to Roosevelt, the real-time train-tracker will tell me that the Green line train from one line will come in 2 minutes, whereas the Orange from another will come in 4, and yet I almost always wind up on an Orange. There are those that theorize that the CTA is doing this on purpose, screwing around in a blatantly racist manner with the train line (Green) that goes mostly through lower-class neighborhoods... but I would like to imagine that that isn't the case. More objectively, running the Green is a hassle because it has two southern termini and to keep from crowding the rails when the south-to-north trains merge around 59th, they just don't send that many in the first place. People have ranted and raved about the Green Line long before I knew it existed.

-I've heard horror stories about people dorming** at IIT saying they regularly hear gunshots at night. Again, I'm not an expert of the area, so whether this stuff happens outside of their window or if the topography of the area can bring in bangs and booms from a while away. (**I do not know where these dorms are.)

-Don't forget that the CTA is set up to make transferring between lines ea--well, not "easy," but doable. But since you may want to be home ASAP after your class lets out at 9ish, a 20+ minute ride may seem undesirable.

-To circumvent the trains and live in the area itself, the only thing I can think of would be across the Dan Ryan and the Metra tracks westward into Brigdeport, which is... let's say, "polarizing." Is it a safe neighborhood with normal city problems? Is it a false paradise in a bad part of town? The residents themselves can barely agree. This past year I had a college class with a DC transplant living near*** Bridgeport's western edge, and he seemed to be bragging about the number of shootings in on his street. But one thing is for sure: Bridgeport's "safe haven" rep, when it has one, is because it's a traditionally family-oriented community, and therefore studio apartments may or may not exist there in significant numbers, and if they do they're probably bank-breakers. But I'd give the eastern part between 31st and 35th at least a look. At least. (***"near the western edge" may have been "beyond" and into the next jurisdiction--all I know is that the guy used the Ashland stop.)

-In all, Bad experiences in the city are unavoidable, but not intolerably frequent. From what I gather, "regular" city living--living in an area that is neither severely poverty-stricken or grossly wealthy--entails one or two downright frightening events or situations a year with a dozen of other iffy ones, assuming one plays safely while being downtown regularly. Me? I'm overdue for one, and I kinda want to get it over with if it must happen. But most people are mostly fine, most of the time.

I hope I was helpful and not just confusing. I can empathize with an out-of-towner trying to get bearings on a strange, new land.

[BRU67]

You may want to look in Armour Square and Bridgeport, which are west of the expressway near IIT. They're not overly exciting but you have Halsted St. which has a few things, and they are relatively safe. They will also add the Red Line as an option.

East of the expressway is Douglas, which is hyped as Bronzeville, though I'm not sure Bronzeville technically goes that far north. In any case, while it's gotten significantly better in recent years, there's still a lot of crime going on there, including disturbing stuff like armed robberies.

[nmnita]

I have a similar question: our son in law has been offered a job right downtown, Chicago. He doesn't care about night life, or socializing and our daughter will not be moving with him, so he will be coming home to NWA every few weekends. What he needs is a nice studio or one bedroom, in a safe area with good public transportation: his budget is about $1200 to $1500 a month. He is looking, I think in an area called Lincoln, but is open to all suggestions. He has until tomorrow to decide if he is going to accept the job offer. thanks for any suggestions anyone might have.

[ToriaT]

There is no Lincoln. There is Lincoln Park or Lincoln square. Both are safe areas.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

There is no Lincoln. There is Lincoln Park or Lincoln square. Both are safe areas.

I think it is Lincoln Park. All I could think was the Lincoln part. We were raised in Los Angeles and their is a Lincoln Heights there, but it isn't a safe or nice area. I knew it wasn't that, I just couldn't remember the rest of the Lincoln part. Thanks a lot.