Albany Park (Chicago, Hardin: apartments, work, school)

[dmonet83]

Hey,

I'm going to be moving to Chicago from Dallas in the next couple weeks and I've been looking for apartments online. I found one that looks good in Albany Park, just south of Lawrence on Lawndale.

I was wondering what kind of neighboorhood this is. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[outsider1]

There used to be a strong Korean presence in Albany Park. But many moved to the suburbs. The neighborhood is (slowly/rapidly... depending on who you ask, I would say "gradualy") turning into an area with a significant hispanic(mostly Mexican) presence. A lot of new residents are family-oriented, so lack of safety is not a concern by Chicago standards. Grocery shopping and public transit are within easy reach. Depending on where you work, you might not need a car. I must admit that there's some gang presence on Lawrence(put together the first letters of that street and Kedzie and you'll probably figure out the rest). But as long as you live in their hood and don't bother them, they have no reason to bother you, since they have much more important things to take care of on daily basis.

[Thepreacherswife]

We're planning to close on a place on N Harding (N of Lawrence) next week. We walked the neighborhood during the day and had no problems. Saw plenty of families and folks with dogs out at night, so it didn't strike us as a war zone. The school across the street has a zero truancy rate, so it's definitely a family values kind of neighborhood, just that most of them aren't native English speakers.

Lots of variety food-wise, especially if you like middle-eastern and asian food.

You'll be walking distance from the Kimball El (it's a bit longer walk for me). We're selling one of the cars when we move. (Anybody want to buy a low-mileage 2003 Prius?)