ok what is this racial tension i'm reading about regarding chicago? (Roscoe: real estate, hoa)

[skyeINIL]

My husband and I plan to move to the northside (Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, Irving Park, maybe North Center) in two years. We can't afford to buy in that area, so we will be renting. A little background about us: We are...umm...technically black, both have jobs, pay our bills, blah, blah, blah. In other words, we are just like any normal family.

My question is will we have a problem getting an apartment in the abovementioned mostly white areas? Will we be automatically counted out because of racial stereotypes about blacks in this city? Or will we be treated the same as a white family with the same circumstances?

[neonwattagelimit]

Originally Posted by misspetite

LOL. Is your other screen name Gtownoe? I guess you have a different definition of what segregation is. I've been to LA a few times and I might be wrong (doubt it) but it was not on the same level of Chicago. There were way more mixed neighborhoods. I even went through some black neighborhoods a few times and the mixed neighborhoods weren't miles and miles away like here (or few and far between like here). The ethnic neighborhoods were a lot closer together...... so how was it segregated to you? Segregation it iself is about extremities not just 3 or 4 streets of (insert race/ethnicity here).

I just wanted to make the point that every city is segregated. And that was my perception of LA when I was there. I could be wrong.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by skye1974

My husband and I plan to move to the northside (Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, Irving Park, maybe North Center) in two years. We can't afford to buy in that area, so we will be renting. A little background about us: We are...umm...technically black, both have jobs, pay our bills, blah, blah, blah. In other words, we are just like any normal family.

My question is will we have a problem getting an apartment in the abovementioned mostly white areas? Will we be automatically counted out because of racial stereotypes about blacks in this city? Or will we be treated the same as a white family with the same circumstances?

These are areas where old-school racial attitudes no longer obtain, particularly if you're renting from a management company. In fact if you act through an agency such as The Apartment People, the only thing the ultimate decision-maker will have to base their decision on is your credit rating and maybe the number of kids you have, because they'll never even lay eyes on you.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by skye1974

My husband and I plan to move to the northside (Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, Irving Park, maybe North Center) in two years. We can't afford to buy in that area, so we will be renting. A little background about us: We are...umm...technically black, both have jobs, pay our bills, blah, blah, blah. In other words, we are just like any normal family.

My question is will we have a problem getting an apartment in the abovementioned mostly white areas? Will we be automatically counted out because of racial stereotypes about blacks in this city? Or will we be treated the same as a white family with the same circumstances?

I would think that you'd be alright in those areas. Irving Park is still somewhat working class hispanic and white, so you might have more trouble there since there are tensions about gentrification and neighborhood change. But things have changed quite a bit on the Northwest Side since the days that MLK Jr. was pelted with bottles on his march. Most of the harcore racists moved to the burbs years ago--though you might have more trouble from elderly long-time residents.

Either way, racial steering of any kind is a violation of the Fair Housing Act, and anyone guilty of doing this would be violating the law at their own peril. I had a friend who used to pose as a "white apartment hunter" in a sting operation to see if the white and black apartment hunters were being treated equally if they had similar incomes and credit scores. Sadly this wasn't always the case, but most of the time people treated them equally.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I would think that you'd be alright in those areas. Irving Park is still somewhat working class hispanic and white, so you might have more trouble there since there are tensions about gentrification and neighborhood change.

Huh?? I live in Irving Park and I can tell you that gentrification is virtually a non-issue here. There are a few condo buildings going up here and there, but it's mostly on major arteries (Irving Park Rd in particular) while the residential side streets haven't changed much since the 20s/30s/40s. Believe me, there is nothing like a developer stampede here. A good 20% of the storefronts in this neighborhood are empty. A destination/gentrifying neighborhood, this isn't.

[misspetite]

Originally Posted by skye1974

My husband and I plan to move to the northside (Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, Irving Park, maybe North Center) in two years. We can't afford to buy in that area, so we will be renting. A little background about us: We are...umm...technically black, both have jobs, pay our bills, blah, blah, blah. In other words, we are just like any normal family.

My question is will we have a problem getting an apartment in the abovementioned mostly white areas? Will we be automatically counted out because of racial stereotypes about blacks in this city? Or will we be treated the same as a white family with the same circumstances?

Nah getting an apartment should be easy.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Drover

Huh?? I live in Irving Park and I can tell you that gentrification is virtually a non-issue here. There are a few condo buildings going up here and there, but it's mostly on major arteries (Irving Park Rd in particular) while the residential side streets haven't changed much since the 20s/30s/40s. Believe me, there is nothing like a developer stampede here. A good 20% of the storefronts in this neighborhood are empty. A destination/gentrifying neighborhood, this isn't.

Yes it is. It's not at stampede levels yet, but just try house hunting a bit around there. Prices in Irving Park are astronomical. It's mostly re-habbers right now, but the teardowns will unfortunately follow eventually. There are a LOT of professionals moving to Irving Park/Independence Park these days.

Commercial development always trails residential change by at least a few years, so just hold your horses. Urban Planners always lament this phenomenon.

[Lookout Kid]

Off topic, but a good overview of the boom in Irving Park:

New Homes Magazine » Blog Archive » Old benefits bring new residents, homes to Irving Park

[skyeINIL]

Originally Posted by misspetite

Nah getting an apartment should be easy.

You mean I won't get mean-mugged? I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

Thanks for the encouragement.

[misspetite]

Originally Posted by skye1974

You mean I won't get mean-mugged? I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Well that'll happen off gp, but you won't have trouble getting an apt.