Are hipsters moving to Uptown? (Chicago, Cicero: appointed, transplants, lawyers)

[aragx6]

So just throw them all down in Cicero? Is that really the answer?

[Lookout Kid]

Actually, the area near Clark has improved quite a bit in recent years--especially up towards Andersonville, though it's ALL getting better now on the western edge. You really have to get quite a bit closer to Broadway before you see a lot of trash and poor behavior. Either way, I stuck to Buena Park when I moved here, and this is still technically Uptown. I didn't like the stories I heard from friends who lived near Wilson and Broadway, so I clinged to Lakeview. My immediate surroundings are immaculate and I don't see any more homeless people wandering around than I would in Lakeview.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by aragx6

So just throw them all down in Cicero? Is that really the answer?

No. The answer is clearly to put them in Indiana. Sheesh.

I'm kidding, of course.

[lenniel]

Cicero, Back-of-the-Yards, I don't care. I just don't want them in or near my neighborhood.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by lenniel

Cicero, Back-of-the-Yards, I don't care. I just don't want them in or near my neighborhood.

well, no offense, but if you dont want to live in a shady neighborhood, dont move to one.

and proposing sweeping your problems under someone else's carpet is really ignorant.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by lenniel

Cicero, Back-of-the-Yards, I don't care. I just don't want them in or near my neighborhood.

I bet the good hard-working people in Cicero probably don't want to be inundated with them either.

[Lookout Kid]

No one wants a bunch of homeless people, drug addicts, mentally ill, or recently released prisoners in their neighborhood. But there is a large vacuum created any time an urban neighborhood becomes "undesirable", and this vacuum attracts the people who have fallen through the cracks of society. Uptown became a mecca for these people in the post-war period. Now that Uptown is a more desirable place to live again, the pressure is on to push the dregs of society somewhere else. However, Helen Shiller, the Organization of the Northeast, and several social service agencies have a vested interest in making sure they stay right where they are.

In addition, Uptown also has several people who are recent immigrants or just from low income households, and they often vote for Helen Shiller because they believe she will keep real estate prices depressed allowing them to stay in their homes. Can you blame 'em?

[aragx6]

I don't blame anybody. I don't blame the poor who want to stay in their homes, while at the same time I have a hard time blaming the middle class who see prime real estate being unused. It's a tricky business, and I don't think any right answers exist.

[Lookout Kid]

It may be controversial, but I strongly believe that "gentrification" serves the best interest of Chicago in the long run. There are some negatives associated with it, but the overall effects on the economic health of the City of Chicago are tremendous.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

It may be controversial, but I strongly believe that "gentrification" serves the best interest of Chicago in the long run. There are some negatives associated with it, but the overall effects on the economic health of the City of Chicago are tremendous.

Like all things, its OK in moderation. But overdone, it drains the soul out of what makes neighborhoods unique. Chicago should not be defined by cookie cutter coffee shops, luxury condos, and overpriced "trendy" boutiques. When all you're left with are power brokers and lawyers inhabiting former artist lofts, the creative and eccentric spirit that makes living in a big city fun and exciting is gone. Just look at how unfordable NY has become for the average person.