Safe, Affordable Neighborhoods in Chicago for mother of 4 year old (Lincoln: crimes, elementary schools)

[ArmyMo314]

Good evening everyone. I am planning on moving next summer from the St. Louis Mo area and Chicago is on my list for possible cities. I am 28 years old and a single parent of a 4 year old daughter. I would like to find out what safe and affordable neighborhoods/cities I should to move to? I am looking to spend no more than $1600-$1700 a month on a place. Schools are very important to me since she will start kindergarten next year (she's turning 5 this September). Any helpful information will help!

[jonnynonos]

You can get a 1BR anywhere for that. Elementary schools in the more desirable areas are all considered decent enough.

There are dozens of areas that might fit the bill, but probably the most obvious ones would be downtown (River North, Gold Coast), West/South Loop, Lake View, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Sqaure, Andersenville, Ravenswood... maybe Roscoe Village.

There are also tons of neighborhoods on the south, north and northwest side that might fit the bill; obviously the further you get away from the city core the less urban, generally, the neighborhood would become.

[NealIRC]

That you have a 4 year-old daughter doesn't add anything for neighborhood safety. It's not like Chicago has a neighborhood that's known for crimes against children.

Say, recently, some Latin King in another forum posted that when he was 12 year old and not yet in a gang, he was hanging with some older guys that were jumped by enemies for retribution. They didn't know who he was, they just beat him a little, but the other 1 they beat up more, cuz they were older and were the target.

This is all universal.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ArmyMo314

Good evening everyone. I am planning on moving next summer from the St. Louis Mo area and Chicago is on my list for possible cities. I am 28 years old and a single parent of a 4 year old daughter. I would like to find out what safe and affordable neighborhoods/cities I should to move to? I am looking to spend no more than $1600-$1700 a month on a place. Schools are very important to me since she will start kindergarten next year (she's turning 5 this September). Any helpful information will help!

Need more info - is walkability/public transit important or not? Will you be having a car? I mean I could easily tell you that you could live in Lakeview, but you could easily tell me you don't care about walkability/public transit and then I could recommend a different, even cheaper area. Obviously schools matter more - I am not the best person to ask about that. If you want something walkable-ish then I might recommend something like Ravenswood/Lincoln Square. There's a few posters on here with children attending schools in that area.