Is Little Village safe to live in? Design Professional buying first home, etc. (Chicago: sublets, renting)

[sf_arkitect]

Hey everyone!

I am a design professional working in architecture. I currently live and work in San Francisco but I am considering job offers with design firms in Chicago.

I also am enticed by the idea of purchasing a home in a Chicago neighborhood that has historic housing stock, is relatively safe, but hasn't quite gentrified yet.

So far, I have been looking at the Little Village area for some time and will be in town soon to look at some properties there. However, one of my concerns is safety. Online I have read that Little Village has some degree of gang activity and shootings.

As a professional who will be commuting to and from the loop by public transit (I don't have a car in SF and don't plan on having one in Chicago), would Little Village be a wise place to invest in a first home and put down roots?

Disclosure, I am also 100% of Mexican heritage (albeit 4th generation Mexican-American) so I do have some degree of familiarity with Mexican culture - i.e. catholicism and cuisine, etc.

Thanks everyone!

[TBideon]

Everyone's threshold for safety is different, and I would strongly suggest renting, or at least an extended airbnb, for a period of time before buying in a city of which you're not familiar. Little Village has gang violence and shootings, and the Latin Kings and Two Six terrorists make life difficult for everyone; that's just the sad realty, and their chaos ebbs and flows.



That said, Little Village is also an easy pink line to the Loop, is seeing an increase of hipster and girls-walking-dogs types, and of course has a pretty substantial commercial corridor on 26th. Overall, I would say it's a risky investment but one worth taking if you can handle the shady characters, crime, etc, most of whom come out at night. It's a working class neighborhood that still has a great deal of viability and draw - before 11pm or so.


What is your budget?

[OyCrumbler]

What are your budget and housing needs? You can potentially look into Marshall Square, the Heart of Chicago and Pilsen as well which form a contiguous area with Little Village and are mostly served by the Pink Line. Bridgeport and McKinley Park are another clump of options and those are served by the Orange Line.

The idea of taking a look around and having a short term sublets/airbnbs or even a series of them to check out the neighborhood and others is pretty sensible.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by TBideon

Everyone's threshold for safety is different, and I would strongly suggest renting, or at least an extended airbnb, for a period of time before buying in a city of which you're not familiar. Little Village has gang violence and shootings, and the Latin Kings and Two Six terrorists make life difficult for everyone; that's just the sad realty, and their chaos ebbs and flows.



That said, Little Village is also an easy pink line to the Loop, is seeing an increase of hipster and girls-walking-dogs types, and of course has a pretty substantial commercial corridor on 26th. Overall, I would say it's a risky investment but one worth taking if you can handle the shady characters, crime, etc, most of whom come out at night. It's a working class neighborhood that still has a great deal of viability and draw - before 11pm or so.


What is your budget?

I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. They are present, and I also consider gangbangers terrorists. But they generally do not bother people in the neighborhood. I've had no personal issues with them myself, though it's not good that they're there. My hope is they will disappear as the neighborhood continues to change.

Like most transitioning neighborhoods, there are blocks which are good and others that are not so good. That's why it's important to check out the block you are considering at different times during the day and night and see how it is.

[ToriaT]

I suggest you look at the suburb of Berwyn. It is only a little farther west of Little Village, is safer, and has better police protection. It has amazing architecture. Berwyn's Diverse Housing Styles | Why Berwyn? Plus it has better city services and has a wide variety of stores and restaurants. It is a little over half Mexican.

[hendersj31]

While I agree with the bolded the fact remains that they have enemies. Gangs have been fighting over turf for as long as they have been around. I am not current on rival gangs of the area but in any area with a strong gang presence I would be concerned with the rivals, especially near the boundries.

That said I wouldn't immediately rule out LV. My mother grew up there so I am a bit biased even though the neighborhood declined so much since then. I definitely like some of the housing stock and price of LV and 26th is always fun.

Originally Posted by BRU67

I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. They are present, and I also consider gangbangers terrorists. But they generally do not bother people in the neighborhood. I've had no personal issues with them myself, though it's not good that they're there. My hope is they will disappear as the neighborhood continues to change.

Like most transitioning neighborhoods, there are blocks which are good and others that are not so good. That's why it's important to check out the block you are considering at different times during the day and night and see how it is.

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

I suggest you look at the suburb of Berwyn. It is only a little farther west of Little Village, is safer, and has better police protection. It has amazing architecture. Berwyn's Diverse Housing Styles | Why Berwyn? Plus it has better city services and has a wide variety of stores and restaurants. It is a little over half Mexican.

The OP is relocating from San Francisco and plans on not having a car. Berwyn's nice and has a good downtown, but an in-city place with access to the L and frequent bus service seems to make a lot more sense than a nice suburb with commuter rail service that is a lot less frequent than the L.

[dlong1991]

I'll throw in my 2 cents as someone who is there every day and has friends who are homeowners in that area. You're eventually going to run into trouble there. There are small signs of gentrification but the gangs are entrenched in the culture of the area and seem to be more hostile than other areas.

If you aren't familiar with Chicago, I wouldn't pick Little Village.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

The OP is relocating from San Francisco and plans on not having a car. Berwyn's nice and has a good downtown, but an in-city place with access to the L and frequent bus service seems to make a lot more sense than a nice suburb with commuter rail service that is a lot less frequent than the L.

And taxes are skyrocketing there, and it's not the City, which is what the OP seems to be looking for. Berwyn's a suburb. A more urban one but a suburb just the same. It doesn't have the same vibrancy (though it is nice as you say).

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by hendersj31

While I agree with the bolded the fact remains that they have enemies. Gangs have been fighting over turf for as long as they have been around. I am not current on rival gangs of the area but in any area with a strong gang presence I would be concerned with the rivals, especially near the boundries.

Oh yes, you're right. I thought I made that clear. I'm in no way saying their presence is good. There definitely have been shootings (though not nearly as many murders as in some of the more violent neighborhoods nearby). I'm just saying that the idea that they'll descend upon you the moment you step out the door like the bullies in some bad high school movie from the 1980s is exaggerated.

The good news is the cops pretty aggressively patrol the area and the Alderman's office seems to at least know where the gang houses are. I hope that this, coupled with some gentrification (which I can see already starting), will curtail that issue in the coming years.